Women's History: First Female Doctor of Ancient Greece?(Agnodice)Reading Passage

If you ask students to list a couple of famous women in history, I would think Harriet Tubman, Amelia Earhart and Rosa Parks may be mentioned. As a teacher of world history, too often there is a giant VOID when it comes to famous WOMEN in ancient History. My new series, Let’s Meet… people from the Ancient World includes several women who have made contributions in history. This particular reading is on Agnodice, thought to be the first female doctor of Ancient Greece. The short reading shares(in the first person) a recounting of the person’s life(in this case Agnodice). There are several Did You Know? fun facts, comprehension questions, a map skill activity for the area of the world the person lived, a teacher’s section with extension activities, the key and additional links.

*Historians questions if Agnodice actually existed. The reading supplies information about the time and the first recorded female who practiced medicine, Merit Ptah , who lived about 2700 BCE.

Others in the series currently include: Alexander the Great, Hammurabi, Hannibal, Hatshepsut, Ramses, Aglaonike,Hypatia and Aesop.