Dioscorides

• Dioscorides ( c.40- c.90 CE) was a Greek Physician in the army of the Emperor Nero (54-68 CE).
• This gave him the opportunity to travel and find rare plants.

Works

• De Materia Medica – ‘Regarding Medical Materials’:
  • Published in 64 CE, this Encyclopedia in 5 volumes.
  • It contained Herbal remedies based on 600 Plants.
  • Unusually, the Work remained in western medicine, and was consulted as Medical Reference Guide for the next 1500 years, and was also translated into Arabic. After the Renaissance, it was used to form the basis for all modern Pharmacopeia.