Acesias (Greek ) was an
ancient Greek physician whose age and country are both unknown.
It is ascertained however that he lived at least as early as 4th century BC, as the proverb , "Acesias cured him", is quoted on the authority of
Aristophanes
Aristophanes (; grc, Ἀριστοφάνης, ; c. 446 – c. 386 BC), son of Philippus, of the deme Kydathenaion ( la, Cydathenaeum), was a comic playwright or comedy-writer of ancient Athens and a poet of Old Attic Comedy. Eleven of his for ...
. This saying (by which only Acesias is known to us) was used when any person's disease became worse instead of better under medical treatment, and is mentioned in the
Suda,
Zenobius,
Diogenianus Diogenianus ( el, Διογενειανός, Διογενιανός) was a Greek grammarian from Heraclea in Pontus (or in Caria) who flourished during the reign of Hadrian. He was the author of an alphabetical lexicon, chiefly of poetical words, ...
,
Michael Apostolius
Michael Apostolius ( el, Μιχαὴλ Ἀποστόλιος or Μιχαὴλ Ἀποστόλης; in Constantinople – after 1474 or 1486, possibly in Venetian Crete) or Apostolius Paroemiographus, i.e. ''Apostolius the proverb-writer'', wa ...
, and
Plutarch
Plutarch (; grc-gre, Πλούταρχος, ''Ploútarchos''; ; – after AD 119) was a Greek Middle Platonist philosopher, historian, biographer, essayist, and priest at the Temple of Apollo in Delphi. He is known primarily for hi ...
.
It is possible that an
author
An author is the writer of a book, article, play, mostly written work. A broader definition of the word "author" states:
"''An author is "the person who originated or gave existence to anything" and whose authorship determines responsibility f ...
bearing this name, and mentioned by
Athenaeus
Athenaeus of Naucratis (; grc, Ἀθήναιος ὁ Nαυκρατίτης or Nαυκράτιος, ''Athēnaios Naukratitēs'' or ''Naukratios''; la, Athenaeus Naucratita) was a Greek rhetorician and grammarian, flourishing about the end of th ...
as having written a treatise on the Art of Cooking (), may be one and the same person, but of this we have no certain information.
[J. J. Baier, ''Adag. Medic. Cent.'' 4to. Lips. 1718]
References
4th-century BC Greek physicians
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