40?-90?

Greek Physician and Pharmacologist

Dioscorides, the compiler of one of the first important Western herbals, is regarded as the founder of Western pharmacology. Dioscorides exemplifies the generalization that Roman medicine was usually carried out by Greek physicians. Little is known about Dioscorides, except that he probably studied at Alexandria before he became a medicus attached to the Roman army in Asia under the emperor Nero. "Military physician" is probably too specialized a translation for this term, because it is unlikely that the Roman legions of this period were accompanied by an organized medical or surgical staff. Military service gave Dioscorides the opportunity to travel widely and to study many exotic plant and animal species.

In his major work, a treatise now known as De materia medica (The materials of medicine), Dioscorides refers to nearly 600 plant species, including cannabis, colchicum, and peppermint. Only about 130 of these...