Ebers Papyrus

Ebers Papyrus is one of the most significant and extensively preserved medical papyri of Ancient Egypt. Named after Georg Ebers, a German Egyptologist who procured it in the late 19th century, the Ebers Papyrus is dated circa 1550 BC and is one of the oldest known medical texts.

Overview

The Ebers Papyrus is a 110-page scroll, which is about 20 meters long. It contains 700 magical formulas and remedies, revealing much about the medical knowledge the ancient Egyptians possessed, their understanding of diseases, and their approach to health care. It covers a broad range of topics, including gynecology, dermatology, digestive diseases, head diseases, surgery and traumatology, among others.

Content

The Ebers Papyrus is written in hieratic Egyptian writing, translated into English and other languages. It begins with a table of contents, followed by a list of ailments along with their associated treatments. The conditions are organized by the part of the body they affect. The papyrus also includes a section on magic and spells, which were considered part of the medical practice in ancient Egypt.

Significance

The Ebers Papyrus not only provides insights into the medical practices of ancient Egypt but also sheds light on their society and beliefs. It reveals that the Egyptians had a relatively advanced understanding of medicine, including knowledge of the circulatory system, the use of birth control, and treatments for diseases such as diabetes and depression.

See also

• History of medicine
• Medical literature
• Ancient Egyptian medicine