International Symposium “Ancient Strategies of Medical Authority” 3rd March 2026, Eastern Hall, Academy of Athens

This conference explores how ancient physicians constructed, negotiated, and projected authority within their intellectual and social worlds. By examining a wide range of medical and philosophical texts, it investigates the strategies through which practitioners positioned themselves as reliable experts, from claims of specialized knowledge and technical skill to appeals to tradition, innovation, or divine sanction. Contributions will address how authors shaped their public personas—whether as healers, teachers, or theorists—and how these self-presentations served to legitimize their methods, bolster credibility, or distinguish them from rivals. Particular attention will be given to rhetorical techniques, narrative framing, and the use of polemic as instruments of authority formation. Through interdisciplinary perspectives, the conference aims to shed new light on the dynamics of expertise in antiquity, revealing the diverse pathways by which medical and philosophical practitioners fashioned authoritative voices and secured their standing within competitive intellectual landscapes.

Organised by Athena Bazou, Petros Bouras-Vallianatos, and Sophia Xenophontos Sponsored by the Research Centre for Greek and Latin Literature, Academy of Athens, the Department of Philology and the Department of History and Philosophy of Science, NKUA

10.00-10.20: Greetings – Academy of Athens, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens Chair: Athanasios Stefanis, Research Centre for Greek and Latin Literature, Academy of Athens

10.20-11.00: ‘60 ans de recherche sur la médecine et la tragédie grecques.’ Presentation of ‘Médecine et tragédie en Grèce antique. Scripta minora 1961-2023’, Les Belles Lettres, 2024. Jacques Jouanna, Université Paris-Sorbonne and Académie des Inscriptions et Belles-Lettres. Membre Associé étranger de l’Académie d’Athènes.

Part I

Chair: Jean Christianidis, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens

11:00-11:30: ‘Medical Ethics and Authority in the Hippocratic Letters’

Antonio Ricciardetto, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, Paris

11:30-12:00: ‘Galen’s Medical Ethics : Hippocrates as an Authority’

Véronique Boudon-Millot, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, Paris

12:00-12:30: ‘Strategies of Medical Authority in Aretaeus’

Sophia Xenophontos, Academy of Athens

12:30-13:00: Coffee/Tea

Part II

Chair: Grammatiki Karla, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens

13:00-13:30: ‘Soranus’s Authorial Stance’

Giulia Ecca, Università degli Studi “La Sapienza” di Roma

13:30-14:00: ‘Galenic Medical Authority in the Context of the Second Sophistic’

Athena Bazou, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens

14:00-14:30: ‘Alexander of Tralles’s Clinical Ethics’

Petros Bouras-Vallianatos, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens