English summary: Born in Pergamum at the beginning of the 2nd century AD, Galen (129-216) was instructed by a father whom he loved dearly, so much that it was only until after his death that he decided to leave his hometown to become part of the Hippocratic tradition of itinerant doctors. After healing gladiators, he settled down in Rome; his role as Commodus' official doctor allowed him to devote time to his research. Revered and envied by others, he was forced to leave Rome shortly after Commodus' death. Despite the ...
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English summary: Born in Pergamum at the beginning of the 2nd century AD, Galen (129-216) was instructed by a father whom he loved dearly, so much that it was only until after his death that he decided to leave his hometown to become part of the Hippocratic tradition of itinerant doctors. After healing gladiators, he settled down in Rome; his role as Commodus' official doctor allowed him to devote time to his research. Revered and envied by others, he was forced to leave Rome shortly after Commodus' death. Despite the abundance of first-hand sources (not very common in Antiquity), writing Galen's biography was far from easy: other witness accounts about the doctor are rare and not very reliable; moreover, Galen's confidence in his own writings is not free of ideology. This challenge was a source of pleasure for the author, as demonstrated by the enthusiasm and clarity of her writing. French text. French description: Rarement auteur antique nous a autant parle de lui, rarement matiere autobiographique fut aussi abondante, rarement oeuvre fut aussi influente: les textes de Galien ont ete traduit en arabe, en armenien et ont voyage jusqu'a la Chine. De fait la vie du medecin est passionnante. Ne a Pergame au debut du IIe siecle apres J.-C., Galien (129-216) fut eduque par un pere qu'il aima beaucoup, si bien que ce n'est qu'a sa mort que Galien se decide a quitter sa ville natale pour rejoindre la grande tradition hippocratique des medecins itinerants. Apres avoir soigne les gladiateurs, il se fixe a Rome ou sa charge de medecin de Commode (161-192), lui laisse le loisir de se consacrer a ses recherches. Revere et jalouse, il dut sans doute quitter Rome, peu avant sa mort. Celle-ci a donne lieu a de nombreuses legendes dont une curieuse, faisant mourir le medecin sur les traces des disciples du Christ. Galien n'est pas davantage un auteur scientifique enferme dans des considerations techniques et philosophiques complexes. Bien au contraire, Galien aime se raconter et il ne s'en prive pas tout au long des quelque vingt mille pages que comptent ses ouvrages conserves en grec a l'interieur de l'edition de reference de ses oeuvres completes, l'edition de C. G. Kuhn parue a Leipzig de 1821 a 1833. Malgre cette abondance de sources de premiere main, peu commune pour l'Antiquite, ecrire la biographie de Galien etait loin d'etre aise: les autres temoignages sur le medecin sont rares, tardifs et peu fiables et les confidences de Galien dans ses ecrits ne sont ni innocentes ni exemptes d'ideologie. Cette gageure s'est mue manifestement en plaisir pour la biographe, dont l'enthousiasme autant que la clarte sont communicatifs.
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