Aemilia Hilaria

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Aemilia Hilaria
Bornc. 300
Moselle, Roman Empire
Diedc. 363
Occupationphysician
RelativesAusonius (nephew)

Aemilia Hilaria (c. 300 – c. 363)[1] was a Gallo-Roman physician. She practiced medicine, and wrote books on gynecology and obstetrics. She was called "Hilaria" due to her cheerfulness as a baby.[2]

Early life[]

Aemilia was born in the Roman Empire, the area of present Moselle, France. She was the daughter of Caecilius Agricius Arborius and Aemilia Corinthia Maura, both poor nobles from Gaul.[3]

Physician[]

She continued to live in the area as an adult and became a physician there.[1] Aemilia was the maternal aunt of Ausonius, a Gallo-Roman senator who became tutor to the Emperor Gratian. Ausonius wrote a series of biographical poems about his family members, including Ameilia, called Parentalia.[4] Everything we know today about Aemilia and her family comes from Parentalia.[3] His poem about his aunt described her as a "dedicated virgin", who rejected marriage in order to further her career. He described her as "trained in the medical arts as well as any man."[5] He called her an honest and skilled physician, who also assisted her physician brother in his own studies.[1]

In popular culture[]

Aemilia is a featured figure on Judy Chicago's installation piece The Dinner Party, being represented as one of the 999 names on the Heritage Floor.[6]

References[]

  1. ^ a b c Ogilvie, Marilyn Bailey; Joy Harvey (2000). The biographical dictionary of women in science: pioneering lives from ancient times to the mid-20th century. Taylor & Francis US. p. 11. ISBN 978-0-415-92038-4. Retrieved 16 December 2011.
  2. ^ Gardner, Jane F. (1991). Women in Roman Law and Society (1st ed.). Indiana University Press. p. 182. ISBN 0-253-20635-9. OCLC 933449277.
  3. ^ a b "Aemilia Hilaria (fl. 350 CE) | Encyclopedia.com". www.encyclopedia.com. Retrieved 2020-09-07.
  4. ^ Decimus Magnus, Ausonius (1886). Rudolfus Peiper. (ed.). Opuscula. Part 3, Domestica, 33. Leipzig.
  5. ^ Furst, Lilian R. (1999). Women Healers and Physicians: Climbing a Long Hill. Lexington: University Press of Kentucky. p. 144. ISBN 0-8131-0954-X. OCLC 934008639.
  6. ^ "Aemilia". Elizabeth A. Sackler Center for Feminist Art: The Dinner Party: Heritage Floor. Brooklyn Museum. 2007. Retrieved 16 December 2011.

Bibliography[]

  • Hurd-Meade, Kate Campbell (1938). A History of Women in Medicine. Haddam Press; First edition.
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