Elias Tempelis

The iatrophilosopher Thomas Mandakassis (1709-1796) and the reception of ancient medicine in his work 'De similibus similium deficientium medicina'.

Lecture in the frame of the International Symposium 'Nature and Human Nature in Ancient Greek Philosophy and its Reception' held at the Neherlands Institute at Athens on Tuesday, October 3, 2023.

Abstract
The representative of the modern Greek Enlightenment Thomas Mandakassis (Kastoria 1709 – Leipzig 1796) was a student of Eugenios Voulgaris and a remarkable patriot, who lived many years in Germany, where he composed works on medicine, philosophy, theology and education. In his doctoral thesis in medicine (Ὅμοια τῶν ἐλλειπόντων ὁμοίων Ἰάματα / De similibus similium deficientium medicina, Leipzig 1757), which was composed in both Greek and Latin, he underlined that his own aim was to offer to his compatriots all benefits of knowledge and science, so that they could delight their souls and benefit their bodies. Thus, scientific knowledge was believed to allow the logical, immaterial and immortal human soul to experience happiness, which, in its absolute form, characterizes God. From this point of view, Mandakassis praised both the ancient Greeks and his contemporary Europeans for their love for scientific knowledge and its benefits. In Mandakassis' thesis there are 28 references to 9 works of the Hippocratic corpus, 17 citations to 10 works of Galen and also few citations to Plato, Aristotle, Aëtius and Paul of Aegina. Mandakassis' thesis was supervised by the German physician and naturalist Johann Ernst Hebenstreit (1703-1757), whose own writings were based on the works of ancient Greek physicians. Thus, it could be supposed that Hebenstreit recommended the particular topic to Mandakassis and allowed him to use his library.