Hippiatrica

The Hippiatrica (Greek: Ἱππιατρικά) is a Byzantine compilation of ancient Greek writings, or texts, focused on the care and healing of horses.^[1] The texts were probably compiled in the 5th or 6th century AD by an unknown editor.^[1]

Contents

The writings of seven authors from Late Antiquity make up the main parts of the Hippiatrica: 1) the veterinary manuals of Apsyrtus, 2) Eumelus (a veterinarian in Thebes, Greece^[2]), 3) Hierocles, 4) Hippocrates, 5) Theomnestus, 6) Pelagonius's Latin text translated into Greek, and 7) the chapter on horses from Anatolius's text on agriculture.^[3] The seven authors allude to the classical Greek veterinarians Xenophon and Simon of Athens.^[3] They were also influenced by Hellenistic agricultural literature based on Mago of Carthage.^[3] In the 10th century AD, two more writings from Late Antiquity were added to the Hippiatrica: a work by Tiberius and an anonymous set of Prognoses and Remedies (Greek: Προγνώσεις καὶ ἰάσεις).^[4] The contents of the Hippiatrica focus on practical treatment rather than on medical theory.^[5] Also, the texts in the Hippiatrica come in different styles: proverbs, poetry, incantations, letters, instructions, prooimia, medical definitions, recipes, and reminiscences.^[6] Cheiron, the Greek centaur connected to healing and veterinary medicine, appears twice in the Hippiatrica and a cure called a cheironeion (Greek: χειρώνειον) is named after the mythological creature.^[7]

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Further reading