Timeline: Pedanius Dioscorides, c. 40–90 CE

Pedanius Dioscorides (sometimes Pedanus Dioscurides), a first-century Greek physician, is considered the most important pharmaceutical writer of ancient times. According to an article on NewAdvent.org, Dioscorides "simplified greatly the pharmacopoeia, which had then assumed unwieldy dimensions, and freed it from ridiculous, superstitious remedies."

His five-volume book, De Materia Medica, is considered the precursor of modern pharmacopeias, and was in use for over 1,500 years. The first volume deals with aromatics (e.g. oils, gums); the second, with living creatures, fats, cereals, and herbs; the third, with roots; the fourth, with "other herbs and roots"; and the fifth, with wines and vines. In total, Dioscorides described about 1,000 remedies, with almost 5,000 uses, using approximately 600 plants and plant products, as well as a few animal products and minerals.

Dioscorides was born in Cilicia, located in Asia Minor (modern day Turkey). At the time of his birth, Cicilia was a province of the Roman Empire. He studied at Tarsus (in Asia Minor) and Alexandria (Egypt), and served as physician with the Roman legions throughout Greece, Italy, Asia Minor, and Provence (south of France). His travels with the army allowed him to study diseases and research medicinal plants and substances throughout much of the known world.

A new, 1008-page translation of De Materia Medica was made in 2000 and is available through Ibidis Press.

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