Ludwig Edelstein

Ludwig Edelstein was born in 1902 in Berlin. His doctoral dissertation, a groundbreaking analysis of the Hippocratic "On Airs, Waters, Places," and his early work in general, which explores the relationship between Greek physicians and religion, philosophy, and ethics, is characterized by a tendency to challenge established academic views. With the rise of Nazism, he was deprived of his position at the Institute for the History of Medicine in Berlin. In 1934, he sold his father's business and, after spending a year in Italy, emigrated to the United States, initially to Baltimore and then to Washington and Berkeley, California, before returning in 1951 to Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore. His medical-related articles were compiled into a volume titled "Ancient Medicine: Selected Papers of Ludwig Edelstein," and his books "Asclepius: A Collection and Interpretation of the Testimonies (Ancient Religion and Mythology)," edited by his wife Emma, and "Selected Philosophical Papers," published in 1987, are also available. A significant contribution of Edelstein to the field of ancient philosophy is the publication of the fragments of the Stoic philosopher Posidonius (L. E. Edelstein - I.G. Kidd, "Posidonius: The Fragments" and "Translation of the Fragments"). He passed away in August 1965, leaving behind numerous unpublished studies, including his lectures, which were published a year after his death by Harvard University Press.