Do you know who was the first woman doctor?
She was a lady called Agnodice.
She lived in Athens in Ancient Greece, and yes, it was a time when women were forbidden to practice medicine.
How did she get away with it?
Well, first of all, she went to Alexandria, in Egypt, where she studied medicine under Herophilus, who was a Greek physician, who many regard as one of the earliest anatomists. To explain, an anatomist is someone who studies the human body and its parts. She then returned to Athens, she disguised herself as a man and then started to practice as a physician and midwife in Athens.
Yes, she dressed up as a man and got away with it!
Well, it wasn’t that easy, the story goes that when Agnodice met her first female patient, who was in labour, the woman refused to have her in the room as she believed she was a man. Then Agnodice removed her clothes, revealing that she was a woman, and was permitted to treat her. The story soon went around Athens.
Of course, it was inevitable that the result was that all her patients were women.
This caused a new problem with the other doctors, who were, of course, all male, which led them to assume her popularity with women patients was that she, who was in fact a woman, was seducing them!
So, what did they do? Naturally, they had her tried on the charge of seducing women!
How did she defend herself?
By lifting her tunic and showing she was a woman!
Now comes the interesting bit.
As she had been accused of seducing women and it was rather obvious, that she hadn’t, they had no option but to let her off that charge.
But!
She was a woman practicing medicine and that was forbidden in Athens, so they charged her for this, and this time she was very obviously guilty, the male doctors were sure that this charge would stick.
Well, these were interesting times as this charge didn’t work either!
Why?
It appears that, according to what has been recorded, first of all, it is said that the wives of the judges pressured their husbands by refusing them marital pleasures, then other women rose up. The result, due to the women of Athens rising up to her defence and praising her for her effective treatments. Yes, she was acquitted!
The Result?
Well, this time it became obvious that Athens had to change its law against female physicians, they had to allow them to practice, which they did.
Today, we don’t worry what our doctor’s sex is, we just want them to get us well.
Times have changed, well not everywhere, as even today, after 2,000 years, we don’t see women doctors everywhere across the world.
Isn’t History fun?
10 Questions to ask:
- Who was Agnodice, and why is she considered the first woman doctor?
- What challenges did Agnodice face in pursuing a career in medicine in Ancient Greece?
- How did Agnodice manage to study medicine despite the restrictions on women practicing medicine in Athens?
- Can you elaborate on Agnodice’s decision to disguise herself as a man in order to practice medicine?
- How did Agnodice reveal her true identity to her first female patient, and what was the reaction?
- What was the reaction of the male doctors in Athens when they discovered Agnodice’s true gender?
- Why did the male doctors accuse Agnodice of seducing women, and how did she defend herself?
- What charges were brought against Agnodice, and how did she manage to get acquitted?
- How did the women of Athens contribute to Agnodice’s defense, and what impact did it have on changing the laws against female physicians?
- In what ways did Agnodice’s case contribute to changing the perception of female doctors in Ancient Athens, and what is the current status of women in the field of medicine today?
For more about her and the first midwife:
© Tony Dalton