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Cover of: Galen's Religious Itineraries
Antoine Pietrobelli

Galen's Religious Itineraries

Section: Articles
Volume 3 (2017) / Issue 2, pp. 221-241 (21)
Published 09.07.2018
DOI 10.1628/219944617X15008820103388
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    CC BY-SA 4.0
  • 10.1628/219944617X15008820103388
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Summary
This paper intends to show the multifaceted and evolutive attitude of Galen towards religion, by exploring three new hypotheses. My first point is to deepen his personal relationship with Asclepius and to question the meaning of the word 'therapeutes' used by Galen to describe his personal connection with the god. Secondly, I try to explain Galen's shift over time: how could he praise an all-mighty and provident demiurge at the beginning of his career to become a confessed agnostic at the end of his life? My third suggestion is to read some parts of the Galenic corpus as acts of devotion to the gods and to interpret the writing of the whole corpus as a religious strategy for immortality.