Apollonios ofKition (orApollonius of Citium;Greek:Ἀπολλώνιος ὁ Κιτιεύς), was a physician (fl. c. 60 BC) belonging to theEmpiric school of thought. He studied medicine inAlexandria under the surgeonZopyrus, but he lived in Kition (nowLarnaca).[1] Another theory is that he studied medicine in Kition[2] although it is not clear whether a medical school existed at the time.
It has been suggested by some scholars that this physician is the same person asAsclepiades Titiensis.[3]
The fame of Apollonios was spread all overthe ancient Greek world, and he was considered to be the most important of all Cypriot physicians.[4] The medical opinions of Apollonios were considered valid and authentic according toErotianus. Important personalities such asStrabo,Cicero andPedanius Dioscorides have also written positive comments on Apollonios.[5][6] Although primarily a physician, Apollonios had an interest in surgery and trauma.
Apollonios wrote several books on medicine[7] but his most important (and the one that survived) isPeri Arthron (On Joints,Greek:Περὶ Ἄρθρων) which is a study of the teachings ofHippocrates on the subject. This book was written inCyprus.[8] A copy of this work was found in the library of theByzantine doctor Nikitas, and it is now kept inFlorence. The book was written under the patronage of the king Ptolemaius (Ptolemy of Cyprus) c. 81-58 BC. It is divided into three sections written at different times. The first part discusses the dislocations of the shoulder; the second discusses those of the elbow, wrist, jaw and spine, whereas the third and final part discusses the dislocations of the lower limbs. The book includes 30 hand-painted pictures, believed to be copies made from the original book written by Hippocrates himself.
It is believed that he wrote a book on epilepsy (On Epileptics).[9] This has not survived.Herodian mentions that Apollonios wrote (or co-authored) a total of 21 books. Some of these were studies on the adverse effects of alcohol, elaborating on the type of voice produced during drunkenness. One of the books was on general therapy (curationes).
Many modern students of Ancient Greek and Cypriot medical history have written about Apollonios.Larnaca Municipality has given his name to a street, and more recently, has dedicated a statue in a main square of the town. The hand-painted drawings of Apollonios from his books on joints have been exhibited in a variety of medical and historical exhibitions. TheLaurentian Library inFlorence where the original manuscript is housed has agreed to allow the removal of the manuscript for the purposes of exhibition, only on very rare occasions.
In May 2013 theKyriazis Medical Museum in Larnaca organised a major event celebrating the 2000 years since Apollonios' death.
