03/10/2023
The doctor who was sentenced to death
Doctor "Ecnodice" was born in ancient Greece in the year 300 BC.
And women were prevented from studying medicine when Akunidis grew up and became interested in medicine, as she cut her hair, disguised herself as a man, and entered the medical school in Alexandria.
Once, while she was walking in the streets of Athens after completing her medical education and returning to Greece, she heard the cries of a woman due to labor, and that woman did not want to be touched by Acnodis even though she was in severe pain, because she thought she was a man, so Acnodis took off her clothes in front of the woman To make sure she wasn't a man and helped her deliver her baby.
And soon the story spread among the women and all the sick women began to go to Aknodis, so the envy of the male doctors increased and they accused Aknodis, who they believed to be a male like them, of seducing female patients, which led to her trial, and when Aknodis appeared before the court and proved that she is a woman, She was sentenced to death for studying medicine, practicing medicine as a woman, and breaking the law.
At that time, women revolted against the ruling, especially the wives of the judges who had sentenced to death, and insisted that if Aknodis was executed, they would all commit su***de and die with her.
And due to the judges and rulers not tolerating the pressures of their wives, the death penalty was lifted, and since then women have been allowed to practice medicine, provided that they specialize in gynecological diseases only.
Thus, Aknodis left her mark in history as the first Greek doctor and gynecologist.
Image: This carved panel depicting Ecnodice giving birth was reportedly found in Ostia, Italy.
