There are hints in Pliny that the grammarian Apion wrote a work of pharmacy, but the evidence in Pliny is tenuous and somewhat contradictory, and some has even been emended away. Apion is rarely considered a pharmacist, although there are...
moreThere are hints in Pliny that the grammarian Apion wrote a work of pharmacy, but the evidence in Pliny is tenuous and somewhat contradictory, and some has even been emended away. Apion is rarely considered a pharmacist, although there are parallels of grammarians—contemporary with Apion—who wrote on pharmacy. Moreover, three overlooked passages provide a much stronger case for pharmaceutical work by Apion. The surviving recipes prescribe mineral-based compounds as remedies, confirming the evidence in Pliny’s index, and they are also consistent both with Greek and Egyptian medical practice.
