Who was the first woman doctor?

She was a lady called Agnodice, who lived in Athens in Ancient Greece, at a time when women were forbidden to practice medicine.

How did she get away with it?

First of all, she went to Alexandria, in Egypt, where she studied medicine under Herophilus, who was a Greek physician who many regard as one of the earliest anatomists.  She then returned to Athens and practiced as a physician and midwife in Athens, disguised as a man.

Yes, she dressed up as a man and got away with it!

Well, it wasn’t that easy, the story goes that when Agnodice met her first female patient, who was in labour, the women refused to have her in the room as she was a man.  Then Agnodice removed her clothes, revealing that she was a woman, and was permitted to treat her. The story soon went around Athens.

Of course, however, the result was not surprising all her patients were women. 

Now this caused a problem with the other doctors, who were all male, therefore, being men, they assumed her popularity with women patients was that she was seducing them.

So, what did they do?  Naturally, they had her tried on the charge of seducing women!

How did she defend herself?

By lifting her tunic and showing she was a woman!

Now comes the interesting bit.

As she had been accused of seducing women and it was rather obvious, that she hadn’t, they had no option but to let her off that charge.

But!

She was a woman practicing medicine and that was forbidden in Athens, so they charged her for this, and this time she was very obviously guilty, the male doctors were sure that this charge would stick.

Well, these were interesting times as this charge didn’t work either!

Why?

It appears that, according to what has been recorded, she got off due to the women of Athens rising up in her defence and praising her for her effective treatments. Yes, she was acquitted!

The Result?

Well, this time it became obvious that Athens had to change its law against female physicians to allow them to practice, which they did.

Today we don’t worry what our doctor’s sex is, we just want them to get us well. Times have changed, well not everywhere, as even today, after 2,000 years, we don’t see women doctors everywhere across the world.

Isn’t History fun?

10 Questions to ask:

1. Who was Agnodice, and why is she considered the first woman doctor?
2. What challenges did Agnodice face in pursuing a career in medicine in Ancient Greece?
3. How did Agnodice manage to study medicine despite the restrictions on women practicing medicine in Athens?
4. Can you elaborate on Agnodice’s decision to disguise herself as a man in order to practice medicine?
5. How did Agnodice reveal her true identity to her first female patient, and what was the reaction?
6. What was the reaction of the male doctors in Athens when they discovered Agnodice’s true gender?
7. Why did the male doctors accuse Agnodice of seducing women, and how did she defend herself?
8. What charges were brought against Agnodice, and how did she manage to get acquitted?
9. How did the women of Athens contribute to Agnodice’s defense, and what impact did it have on changing the laws against female physicians?
10. In what ways did Agnodice’s case contribute to changing the perception of female doctors in Ancient Athens, and what is the current status of women in the field of medicine today?

For more about her and the first midwife: