Episode 29. Galen with Susan Mattern - Author of The Prince of Medicine

In this episode, I talk to Susan Mattern, expert in ancient Mediterranean history at the University of Georgia, and author of the authoritative biography of Galen titled Prince of Medicine.

We explore the life, ideas and legacy of Galen, perhaps the most influential physician in the history of medicine, and how his teachings dominated the profession for centuries.

The discussion also touched on his predecessor, Hippocrates, and his successor, Andreas Vesalius - the anatomist who finally dethroned many of his teachings.

Susan Mattern is also the author of several other books, most recently The Slow Moon Climbs: The Science, History, and Meaning of Menopause, and she is a series editor for the ancient history series, Liverpool Studies in Ancient History.

Her current interests are transcultural psychiatry, the origins and ...