Agnodice’s legacy is a very peculiar one, and whether it is true or not has been debated over and over, time and time again. Any and everything we know about her life comes from the Latin author, Gaius Julius Hyginus. He wrote her story in his collection titled, “Fabulae”, which is the only surviving record of her existence. Fabulae roughly translated can mean “fable” or “story”, hinting that Hyginus’ accounts of Agnodice’s life and accomplishments have a possibility of being fictional. Even the name, Agnodice, translated from Ancient Greek means “chaste before justice.
This is another reason some believe that Agnodice is a mythical character created by Hyginus, as giving such characters names that coincide with their tale was done commonly in ancient mythical literature and folklore. Although all of this reigns true, Agnodice is still recognized historically as the very first female gynecologist. There is not enough tangible evidence for either side of the argument to say definitely whether Hyginus’ story carries truth from the life of a real woman, or if she never even existed beyond his own imagination.
What we do know about Agnodice is that she lived during the late 4th century BCE. She was born to a wealthy amily into the very patriarchal society of Athens, Greece. Men dominated every aspect of Greek life. They were the doctors, lawyers, government officials, and women were just… women. They had a sort of restricted free will; they did not share the same rights as men at this time. It is well-known that, “women were prohibited… from ever ‘achieving the status of fully autonomous beings’… he could not inherit property or engage in any but the most small scale business transactions. ” (Radek- Hall)
Often women were not even allowed to leave their home without the permission of the man of the house. Legally, women were seen as the property of their fathers, and when they were married off they became the property of their husband. The misogyny that was so prominent in Greek culture was enforced by law as well, not just by societal standards. Agnodice grew up in the midst of all of this and she knew that change was necessary.
While the men held higher status, women were generally pushed to hetaira positions; they tended to domestic life. They were mothers, housewives, weavers, nurses, maias (midwives), educated courtesans, or prostitutes. Maias were the women in the town that have undergone labour or have reviously coached other women through the process. Eventually, “Midwives began to accumulate an impressive breadth of lore and talent, learning enough to perform abortions, teach women about contraception… ” and the male- dominant medical community was not keen on women developing this level of independence.
The doctors felt that their careers were being threatened. (Saldarriaga) These unsettled male doctors, with the support of the all-male Athenian city council, passed laws making it illegal for women to study or practice medicine – including abortions and childbirth. The result of passing these laws was a very high increase in xcruciatingly painful, or even fatal, childbirths. Of course, because women were still expected to stay modest and shy they, “adamantly refused to let male physicians perform examinations or help with deliveries. (Saldarriaga) They were taught to be submissive and ashamed of their bodies, so a thick wall of mistrust built between the women of Athens and the medical community. This is where Agnodice’s legacy begins. Legally, Agnodice was prohibited from doing anything to help the women of her community. She bore witness to an endless number of childbirths gone wrong before she was able to conjure up a solution. Her solution was to transform herself so that she could study and practice medicine; her solution was to disguise herself as a man.
She created a completely new identity for herself so that she would be able to study and serve the suffering women of Athens. The original story of Agnodice states, “A certain girl, Agnodice, a virgin desired to learn medicine, and since she desired it, she cut her hair, and in male attire came to a certain Herophilus for training. ” (Hyginus) With her father’s permission and support, she traveled to Alexandria, Egypt to study under the great anatomist of their time, Herophilus. If anyone back home in Athens were question her whereabouts they were told she was, “.. isiting a sick friend in Alexandria,” so as not to reveal her true cause and risk capital punishment. (“Agnodice: the first gyno to Greek women”) Not only did she have to disguise herself in Athens, but in Alexandria as well, as she attended an all-male institution. When she completed her studies, she came back home. Her first patient was completely at random. As the story goes,.. she heard the agonized screams of a woman in labor as she walked down the street.
When she rushed in to help – still looking like a man – he mistrustful women in the room tried to force Agnodice out. (Saldarriaga) To gain the women’s trust, Agnodice boldly removed her clothing, revealing that she was a woman as well. The women allowed Agnodice to help, and she was able to perform a safe delivery. Agnodice continued to masquerade as a male, but word spread around the city that a mysterious female doctor existed. Originally, she was a wive’s tale; only the women knew of her. Then, the doctors of Athens noticed that her – or rather, “his” – services were in high demand among all these women who had adamantly refused any help from doctors in the past.
It was suspicious to them that these women would only trust Agnodice, especially because the men were ignorant to her secret. “. They accused Agnodice of seducing their patients. They also claimed that the women had feigned illness in order to get visits from [her]. ” (“Agnodice Facts”) They were so enraged that they brought Agnodice to trial. The male leaders of Athens wanted her prosecuted, but their own wives – some of which had required Agnodice’s help – stood against them. Although Agnodice had all this female support, she had to defend herself against these accusations of seduction and rape.
She did so in the boldest way she could. Agnodice did the same thing in court as she did to gain so many women’s trust; she revealed her sex. The male doctors became even more furious. They, “began to accuse her all the more vehemently [for breaking the law forbidding women to study medicine]. ” (“Agnodice in Childbirth”) The women argued her defense. The strongest statement given in this trial was: “You men are not spouses, but enemies, since you are condemning her who discovered health for us. ” This was the argument that saved Agnodice, and then helped to lift the law against freeborn women studying and practicing medicine in Athens.
In history, Agnodice’s story and this argument have been used to defend women’s rights within the health and medical domain a number of times. For example: medicalizing childbirth, the right to birth control, the right to abortions, etc. Agnodice is a pioneer for women in the medical field, and regardless of whether her story is true or fictional does not take away from the inspiration it carries. Saldarriaga sums it up best, “Agnodice not only represents the [… ] desire for women to control their own bodies, but also the underdog’s determination in the face of impossible odds or deadly threats. “
