Abstract

LOPEZ-PULIDO, Alfonso. Old age as a disease: a topic closed in Classical Antiquity. Gerokomos [online]. 2018, vol.29, n.4, pp.156-159. ISSN 1134-928X.

The present study starts from the most ancient mention we have in which dotage is compared to a disease: Aristotle, The Generations of Animals, V IV, 780b. Based on it, the arguments that confirm and those which refute that statement in the Classical Antiquity are discussed. The form in which testimonies are presented allow us to introduce the illnesses that afflicted the elderly and the manner these are collected by old treatises, in a general way, as well as illustrate some of them using examples gathered from specific people. Last but not least, the difficulties we have to face in order to establish the most accurate diagnosis are clear, taking into account the problems we have about the treatment of written sources, the shortage of them and the controversies arisen due to the fact of the analysis made at the archaeological sites.

Keywords : Old age; disease; proof; malady; ailment.

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