The Edible Plants for Healing in Coptic Documents

Sawy, Mona Hassan Ahmed (2022) The Edible Plants for Healing in Coptic Documents. In: Aegyptus et Pannonia VIII. : Acta Symposii anno 2021. Magyar-Egyiptomi Baráti Társaság, Ókori Egyiptomi Bizottság, Budapest, pp. 109-125. ISBN 978-615-6571-02-1

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Abstract

Plants are the main source of diet, but are often used as medicaments in all ancient times. The Ancient Egyptians were familiar with different types of plants and their pharmaceutical properties. Such natural therapies are attested in many medical sources and sometimes connected with physical, spiritual and magical therapies. In this paper, I highlight the medical use of vegetables such as lettuce, garlic, onions, and fruits such as figs, sycamore, grapes and pomegranate. And of course, the cereals. I will primarily focus on the medical sources dating from the 4th to 11th centuries AD, from excavated ruins and monastic libraries. Edible plants used in healing were sometimes eaten as raw or cooked material, or crushed to be oil or drink, or applied as ointment. Some medical recipes prescribed specific types of food that were applied for various diseases. An extra emphasis is placed on medical prescriptions, dosage, and the appropriate way to use the medicament to gain the desired result. This paper is an attempt to localize groups of plants used for specific internal and external diseases and the appropriate way to use them.

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