From The Herbal Academy: De Materia Medica - The Ancient Text That Changed The World
This article was published on the Herbal Academy on November 13, 2020.
Excerpt from The Herbal Academy: “There is a grand mystery and pleasure in reading ancient texts that can still fulfill our curiosities about the human experience. Writings about herbalism are no exception, as they give us a sense of how our ancestors lived, survived, and interacted with the natural world around them. De Materia Medica, Latin for “On Medical Material” is a surviving text from the first century written by Pedanius Dioscorides (c. 40-90 CE), a Greek medical botanist and physician who served in the Roman army.
His five-volume manuscript describes approximately 600 plants for more than 1,000 traditional medicines. Centuries after it was written, Dioscorides’ celebrated herbal reference would become the basis of European and Western pharmacopeia.”