Article
| Title: | Male infertility in Classical Greece: some observations |
| Author: | |
| Source document: | Graeco-Latina Brunensia. 2015, vol. 20, iss. 1, pp. [121]-131 |
| Extent: | [121]-131 |
| ISSN: | 1803-7402 (print); 2336-4424 (online) |
| Type: | Article (English) |
| Stable URL: | http://hdl.handle.net/11222.digilib/133970 |
| License: |
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Abstract(s):
This paper considers the range of written and material evidence documenting ancient Greek thoughts about male infertility. While modern science shows that infertility affects both men and women, it is generally believed that most ancient civilisations attributed infertility to women. Recent research into ancient Greek gynaecological texts caused the male function in reproductive processes to be overlooked and under-theorised. Did Greek men understand they might have a fertility problem, or was infertility exclusively associated with women in their minds? How could a Greek man tell he was infertile? Did his infertility affect his standing in the community, socially or legally? Medical texts and archaeological evidence of religious rites demonstrate that the biology of procreation as understood by the ancients was strongly embedded in myth and ritual, whereas philosophical and political sources reveal how the attribution of gender roles might have influenced ancient Greek beliefs about fertility. In investigating ancient views on these issues, striking conclusions are reached: namely, that the social awareness of, and actions taken in response to, male fertility problems were considered more widely in ancient Greece than was previously thought.
Keywords:
reproduction; fertility; Ancient medicine; Ancient cult; Ancient philosophy
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