About this Item

Title:
De materia medica

Other Title:
Of Medical Substances

Summary:
De materia medica is a classical medical work by Pedanius Dioscorides, a Greek physician from Anazarbus (in present-day Turkey) who lived in the 1st century AD during the reign of Emperor Nero. The text, originally written in Greek as Peri hules iatrikes, is divided into five books and is considered one of the most important medical manuals of ancient Greece and Rome.

It focuses on the medicinal properties of natural substances derived from plants, animals, and minerals. The Neapolitan codex, preserved in the National Library of Naples, contains the herbal section of the work with around 170 illustrated pages. These illustrations depict medicinal plants along with detailed descriptions of their characteristics, habitats, and therapeutic uses.

This manuscript is closely related to the famous Vienna Dioscorides (Dioscurides Constantinopolitanus), though it lacks the anthropomorphic and zoomorphic figures seen in other versions. Its vivid illustrations and detailed commentary make it a valuable historical source for understanding Greco-Roman medicine and its transmission into the Byzantine world.

Scholars believe the manuscript was produced in Italy between the late 6th and early 7th centuries, though its exact origin remains uncertain. Some attribute it to Ravenna, while others suggest southern Italy influenced by the scholar Cassiodorus.

Names:
Dioscorides Pedanius of Anazarbus, author

Created / Published:
Place of publication not identified; publisher not identified, approximately 500–699.