The dynamics of Traditional African Medicine/Magic, kings, mystical warriors,and priests on the rise of the Great Benin empire.

Stories that range from outer space to the Egyptian desert.

In this book, Dr. Thompson has traced the history of magic in medicine in every country where it was practiced throughout the centuries, up to its counterpart in modern times, the psychological treatment of disease. Healing by incantation, by sympathy, by touch and with the aid of astrology are all discussed. Folk medicine and herbs of healing, precious stones, rings and girdles used in healing and even beds of healing all have their place within this strange story. Handsomely illustrated.

A study of methods in Ancient Near Eastern and Greek and Roman medicine, based on representative text corpora. Central is the question of what is "rational", or not, in the various systems.

Frisbee Sheffield argues that the Symposium has been unduly marginalized by philosophers. Although the topic - eros - and the setting at a symposium have seemed anomalous, she demonstrates that both are intimately related to Plato's preoccupation with the nature of the good life, with virtue, and how it is acquired and transmitted. For Plato, analysing our desires is a way of reflecting on the kind of people we will turn out to be and on our chances of leading a worthwhile and happy life. In its focus on the question why he considered desires to be amenable to this type of reflection, this book explores Plato's ethics of desire.