Alice BORGNA (Università del Piemonte Orientale),
Le conseguenze della violenza militare. Ferite e guarigioni sul campo di battaglia da Omero al tardo antico [The consequences of military violence. Battlefield Wounds and Healing from Homer to Late Antiquity]
Keywords: ancient medicine, penetrating trauma, vulnera, healing, pharmacology, ancient physicians.
Abstract: The contribution deals with the penetrating wound and its literary representation. Here, the first paradigm appears in Homer (Il. 4, 189-219, later taken up by Virgil (Aen. 12, 387-390): healing is essentially a divine prerogative since only the gods can restore completely and bestow this privilege upon their favorites. Therefore, the role of the doctor is scarce. Even recognizing the battlefield as the privileged place for observing the human body, the technical sources do not oppose a coherent set of texts dedicated to military medicine to this epic model. Consequently, the practice must be decoded starting from an articulated set of steps and documents.