Agnodice

Agnodice (Greek: Ἀγνοδίκη, pronounced [aŋnodíkɛː]; c. 4th century BCE) is a legendary figure said to be the first female midwife or physician in ancient Athens.

Her story, originally told in the Fabulae (attributed to the Roman author Gaius Julius Hyginus), has been used to illustrate issues surrounding women in medicine and midwifery.

Agnodice is not generally considered a historical figure, but her legend has influenced discussions about gender roles in medical professions.

The story of Agnodice is known from a single ancient source, the Fabulae, a Latin handbook of mythology attributed to the Roman author Gaius Julius Hyginus.

She was charged with breaking the law which forbade women from practising medicine, but was defended by the wives of important Athenians whom she had treated.

[16] This second theory has been elaborated over time, with Kate Hurd-Mead, in 1938, proposing that women had been forbidden from practising medicine because they had been accused of performing abortions.

[17] This version of the story has been repeated by subsequent authors, such as Margaret Alic in 1986, and Elizabeth Oakes in her Encyclopedia of World Scientists in 2007.

[20] The broad arc of Agnodice's story – disguising herself as a man, being accused of immoral conduct, and exposing herself to prove her sex and her innocence – also parallels the legend of the early Christian martyr Eugenia.

[21] The story of Agnodice has been invoked since the sixteenth century to provide precedents for a range of gender options within the medical profession.