Many Ancient Greek and Roman physicians (male) developed intricate theories about the female body which dovetailed neatly with their assumptions of women being inherently flawed and lesser than men. Among the most hysterical (this is a pun: “hysteria” comes from the word for “uterus,” and hysteria was a medical diagnosis for a grab-bag of female maladies) was the notion that a woman’s uterus floated in her body. The second-century CE physician Aretaeus wrote about how the womb could float up or down, left or right, in the female torso. According to him, “it is altogether erratic. It delights, also, in fragrant smells, and advances towards them. And, it has an aversion to fetid smells, and flees from them.” (Translation by Francis Adams)
Source(s): Photo: Hulton Images, Getty Photos.
