Rice as food and medication in ancient and Byzantine medical literature
The article discusses rice (ὄρυζα) on the basis of medical writings compiled between the first and seventh centuries, and consists of four parts. The first tries to assess the spread of rice in the Greco-Roman agriculture. The results of the analysis support conclusions present in the literature and...
Authors: | ; ; |
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Format: | Electronic Article |
Language: | English |
Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
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Published: |
De Gruyter
2015
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In: |
Byzantinische Zeitschrift
Year: 2015, Volume: 108, Issue: 1, Pages: 129-156 |
Online Access: |
Volltext (lizenzpflichtig) Volltext (lizenzpflichtig) |
Summary: | The article discusses rice (ὄρυζα) on the basis of medical writings compiled between the first and seventh centuries, and consists of four parts. The first tries to assess the spread of rice in the Greco-Roman agriculture. The results of the analysis support conclusions present in the literature and confirm the fact that rice was never popular in the Mediterranean in antiquity and later during the period of early and middle Byzantium. A gradual change in its status appeared along with the Arab agricultural revolution. The second chapter of the study is devoted to dietetic characterizations of rice and enlists features attributed to it, which were consistently made use of in medical procedures. The third part of the study tries to retrieve from medical writings main culinary guidelines concerning rice. The authors conclude that the cereal usually was the basis for preparation of cooked dishes and was hardly ever used in baking. The fourth chapter enumerates medical procedures which included rice (cure of intestinal problems, hemorrhages, other ailments resulting in excessive excretion of fluids of the body, gout etc.). |
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ISSN: | 1868-9027 |
Contains: | Enthalten in: Byzantinische Zeitschrift
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Persistent identifiers: | DOI: 10.1515/bz-2015-0007 |