Finally he is said to be closer to P because he too regarded bile as an effect of
disease rather than a cause.
RE 19.1 (1937) 1191, K. Deichgräber; Daniela Manetti, “Doxographical Deformation of Medical
Tradition in the Report of the Anonymous Londinensis on Philolaus,” ZPE 83 (1990) 219–233 at
223; BNP 10 (2007) 874–875, A. Touwaide.
Daniela Manetti
Petro ̄n of Himera (450 – 410 BCE?)
The sources of P, de defectu oraculorum 22 (422B), claim that Petro ̄n hypothesized a
triangular universe consisting of 183 discrete kosmoi arranged with 60 worlds along each
side, the remaining three at the corners, each kosmos in contact with its two neighbors
and revolving “as in a dance” (cf. A C, M 848a20–37):
Huxley argues that the total number must be even, i.e., 180. The interior “Plain of Truth”
provided the common hearth to all, wherein lay “Eternity,” and whence “Time” flowed to
kosmoi.
DK 16; G.L. Huxley, “Petronian Numbers,” GRBS 9 (1968) 55–57; BNP 10 (2007) 874, C. Riedweg.
PTK and GLIM
Petro ̄nios Musa (ca 10 – 40 CE)
Designated by G (CMGen 2.5 [13.502 K.]) as one of the best pharmacologists in
the handbooks on the subject, and by D (MM pr.2 [Wellmann, 1.1]) as an
“Askle ̄piadean,” along with S N and D. He wrote a Hulika, i.e.,
(Medical) Materials (E N-4, p. 62.12 Nachm.), lost except for short quotations.
P cites Petro ̄nios as a source for Books 20–27, and specifically mentions Petro ̄nios’
accounts of endives (20.77) and carrots (25.110): both compacted with a tract by Diodotos.
The passage in Gale ̄n closely resembles Dioskouride ̄s’ in grammatical structure, indicating
transmission of Petro ̄nios through the collection of A P.
Gale ̄n (CMGen 5.11 [13.831–832 K.]) provides the formula of Petro ̄nios’ “excellent”
lozenge-suppository, to be compounded for a rapidly pain-killing treatment of hemorrhoids
and probably fistulas in the anus. The drug would have a good “shelf-life,” being roughly
half mineral (antimony, roasted and washed lead, fissile alum, and copper sulfate), added to
acacia-gum, ashed henna-flowers, seeds of the tree-heath, frankincense, myrrh, and the latex
of the opium poppy: “compound [these ingredients] in wine and fashion into suppositories.
Administer/insert the suppositories using grape-syrup.” Not only would this compound
relieve pain (the opium latex), it would also be a reasonably good bactericide (the copper
sulfate, frankincense, myrrh, henna, probably the acacia-gum), certain to promote healing.
RE 19.1 (1937) 1193–1194, K. Deichgräber; Fabricius (1972) 226, 243; Scarborough and Nutton
(1982) 205–206.
John Scarborough
Petros (of Constantia?) (fl. 449 CE)
Christian arkhiatros, wrote a book about astrology, and is cited by A A 7.114
(CMG 8.2, p. 386) for an eyewash against leuko ̄mata.
PLRE 2 (1980) 865– 866
PTK
PETROS (OF CONSTANTIA?)