Hippocrates, De virginum morbis

1. Ἀρχή μοι τῆς ξυνθέσιος τῶν αἰειγενέων ἰητρίκῆς· οὐ γὰρ δυνατὸν τῶν νουσημάτων τὴν φύσιν γνῶναι, ὅ πέρ ἐστι τῆς τέχνης ἐξευρεῖν, ἢν μὴ γνῷ τὴν ἐν τῷ ἀμερεῖ κατὰ τὴν ἀρχὴν, ἐξ ἧς διέκρίθη. Πρῶτον περὶ τῆς ἱερῆς νούσου καλεομένης, καὶ περὶ τῶν ἀποπλήκτων, καὶ περὶ τῶν δειμάτων, ὁκόσα φοβεῦνται οἱ ἄνθρωποι ἰσχυρῶς, ὥστε παραφρονέειν καὶ ὁρῇν δοκέειν δαίμονάς τινας ἐφ’ ἑωυτῶν δυσμενέας, ὁκότε μὲν νυκτὸς, ὁκότε δὲ ἡμέρῃς, ὁκότε δὲ ἀμφοτέρῃσι τῇσιν ὥρῃσιν· ἔπειτα ἀπὸ τῆς τοιαύτης ὄψιος πολλοὶ ἤδη ἀπηγχονίσθησαν, πλέονες δὲ γυναῖκες ἢ ἄνδρες· ἀθυμοτέρη γὰρ καὶ ὀλιγωτέρη ἡ φύσις ἡ γυναικείη. Αἱ δὲ παρθένοι, ὁκόσῃσιν ὥρη γάμου, παρανδρούμεναι, τοῦτο μᾶλλον πάσχουσιν ἅμα τῇ καθόδῳ τῶν ἐπιμηνίων, πρότερον οὐ μάλα ταῦτα κακοπαθέουσαι· ὕστερον γὰρ τὸ αἷμα ξυλλείβεται ἐς τὰς μήτρας, ὡς ἀποῤῥευσόμενον· ὁκόταν οὖν τὸ στόμα τῆς ἐξόδου μὴ ᾖ ἀνεστομωμένον, τὸ δὲ αἷμα πλέον ἐπιῤῥέῃ διά τε τὰ σιτία καὶ τὴν αὔξησιν τοῦ σώματος, τηνικαῦτα οὐκ ἔχον τὸ αἷμα ἔκρουν ἀναΐσσει ὑπὸ πλήθεος ἐς τὴν καρδίην καὶ ἐς τὴν διάφραξιν· ὁκόταν οὖν ταῦτα πληρωθέωσιν, ἐμωρώθη ἡ καρδίη· εἶτα ἐκ τῆς μωρώσιος νάρκη· εἶτ’ ἐκ τῆς νάρκης παράνοια ἔλαβεν. Ὥσπερ ὁκόταν καθημένου πουλὺν χρόνον τὸ ἐκ τῶν ἰσχίων καὶ μηρῶν αἷμα ἀποπιεχθὲν ἐς τὰς κνήμας καὶ τοὺς πόδας νάρκην παράσχῃ· ὑπὸ δὲ τῆς νάρκης ἀκρατέες οἱ πόδες ἐς ὁδοιπορίην γίνονται, ἔστ’ ἂν ἀναχωρήσῃ τὸ αἷμα ἐς ἑωυτό· ἀναχωρέει δὲ τάχιστα, ὁκόταν ἀναστὰς ἐν ὕδατι ψυχρῷ τέγγῃ τὸ ἄνω τῶν σφυρῶν. Αὕτη μὲν οὖν ἡ νάρκη εὐήνιος, ταχὺ γὰρ παλιῤῥοεῖ διὰ τὴν ἰθύτητα τῶν φλεβῶν, καὶ ὁ τόπος τοῦ σώματος οὐκ ἐπίκαιρος· ἐκ δὲ τῆς καρδίης καὶ τῶν φρενῶν βραδέως παλιῤῥοεῖ· ἐπικάρσιαι γὰρ αἱ φλέβες καὶ ὁ τόπος ἐπίκαιρος ἔς τε παραφροσύνην καὶ μανίην ἕτοιμος. Ὁκόταν δὲ πληρωθέωσι ταῦτα τὰ μέρεα, καὶ φρίκη ξὺν πυρετῷ ἀναΐσσει· πλανήτας τοὺς πυρετοὺς καλέουσιν. Ἐχόντων δὲ τουτέων ὧδε, ὑπὸ μὲν τῆς ὀξυφλεγμασίης μαίνεται, ὑπὸ δὲ τῆς σηπεδόνος φονᾷ, ὑπὸ δὲ τοῦ ζοφεροῦ φοβέεται καὶ δέδοικεν, ὑπὸ δὲ τῆς περὶ τὴν καρδίην πιέξιος ἀγχόνας κραίνουσιν, ὑπὸ δὲ τῆς κακίης τοῦ αἵματος ἀλύων καὶ ἀδημονέων ὁ θυμὸς κακὸν ἐφέλκεται· ἕτερον δὲ καὶ φοβερὰ ὀνομάζει· καὶ κελεύουσιν ἅλλεσθαι καὶ καταπίπτειν ἐς τὰ φρέατα καὶ ἄγχεσθαι, ἅτε ἀμείνονά τε ἐόντα καὶ χρείην ἔχοντα παντοίην· ὁκότε δὲ ἄνευ φαντασμάτων, ἡδονή τις, ἀφ’ ἧς ἐρᾷ τοῦ θανάτου ὥσπέρ τινος ἀγαθοῦ. Φρονησάσης δὲ τῆς ἀνθρώπου, τῇ Ἀρτέμιδι αἱ γυναῖκες ἄλλα τε πολλὰ, ἀλλὰ δὴ καὶ τὰ πουλυτελέστατα τῶν ἱματίων καθιεροῦσι τῶν γυναικείων, κελευόντων τῶν μάντεων, ἐξαπατεώμεναι. Ἡ δὲ τῆσδε ἀπαλλαγὴ, ὁκόταν τι μὴ ἐμποδίζῃ τοῦ αἵματος τὴν ἀπόῤῥυσιν. Κελεύω δ’ ἔγωγε τὰς παρθένους, ὁκόταν τὸ τοιοῦτον πάσχωσιν, ὡς τάχιστα ξυνοικῆσαι ἀνδράσιν· ἢν γὰρ κυήσωσιν, ὑγιέες γίνονται· εἰ δὲ μὴ, ἢ αὐτίκα ἅμα τῇ ἥβῃ ἢ ὀλίγον ὕστερον ἁλώσεται, εἴπερ μὴ ἑτέρῃ νούσῳ· τῶν δὲ ἠνδρωμένων γυναικῶν αἱ στεῖραι μἅλλον ταῦτα πάσχουσιν.

1. The starting point of my composition on medicine is from things that always exist; for it is not possible to know the nature of diseases, which it is the task of the art to discover, unless one knows [that nature] in its undivided state at the beginning, from which it was separated out. First, concerning the so-called sacred disease, and concerning those struck by apoplexy, and concerning the terrors which people fear so violently that they go out of their minds and think they see certain hostile daimones [spirits] against them, sometimes by night, sometimes by day, sometimes at both times. Then, from such a vision, many have before now hanged themselves, more women than men; for the female nature is more faint-hearted and weaker. Girls who are of an age for marriage but remain without a husband suffer this more at the time when their monthly periods come down, though they did not suffer these ills much before; for later the blood collects in the womb, so as to flow out. So when the mouth of the outlet has not been opened, and more blood flows in because of food and the growth of the body, then the blood, having no outflow, rushes up because of its quantity to the heart and to the diaphragm. When these are filled, the heart becomes sluggish; then from the sluggishness comes numbness; then from the numbness derangement takes hold. It is just as when someone has been sitting for a long time, and the blood squeezed out of the hips and thighs into the lower legs and the feet causes numbness; and from the numbness the feet become powerless for walking, until the blood goes back to its own place; and it goes back fastest when he stands up and wets the part above the ankles in cold water. This numbness, then, is easily managed, for [the blood] flows back quickly because the veins are straight, and that place in the body is not a vital one; but from the heart and the diaphragm it flows back slowly, for the veins there run crosswise, and the place is vital and ready [to bring on] delirium and madness. When these parts are filled, shivering with fever also starts up; they call these fevers “wandering”. When matters stand so, she raves from the acute inflammation, she is murderous from the putrefaction, she is afraid and fearful from the darkness, and from the pressure around the heart they make for the noose; and from the badness of the blood the spirit, distraught and in anguish, draws evil upon itself; and it names other, fearful things too; and [the visions] bid her leap and throw herself into wells and hang herself, as though these things were better and of every use; and when it is without visions, there is a certain pleasure, from which she longs for death as for something good. When the person comes to her senses, the women dedicate to Artemis many other things, and above all the most costly of women’s garments, at the bidding of the seers, being deceived. But the release from this [comes] when nothing hinders the outflow of the blood. I for my part bid girls, when they suffer something of this kind, to live with husbands as quickly as possible; for if they conceive, they become healthy; if not, she will be seized [by it] either right at puberty or a little later, if not by some other disease. And among married women, those who are barren suffer these things more.