The treatment of infants in classical and Hellenistic Greece
This thesis examines the treatment of infants in the classical and Hellenistic ages of Greece. In the Introduction the scope and aims are described, and my use of ancient literary sources explained. Chapter One deals with the Care of Infants and examines the evidence for the treatment of newborn infants by women carers and medical men, looking in detail at the criteria by which the question of a newborn Infant's viability might have been decided, and what this might mean for the decisions whether to treat a sickly baby and whether to rear or expose the child. Swaddling and Feeding are also studied in this Chapter: the evidence for the practices in the period under study is collected and discussed. In Chapter Two the subject of the decision not to rear Is examined. The practice of killing unwanted Infants in Sparta was subject to special rules, and the related subject of the provision of land to infants who were reared is unique to Sparta, and they form the first part of this Chapter. The second deals with the practice of exposure everywhere else: most of the evidence is from Athens, Including evidence from New Comedy, which has been largely dismissed in modern scholarship and is here surveyed for what it can
Milligan, Susan J.
History
The treatment of infants in classical and Hellenistic Greece. This thesis examines the treatment of infants in the classical and Hellenistic ages of Greece. In the Introduction the scope and aims are described, and my use of ancient literary sources explained. Chapter One deals with the Care of Infants and examines the evidence for the treatment of newborn infants by women carers and medical men, looking in detail at the criteria by which the question of a newborn Infant's viability might have been decided, and what this might mean for the decisions whether to treat a sickly baby and whether to rear or expose the child. Swaddling and Feeding are also studied in this Chapter: the evidence for the practices in the period under study is collected and discussed. In Chapter Two the subject of the decision not to rear Is examined. The practice of killing unwanted Infants in Sparta was subject to special rules, and the related subject of the provision of land to infants who were reared is unique to Sparta, and they form the first part of this Chapter. The second deals with the practice of exposure everywhere else: most of the evidence is from Athens, Including evidence from New Comedy, which has been largely dismissed in modern scholarship and is here surveyed for what it can
treatment infant classical_hellenistic greece examines treatment infant classical_hellenistic age greece introduction scope aim_describe use ancient_literary source explain one_deal care infants examine evidence treatment infant woman medical_men look_detail criterion question infant viability might decide might mean decision whether treat whether rear expose child feeding also study evidence practice period study collect discuss subject decision rear examine practice kill unwanted infants sparta subject special rule relate subject provision land infant rear unique sparta form first_part chapter second_deal practice exposure else evidence athens including evidence new comedy largely dismissed modern_scholarship survey