Female Scientists Before Our Time A-Z LIST

APRIL A-Z CHALLENGE 2017"

A - Aspasia, Physician
B - Dorotea Bucca, Physician
C - Cleopatra the Alchemist
D - Damo, Philosopher

E - Enheduanna, Astronomer
F - Fabiola, Nurse Physician
G - Gynecologist, Leoparda
H - Magistra Hersend, Surgeon

I - Immortal Lady Bao, Moxatherapist
J - Mary the Jewess, Alchemist
K - King's Associate, Pesehet, Physician
L - Lais, Physician

M - Myia, Philosopher, Mathematician
N - Nicarete, Physician, Healer
O - Olympias, Midwife
P - Merit Ptah, Physician

Q - Queen Hatshepsut, Science Promoter
R - Rufaida A-Aslamia, Nurse
S - Salpe, Midwife
T - Tapputi, Chemist, Perfume-maker

U - Unusual Science

V - Gargi Vachaknavi, Philosopher
W - Witch-hunt Victim, Hypatia
X - Zhang Xiaoniangzi, Physician
Y - Yi Shuo, Physician
Z -Zoologist, Phythias

Sharon M. Himsl

Writer/Author. Blogging since 2011. 
Published with Evernight Teen: 
~~The Shells of Mersing

Z for Zoologist, Phythias: Female Scientists Before Our Time

And so, we come to the end of the A to Z, to one of the least documented of the women in this series, Phythias the Elder, the first wife of Aristotle. Born sometime around 344 BC, Phythias was the niece and adopted daughter of King Hermias of Atarneus, an ancient Greek city in Asia Minor near the island of Lesbos. Today this would be on the west coast of Turkey.

King Hermias’s rule extended from Atarneus to the city of Assos, where Aristotle had opened an academy. In addition to being a great philosopher, Aristotle was a practicing botanist, zoologist and marine biologist. He and Hermias became friends, which is how Aristotle met and eventually married eighteen-year-old Phythias. Aristotle was thirty-seven.

View of Mytilene, Island of Lesbos



The two honeymooned on the island of Lesbos in the port city of Mytilene on the Agean Sea. Apparently, Phythias was a budding embryologist, biologist and zoologist. The honeymooners spent time collecting living specimens of every sort. Although sources are sketchy and some doubtful, one source claims that Phythias was Aristotle’s “assistant” in research. She had her own collection of manuscripts and some claim she was the first female marine zoologist. As coauthor (uncredited) she collaborated with Aristotle on two works for an encyclopedia of animals: History of Animals and On the Parts of Animals and On the Generation of Animals.


Phythias and Aristotle had one daughter, Phythias the Younger. After only ten years of marriage Phythias died around 326 BC, leaving Aristotle to raise a daughter alone. He then remarried and had a son, but his love for Phythias lasted a lifetime. When he died in his sixties, he requested their bones be buried together, as had also been requested by Phythias. 



 Source:http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2014/11/141130-aristotle-natural-history-seashells-biology-philosophy/; https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pythias;  Anthony Kenny. A New History of Western Philosophy, Vol. 5, 2007.
Elisabeth Brooke. Women Healers: Portraits of Herbalists, Physicians, and Midwives, 1995 p. 12.
Marilyn Bailey Ogilvie, Joy Dorothy Harvey. The Biographical Dictionary of Women in Science: L-Z, 2000.
http://www.ancientgreece.com/s/People/Aristotle/; https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Assos

Sharon M. Himsl

Writer/Author. Blogging since 2011. 
Published with Evernight Teen: 
~~The Shells of Mersing

W for Witch-hunt Victim, Hypatia: Female Scientists Before Our Time

Actress, possibly Mary Anderson in play
"Hypatia" circa 1900

Hypatia of Alexandria (c. 355-415 AD) was the only daughter of astronomer and mathematician, Theon of Alexandria. Educated in Athens, Hypatia excelled in mathematics, astronomy and philosophy.


In Egypt, she went on to head the Neoplatonic school at Alexandria, where she taught astronomy and philosophy based in the teachings of Plato and Aristotle.


She was quite popular as a spiritual leader and had a following in Alexandria that included Christian, pagan and foreign students alike. Her home soon became an important gathering place and learning center.


Her teachings were rather mystical and dwelt on the “mystery of being.” In letters, she wrote of “the eye within us” as a “divine guide.” In sync with her father’s understanding of the world, she viewed astronomy “as the highest science, opening up knowledge of the divine.”


Unfortunately, Hypatia did not fit into the societal mold as perfectly as one might think. When she was brutally murdered in 415 AD by a mob of Christian extremists, outrage and centuries of debate have continued in the wake of her death. Some have called it a witch hunt.


Apparently, Hypatia’s interest in divination and astrology, at times concentrating on “magic, astrolabes and instruments of music,” and her position as a pagan philosopher, scientist, and mathematician bothered Cyril, the new Bishop of Alexandria. The bishop before him had permitted violence against Jews, and pagans and their leaders, destroying their shrines, temples and images.

However, Hypatia had become a civic leader and was adored by both Christians and non-Christians. Cyril must have prickled inside watching her stroll through town with confidence in her philosopher’s cloak as she spoke openly to the crowds. Hypatia was a perpetual thorn in Cyril’s  flesh.

Astrolabe of Jean Fusoris; made in Paris, 1400.

(Putnam Gallery)

The astrolabe was used by navigators and

astronomers to measure altitude of celestial bodies 

and to calculate latitude.

Cyril's fight to remove Jews and nonconforming Christian groups in Alexandria had recently escalated into a blood thirsty feud, dividing the city. Those opposing Cyril sided with Orestes, the Roman Prefect of Alexandria.


Orestes (himself a Christian) also happened to be a close friend of Hypatia. Cyril saw an opportunity and began lashing out at Hypatia, openly accusing her of sorcery. A church chronicler (John of Nikiu) later restated this accusation as “she beguiled many people through satanic wiles.” She was “the pagan woman who had beguiled the people of the city and the prefect through her enchantments.”


But it was Cyril’s first accusation that led to the crime. A mob of Christian extremists known as the parabalonoi kidnapped Hypatia, dragged her to a church, stripped her naked, and ripped open her flesh with pot-shards. After dismembering her body, they burned her remains. Another chronicler (Hyesychius) later wrote: “her body [was] shamefully treated and parts of it scatter all over the city.” 


"Death of the philosopher Hypatia, in Alexandria" from

Vies des savants illustres, depuis l'antiquité jusqu'au dix-neuvième siècle,

1866, by Louis Figuier.

The parabalonoi were never punished. The bishop spread a rumor announcing Hypatia had moved to Athens. Some historians claim her death was symbolic of the end of ancient Greek/Roman influence and the end of Alexandria’s intellectual life. But another source states it was Hypatia's femaleness that was under attack. It "made her a special target, vulnerable to the accusation of witchcraft.” Further, she had long fought against Jewish and other religious repression.



Source:https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hypatia; http://www.suppressedhistories.net/secrethistory/hypatia.html
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Astrolabe

Sharon M. Himsl

Writer/Author. Blogging since 2011. 
Published with Evernight Teen: 
~~The Shells of Mersing

V for Gargi Vachaknavi: Female Scientists Before Our Time

Gargi Vachaknavi was born in India around 700 BC. She was a bright child and it was only natural that she would follow in her father’s footsteps in the study of Indian philosophy. She mastered the scriptures in Hindu theology and studied Vedic philosophy, surpassing even some of the male sages in her knowledge. As a leading scholar, she became a strong proponent of education.

A depiction of Gargi and Yajnavalkya in the debate

The most remembered event in Gargi’s life as a philosopher was the famous debate between her and Yajnavalkya, a renown and widely recognized Vedic sage. King Janaka had announced a Rajasuy Yagna (the king’s inauguration ceremony) and invited some of India’s most learned sages, kings, princes and princesses to participate in a debate. Gargi must have been thrilled Yajnavalkya was coming. He always welcomed women in such debates. The grand prize would be 1000 cows and 10 grams of gold attached to the horns of each cow.

Yajnavalkya was so confident he would win, however, he had the cows delivered to his place in advance. He had mastered the art of Kundalini Yoga, “the yoga of awareness,” and no one he felt, could challenge his knowledge and win. Of course, this made everyone all the more determined to try, but only eight sages volunteered. Gargi was one of them. 

One by one the different sages lost the debate, until it was finally Gargi’s turn. Gargi forged ahead pounding him with questions one after another concerning the status of the soul and the origin of the world. Yajnavalkya answered each question masterfully. She changed her tactic and asked one final question, but her new line of questioning angered the sage. She had asked what exactly exists above Brahmalok (Hindu heaven). 

He replied, “Beware Gargi! You dare to ask who is above Brahman (God). Beware of the limits of your questions; otherwise you will lose your head!”

Gargi respectfully sat back in silence for a moment, thinking about what to say. Finally, she asked two more questions, both of which he answered correctly:


Gargi's first question: “That, O Yagyavalkya, which is above the sky, that which is beneath the earth, that which is between these two, sky and earth, that which people call the past and the present and the future—across what is that woven that ‘permeates’ it?

Yagyavalky: “That, O Gargi, which is above the sky, that which is beneath the earth, that which is between these two, sky and earth, that which people call the past and the present and the future—across space is that woven, (which) permeates it.”

Gargi: “Adoration to you, Yagyavalkya, in that you have solved this question for me. Prepare yourself for the other.”

Gargi's second question: “Yajnavalkya, what pervades that Sutra which is above heaven and below the earth, which is heaven and earth as well as what is between them and which—they say—was, is and will be?”\

Yajnavalkya: “That, O Gargi, which is above heaven and below the earth, which is heaven and earth as well as what is between them and which—they say—was, is and will be, is pervaded by the un-manifested akasha.”

Gargi: “What pervades the akasha?"


Yagyavalkya: “That, O Gargi, the knowers of Brahman call the Imperishable. It is neither gross nor subtle, neither short nor long, neither red nor moist; It is neither shadow nor darkness, neither air nor akasha; It is unattached; It is without taste or smell, without eyes or ears, without tongue or mind; It is non—effulgent, without vital breath or mouth, without measure and without exterior or interior. It does not eat anything, nor is it eaten by anyone. 

At this point in the debate, hours had passed. There were probably those sitting in the crowd swaying as they dozed. Yagyavalkya was concerned about Gargi's stamina and suggested they end the debate. My guess is he was pretty exhausted too. The debate ended with praise from Gargi that Yagyavalkya was indeed the greatest brahmanishtha (yoga).

Reading this story at other sites online, I noticed that some neglect to tell the outcome of the debate, emphasizing Gargi’s strength as a woman only. She was certainly strong, but I think her performance in the debate also demonstrated her courage, humility, and wisdom.

Education in 700 BC India: "The stupa of Sariputta at Nalanda University." In the northwest region of India, Takshashila, sat the world's first great university, Nalanda University.  Subjects taught by the masters included: "the vedas, languages, grammar, philosophy, medicine, surgery, archery, politics, warfare, astronomy, accounts, commerce, documentation, music, dance and other performing arts, futurology, the occult and mystical sciences, and complex mathematical calculations."

 


Source: https://kids.baps.org/storytime/gargi.htm; https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gargi_Vachaknavi
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kundalini_yoga; https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yajnavalkya 
https://drjbratti.wordpress.com/2015/05/12/women-scholars-of-ancient-india-gargi-vachaknavi-brahma-vadini/ 
http://veda.wikidot.com/tip:world-first-university-takshila 

Sharon M. Himsl

Writer/Author. Blogging since 2011. 
Published with Evernight Teen: 
~~The Shells of Mersing

U for Unusual: Female Scientists Before Our Time

 
UNUSUAL SCIENCE, BELIEFS, 
AND PRACTICES IN THE PAST

•  Trepanation – drilling holes in the skull to cure various ailments; some believed to release evil spirits. Perhaps the oldest surgery in history, dating back to 6500 BC. 

The Extraction of the Stone of Madness
-Hieronymus Bosch painting

• Sickness – ancient Egyptians considered it a punishment sent by the gods; or an attack by angered ghost or demon.

• Mercury for health – ancient Persians, Greeks and Chinese used it for health, as a common elixir and topical medicine; death from liver and kidney damage was common when ingested. 

• Bloodletting – withdrawal of blood to cure or prevent disease. A practice dating back to Egypt 1000 BC.

Ancient Greek painting on a vase, showing 

a physician (iatros) bleeding a patient

• Animal Dung Ointments – all types of dung, a cure-all for disease and injury. Ancient Egyptians swore by it. Might have had some antibiotic benefit. 

• Cannibal Cures – “corpse medicine” from ground-up mummies, human flesh, blood, or bone and believed to be magical. Practiced by Romans and the English. Thought to cure headaches, ulcers, epilepsy, etc. Practice lasted for years. 

• Wandering Womb – ancient Greeks believed the womb was a separate creature. Had a mind of its own and could escape from the body and have a ‘walk-a-bout’. Women were told to marry young and bear lots of children to prevent.

• Hernia cures for infants – have one small green lizard bite the child! Then hang the lizard up over smoke until it dies. 

• Infant’s first words – If the baby says “ny” it will live. If the baby says “mebi” it will die. Belief dates back to 1550 BC.

Source:
http://www.ancient.eu/article/49/
http://www.history.com/news/history-lists/7-unusual-ancient-medical-techniques
https://www.bustle.com/articles/182891-7-bizarre-beliefs-about-babies-children-from-ancient-history

T for Tapputi: Female Scientists Before Our Time

Recipe for Perfume

Combine flowers with oil, calamus,

cyperus, myrrh and balsam. 

Mix with water or other solvents.  

Distill. Filter several times. 

 (my format)

This recipe for perfume was found in ancient Babylonian Mesopotamia on a cuneiform tablet dating 1200 BC. It’s the world’s first known record of a perfume-maker and a chemist, and the oldest recorded reference to a still, the apparatus used to distill liquids. The recipe had been recorded by Tapputi (also called Tapputi-Belatekallium).  

"Belatekallium" was the title for female overseer, which would have meant Tapputi had a position of authority at the Royal Palace. A second name, nini, was inscribed on the cuneiform with Tapputi's, but the first part of the name was missing on the tablet [???-nini] . 

1200 BC. Tapputi-Belatekallium's cuneiform table with perfume recipe.

Ancient Mesopotamians and Egyptians are credited with the origins of perfume-making. Egyptians used perfume in religious and cleansing ceremonies, and for embalming, but eventually used perfume as a personal scent too. Burning perfumed incense to the gods would have been important in both cultures, for offerings to their deities and for enhancing the mind and spirit. The medicinal properties of perfume would have played a role as well. In Mesopotamia, for instance, perfume was used for inhalation, poultices, and in medicated baths. 

Egypt relief of perfume-making from flowers pressed in a cloth, 4th Cent BC

The connection between a perfume-maker and a chemist did not require much convincing for me. As I wrote this piece, memories of my daughter and the little perfume-maker kit she had received at Christmas years back kept popping into mind. It may have been her most favorite gift of all time. Dolls were of no interest in comparison. The family oohed and awed over the fragrant scents she created. Years later when she pursued a degree in Micro-Biology, I remembered the little scientist blossoming in our home. It made perfect sense she had chosen a science to study. Perhaps Tapputi had been a similar girl as a child. 

Perfume kit I remember giving our daughter for Christmas

 


Source:
https://deathscent.com/2016/03/08/the-lost-history-of-women-in-chemistrythe-first-perfumer/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tapputi Worwood, Valerie Ann, 2006. Aromatherapy for the Soul: Healing the Spirit with Fragrance and Essential Oils.
New World Library.
Palmer, Irene, 2013. Perfume, Soap and Candle Making - The Beginner’s Guide. Lulu.

 

Sharon M. Himsl

Writer/Author. Blogging since 2011. 
Published with Evernight Teen: 
~~The Shells of Mersing

S for Salpe: Female Scientists Before Our Time

Salpe was a 1st Century midwife from the Greek Island of Lemnos. We have Roman author Pliny the Elder to thank for recording some of her life. She had some unusual treatments, all of them unconventional.


It's not likely Salpe was a well-educated woman, which is not to say she wasn't smart. Her form of medicine was different from the medical professionals of her day, and would have appealed more to the common people who couldn't afford to pay for a physician. Salpe relied on a “mix of superstition, herbal cures, prayer, and sympathetic magic.”

Some of Salpe’s unusual remedies:

• For dog bites - wear the flux of wool from a black ram contained in a silver bracelet.
• For numb or stiff limbs – spit into the bosom of patient, or touch the upper eyelids with saliva.
• To strengthen eyes – apply urine.
• To cure sunburn - mix urine and egg white (ostrich preferred); apply to skin every two hours.
• To stop a dog from barking – feed it a live frog.  

Woman with elaborate dress and headgear sitting on a stool. 

Terracotta figurine (about 230 BC) from Myrina, 

Isle of Lemnos, Greece.

Source:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Salpe
https://rebelwomenembroidery.wordpress.com/tag/salpe/

R for Rufaida Al-Aslamia: Female Scientists Before Our Time

Rufaida Al-Aslamia was the first Muslim woman in the Middle East to become a nurse. Rufaida was born in Medina, Saudi Arabia around 620 AD into the Bani Aslam tribe of the Khazraj tribal confederation. Her people were among the first to accept Islam. Her father, a practicing physician, was an excellent mentor and gave Rufaida her first clinical experience.

Rufaida devoted her life to nursing and social work, caring for the sick and helping those in need, among these, orphans, the handicapped, and the poor. She was a keen promoter of community health and developed "the first code of conduct and ethics." Seeking permission first, she erected a tent outside a mosque and taught the public on health-related topics. Rufaida also organized the first mobile care unit in the community.

During wartime, Rufaida led groups of volunteer nurses into the battlefield. They used tents to shelter the soldiers and treat their injuries, concentrating on hygiene and stabilizing wounds, careful to only touch the injury site per Islamic religious rules for separation of men and women. They were not allowed to do surgeries or amputations, but would do prep work for the male physicians. A nurse's role involved providing physical comfort and emotional support, as well as serving food and giving medicine - "noninvasive duties." 

Rufaida and her team of volunteers participated in the battles of Badr, Uhud, Khandaz, Khaibar, the Trench and others.
 

Mosque at Salaman, location of Battle of The Trench where Al-Aslami treated the injured

Source: http://sohabih.blogspot.com/2017/02/saidatuna-rufaida-al-aslamia-ra.html
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rufaida_Al-Aslamia

Q for Queen Hatshepsut: Female Scientists Before Our Time

Statue of Hatshepsut

 -Metropolitan Museum of Art

Queen Hatshepsut ruled as Egypt's 5th pharaoh from c.1478 to 1458 BC, a role she inherited when her husband/half-brother Thutmose II passed away. She had married him at the young age of twelve.  

During her reign as Pharaoh, she built beautiful temples and expanded trade to the south in Punt, trading jewelry, papyrus, and bronze weapons in exchange for ivory, perfume, gold, leopard skins and live apes. Much more has been written about her, but in brief, she was Egypt's 2nd female pharaoh and is considered to be one of Egypt's most important pharaohs. But before we get to her scientific contribution it's important to understand the back story.


After Queen Hatshepsut died, Thutmose III (her stepson/half-brother) was finally old enough to reign. She had been ruling in behalf of Thutmose, who had been ten-years-old at the start of her rule.  




Confused with the genealogy? I sure was. Below is a chart that helps explain. Technically, Thutmose III and Amenhotep II were Hatsheput's half-brothers. Hatshepsut also (according to this chart) was the same queen who found Moses of the Bible floating in the river . . . but that's another story!
 

The two half-brothers are important in Hatshepsut's story, because these are the two pharaohs who proceeded to remove all references to Hatshepsut as pharaoh. Removal of Hatsheput's reign in history included the defacing of monuments. Within a short time two jealous (?) brothers had erased the records of accomplishments from her eulogies, and taken full credit. The reasons are not all together clear. Although this was not an uncommon practice, the fact that she had been Egypt's 2nd female pharaoh makes their act all the more outrageous. Further, an important aspect of her story was lost in the process.

Temple of Hatshepsut built in Thebes

Few knew of Hatshepsut's support of education and medical science until recently, or that she had encouraged many women to study medicine. In fact, she had encouraged all of her subjects to read and become educated. A strong supporter of medical science in particular, she started three medical schools. She built botanical and herbal gardens too, where women healers were responsible for growing medicinal plants and keeping the pharmacies full. 

After the queen’s death this window of opportunity slowly faded for women. Medical practice shifted to mostly male priests and healers. Despite the setback, the medical schools flourished. Word spread, drawing many 'soon to be' Greek physicians to the schools for medical training. Historians have since added to the queen’s eulogy, her heart for science and education and the encouragement she gave to women wishing to become physicians.

Source:
http://www.ancient.eu/article/49/; https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hatshepsut
Brooke, Elisabeth, 1995. Women Healers: Portraits of herbalists, Physician, and Midwives. Healing Arts Press.
Bennett, Jennifer, 2009. “Lilies of the Hearth: The Historical Relationship Between Women and Plants.” In: Botanical Medicine for Women's Health, Aviva Romm, ed. Churchill Livingstone.