Eryximachus, iatrotechnai, iatromanteis: images of the doctor in Greece. Philosophy, comedy, tragedy and a Velia inscription

Within a reexamination of the linguistic evidence concerning the physicians in classical Greece, the article proposes to read the reference to iatrotechnai in Aristophanes’ Clouds 332 in the light of the figure of Eryximachus as described in Plato’s dialogues, mirroring the society of the time and the attempts of the rationalist doctor to be accepted among the leading intellectuals, the sophists. A fragment of Eupolis gives additional information on this social milieu, and allows to better outline the figure of Callias III, who provided housing and financial support to Socrates, the sophists and other intellectuals. In the second part, a discussion on the actual existence of iatromanteis and on the occurrences of the term is proposed, including the Velia inscription no. 20, in form of a reaction to a recent article by W.V. Harris, who argues against the historical existence of such figures and opposes the current reconstruction of the text of the inscription.