The Prayer of The Wandering Womb
The article Wandering Womb was told by an unknown person praying, that lived somewhere around 400 B.C. The prayer was being spoken to a woman who was diagnosed as having hysteria. This prayer was influenced by Hippocrates idea that hysteria “was a physical condition rather than a mental affliction” (Thompson). It was thought that when a woman was diagnosed with hysteria that it was caused from a demonic spirit entering the womb of the body. Hippocrates made up the term Hysteria based off the Greek word uterus (Thompson). Hippocrates was born in the year 460 B.C., in Kos, Greece. Hippocratic therapy was heavily engulfed in the inherent healing power of nature (Famous People).
The beginning sentence of the prayer suggests that the womb contains a demon, which is causing pain. The prayer asks God to cure the grief of the violently trembling womb. The prayer asks God in the end of the prayer that he not allow the demon to possess parts of the body such as the head, neck, throat, breasts, ears, teeth, eyes, noses, and etc. The article ends with the sentence “May he, who lives in one and one in three, deign to fulfill this, and may God rule through all the ages of ages” (Thompson). This sentence suggests that the prayer believes in the three dimensions of space, time, and matter.
Works Cited
C. Oden, Thomas. "Three Dimensions." The Rice Holy. N.p., n.d. Web. 20 Sep 2011.
"Hippocrates." Famous People. N.p., n.d. Web. 20 Sep 2011.
Thompson, Lana. The Wandering Womb. Prometheus Books, 1999. Print.
I think that it is interesting that they mainly thought hysteria was in women. At this point I think we can agree as a class that people tied religion with medicine, which makes me wonder how they dealt with "demon" children, and if they thought women were capable of having possessed babies. was there a roe vs. wade controversy?
ReplyDeleteI liked reading this article of the wandering womb. I found it interesting it they used the term womb it represent a demon entering in a woman's body. A thought I am interested in why there is no mention of men with hysteria. where would the possession take place of the man's body?
ReplyDeleteI agree with Tina, in that, since we have learned that they thought there was a hysteria epidemic amongst men after WWII, where did they diagnose the "possession" to occur in men?
ReplyDeleteI like the question Tina asked about where it would take place if this were to occur with men. I think it seems wrong that It could only take place in women, therefor i dont believe that it only takes place in the womb of women because there has to be somewhere in a man it could take place.
ReplyDeleteWasn't it Hippocrates that believed that the body was made of four different humors, and that all sickness was just an imbalance of these humors? And so I come to think that the unknown person that is saying this prayer had a basis of Hippocrates but a demon entering the womb? I have a hard time thinking that Hippocrates would agree.
ReplyDeleteI agree that the concept of hysteria as a women's only disease to be a stretch of the imagination especially when realting it to the movement of the womb. They even point to the fact that hysteria did happen in men after ww1 which make the whole premis of the womb moving false.
ReplyDeleteResponding to the first discussion question, I believe that the quote is really saying that the only way to see an advance in medicine is to have many people improve. I believe Canguilhem would agree with this because he believed that people's differences were not an obstacle to biology or medicine, but rather a chance for biology and medicine to advance.
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