Circa 129/130-Post 216 C.E.
Medical Writer

Mathematical and Philosophical Roots. Galen was the practitioner of the art who casts the greatest shadow on Western, Islamic, and Hellenistic medical science. The son of Nikon, an architect and geometer, Galen began studies in philosophy at the age of fourteen, but two years later he turned to medicine, which was to be his life's profession. Never, however, did he forsake philosophy and, indeed, throughout his life Galen wrote extensively on the subject. His grounding in geometry is said to have guided his logical mind in an incredible life of practice, research, and writing. A modern, printed edition of Galen's medical works encompasses some twenty-two, small-print volumes. Alas, his philosophical writings were housed in a temple library that burned during his lifetime and, consequently, his philosophical writings are tragically lost to posterity. He also wrote on grammar and ethics...