Pedanius Dioscorides was a Greek physician who was born in 40 AD in Cilicia, Asia Minor. He studied medicine in Tarsus, Turkey and developed an interest in botany and pharmacology whilst at school. He served as a surgeon in the Roman emperor Nero’s army which enabled him to travel extensively. He collected samples of plants and minerals and studied their features, distribution and medicinal properties.
He consolidated his knowledge into a monumental five-book volume called De Materia Medica which deals with descriptions of nearly 600 plants and their uses and lists around 1,000 medicinal drugs. One-fifth of these remedies are still considered to be effective.
His seminal work was translated into 7 languages and remained the prime authority in the field of pharmacology in Europe and the Middle East for 16 centuries!
The plant genus Dioscorea and a butterfly called Ampittia dioscorides, which is found in India and China, are named after him.
Picture Credit : Google
