Paulos of Aigina (ca 630 – 670 CE?)
Lived in Alexandria “at the beginning of Islam” and was known as “the obstetrician
(al-qawa ̄bil ̄ı),” according to Arabic bio-bibliographical literature. This chimes well with the
latest author whom he quotes being A A, and his dealing extensively with
gynecology and pediatrics. His own works suggest that he was not only an active practitioner,
but also a teacher of surgery. Heiberg (1919: 270) surmised that he was a Christian, but
apart from his name and a variant reading, there is little evidence to support this claim. His
epithet Aigine ̄te ̄s (“of Aigina”) is the sole evidence for his origin. He is mostly known for his
medical handbook in seven books which had a great influence on the Byzantine and Arabic
medical tradition. Paulos is also the author of a pediatric monograph which only survives
through quotations in later medical writers such as Damaste ̄s and al-Balad ̄ı. Other works
attributed to Paulos (On Uroscopy, On the Diseases of Women, On Lethal Drugs) are spurious.
Paulos’ handbook, which he himself calls pragmateía and hupómne ̄ma, was inspired by con-
temporary jurists’ manuals: he wanted to provide a comprehensive, yet portable, work for
practical needs. It is divided into seven books: I: hygiene, prophylactics and diet; II: fevers; III:
diseases from tip to toe; IV: external ailments and worms; V: poisonous animals; VI: surgery;
VII: materia medica. It is often based on O, as he himself states (CMG 9.1, p. 1.27),
but also on other medical writers such as S (especially in the sections dealing with
gynecology and pediatrics), D ( particularly in Book VII), the inescapable
G, as well as Aëtios and A T. At times, however, Paulos displayed
some independence, especially in Book VI, on surgery (translated by the French surgeon
Briau, explicitly aiming to improve surgical practice; cf. Salazar). Book III on diseases from tip
to toe was translated into Latin in 11th c. south Italy. Paulos’ other work, his pediatric trea-
tise, is the only Classical Greek monograph on the subject apart from R E’
Therapy of Children; Paulos uses Rufus as well as the relevant pediatric chapters in Aëtios.
Paulos had an extraordinary influence on subsequent medical tradition. The Greek text
of his pragmateía survives in numerous manuscripts, a result of intense interest in the Byzan-
tine world. Moreover, the Alexandrian tradition in general, and Paulos in particular, had a
profound impact on medieval Syriac and Arabic medicine. His views on gynecology, sur-
gery and pediatrics were incorporated into the writings of such luminaries as Ibn Sara ̄biyu ̄n
(fl. late 9th c.), ar-Ra ̄zı ̄ (d. ca 925), al-Baladı ̄ (fl. ca 970s), Az-Zahra ̄wı ̄ (or “Albucasis,” fl. ca
1000). Albucasis quietly borrowed many surgical procedures, and became in his turn a rich
source of inspiration for medieval surgeons such as Guy de Chauliac (Guido de Cauliaco, d.
1368). By perfecting and promoting the genre of the encyclopedia, Paulos had an enduring
impact on medical writings, shaping the work of authors such as al-Mao ̄u ̄sı ̄ (Haly Abbas,
d. before 995) and Ibn Sı ̄na ̄ (Avicenna, 980–1037). These encyclopedias became core cur-
riculum in the nascent European universities, where Paul’s impact was felt both directly and
indirectly.
Ed.: J.L. Heiberg, CMG 9.1–2 (1921–1924).
F. Adams, trans., The Seven Books of Paulus Ægineta (1844–1847); R. Briau, La Chirurgie de Paul d’Égine
(1855); J.L. Heiberg, Pauli Aeginetae libri tertii interpretatio antiqua (1912); Idem, “De codicibus Pauli
Aeginetae observations,” REG 26 (1919) 268–277; C.F. Salazar, “Getting the point: Paul of Aegina
on arrow wounds,” Sudhoffs Archiv 82 (1998) 170–187; P.E. Pormann, The Greek and Arabic Fragments of
Paul of Aegina’s Therapy of Children (Diss. Oxford, 1999); Idem, The Oriental Tradition of Paul of Aegina’s
Pragmateia (2004).
P. E. Pormann
PAULOS OF AIGINA