Antiochis of Tlos

Antiochis of Tlos was a Roman physician who lived in the 1st century BC or AD. She was the daughter of Diodotus of Tlos. Through her medical practice, she gained notoriety of citizens and politicians throughout the Lycian region. An apprenticeship like this was common for individuals who could not attend one of the acclaimed medical schools of the time. While she may have started practicing medicine under the mentorship of her father, Antiochis branched off to an individual practice where she accumulated more skills and knowledge on her own. Her medical skills were referenced as τὴν ὶατρικὴν τέχνην ὲνπειρία, which is indicative that she practiced in the Hippocratic tradition.

Unlike many other female physicians, Antiochis was not a midwife that tended mainly to childbirth. The inscription reads:Ἀντιοχὶς Διοδότου̣ Τλωὶς μαρτυρηθεῖσα ὑπὸ τῆς Τλωέων βουλῆς καὶ τοῦ δήμου ἐπὶ τῇ περὶ τὴν ἰατρικὴν τέχνην ἐνπειρίᾳ ἔστησεν τὸν ἀνδριάντα ἑαυτῆς’ This translates to “Antiochis of Tlos, daughter of Diodotus, commended by the council and the people of Tlos for her experience in the doctor’s art, has set up this statue of herself”.

References to Antiochis Not only was Antiochis held with high regard by her city, but her reputation expanded across the world and well past her lifetime. Important medical writers and physicians referenced her as an authority for her work and treatments. Heraclides of Tarentum dedicated one of his books on preparing and testing drugs to her. Galen credits her with healing mixtures for spleen diseases, dropsy, sciatica, and arthritis. In these last records, there is evidence that Antiochis had people working directly for her.