Citation

Hutchison RL, Hirthler MA. J. Hand Surg. Am. 2013; 38(9): 1790-1793.

Affiliation

Section of Hand Surgery, Division of Orthopaedic Surgery, Children's Mercy Hospitals and Clinics; and Department of English, University of Missouri-Kansas City, Kansas City, MO. Electronic address: rlhutchison@cmh.edu.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2013, American Society for Surgery of the Hand, Publisher Elsevier Publishing)

DOI

10.1016/j.jhsa.2013.06.022

PMID

23932117

Abstract

Homer's Iliad remains a fascinating source of medical history. This epic poem, compiled around 800 bce, describes several weeks of the last year of the 10-year siege of Troy (Ilion) by the Achaeans. Homer composed the epic by combining and formalizing oral poems, legends, customs, and experiences that originated in the later Mycenaean age (1600-1100 bce). The story centers on the rage of the great warrior Achilles. The Iliad remains the oldest record of Greek medicine and a unique source of surgical history. This study examines the upper extremity injuries described in the Iliad and compares them to those other sites of injury.

Language: en