author
Aegineta Paulus
A 7th-century Byzantine physician and surgeon, he is remembered for gathering the medical knowledge of his time into one influential work. His writing helped preserve classical medicine for later readers in both the Byzantine and Islamic worlds.
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About the author
Born on the Greek island of Aegina around 625, Paulus Aegineta—better known as Paul of Aegina—became one of the last great medical writers of the ancient world. He is usually described as a Byzantine Greek physician and surgeon, and later tradition links him with the medical culture of Alexandria.
His fame rests on the Medical Compendium in Seven Books, a wide-ranging encyclopedia that pulled together practical knowledge on medicine, diet, surgery, and pharmacy. The work was valued for its clarity and usefulness, and for many years it served as an important summary of earlier Greek medical learning.
Paul of Aegina is especially noted for the surgical sections of his compendium, which helped secure his long reputation among medical historians. Though little is known about his personal life, his writing endured for centuries and continued to influence readers well beyond his own era.