A naked woman on the walls of the Faculty of Medicine

Who is this Agnodice unveiling her charms to the magistrates of the Areopagus? Why is she appearing before the Athenian court? Why does the medallion speak of a woman doctor, when medicine was reserved for men? What does this story tell, displayed before the eyes of the students?

Agnodice of Athens (circa 300 BC)

Agnodice is a daughter of Athenian high society and lives a happy childhood in troubled times. But it's not political affairs that preoccupy her: her dream is to become a doctor... A strange dream for a girl from Athens. For in this society of male citizens, studying is forbidden to women and slaves. But Agnodice is adamant: she's going to be a doctor, and she's going to give herself the means to be one. Against all odds, if necessary.

She tells her father, a respected citizen of the town who adores his daughter. He likes everything about her: her beauty, her sparkling sense of humor, her quick wit and, above all, her fierce determination in all things. "Father, since only boys can study in this country, I'll dress up as a boy."

Cutting her hair first, she does so unapologetically, not looking for a moment at the pile of blond curls sprawled at the feet of her favorite slave, who cries with scissors in hand. A linen scarf soon crushes her chest, and her chiton is shortened at the knees like boys her age wear. She secures her belt to create a slightly exuberant bouffant that pulls the fabric away from her body and keeps her shape invisible.

Agnodice has become a boy, a charming young man, perhaps a little too fine-featured, but in ancient Greece this detail was worn rather well.
- You won't be able to study in Athens, we're too well known," says her father. But I've made contact with the best doctor of our time. He teaches in Alexandria, Egypt, under the name of Herophilus of Chalcedon, and the messenger has just given me his answer: he is eagerly awaiting my son Miltiades to teach him if he deems him worthy.
- Miltiades will be," replies his daughter, her brow furrowed, "and he won't disappoint you either.

The city of Alexandria has become, like the lighthouse that dominates its harbor, the cultural light of the world of its time. King Ptolemy has just created a new Mouseîon (Museum) and Library. He brings together in his city the greatest scholars of his time. There, Agnodice/Miltiades passionately follows the teaching of Herophilus, the prestigious master who runs the medical school. She was so passionate about teaching gynecology and obstetrics that, a few years later, Miltiades was awarded first place in the school's medical examination.

Returning to Athens

So it was to the art of childbirth and the treatment of women's diseases that Agnodice devoted herself on her return. It was a great success. Women put their trust in this handsome young physician, trained by the best of masters, who knew how to talk to them, understand them and whose talent was matched only by his modesty. Miltiades' reputation soon spread beyond the city walls, attracting patients from all over the Peloponnese.

So much so, that jealous colleagues (that already existed in Athens!) set about creating a cabal to destroy this brilliant young man who was becoming a nuisance by overshadowing them. They took him to the Areopagus, the supreme court of Athens, accusing him of using his profession to seduce and corrupt married women. The charge was a serious one, and the penalties were severe, up to and including death.

And so, one evening at dusk, Agnodice was brought before the archons of the Areopagus, who immediately made clear the seriousness of the accusations against her. There's only one way for her to silence these unworthy suspicions. Slowly, as a woman of lesser virtue would do, she drops her cloak at her feet and removes her chiton. She then appears magnificent in her nudity, provoking murmurs of both reproach and admiration from the ranks of the magistrates.

It becomes clear that the prosecution goes down with Agnodice's clothes. But the trouble doesn't go away, for the magistrates want exemplary punishment to undermine any desire the girls might have to follow such an example, and of course they forbid Agnodice to practice medicine.

That was without counting on the Athenians!

The very next day, all the women Agnodice had treated, those waiting to be treated and the others out of female solidarity, gathered furiously on the Agora, where the citizens gathered:
- You men are not spouses, but enemies, since you condemn the woman who has brought us care and health," proclaims the wife of an archon.
- Give us back Agnodice," say the others in chorus!

Faced with this "demonstration" by the women of Athens, the men, bewildered and, to put it bluntly, shaken by such unanimity, look at each other, no doubt thinking anxiously about the domestic consequences of the Areopagus' decisions. So much so, that the archons quickly reversed their decree and reinstated Agnodice to her rights and her profession as a doctor.

What the law of Athens refused, the women obtained.

And all this happened 23 centuries ago!