Accidental Discovery

In her final testament, Dr. Barry requested to be interred wearing the clothes she died in and for her body to be left unwashed as a final attempt to bury her long-kept secret along with her remains. This was disregarded, leading to the revelation that Dr. Barry, one of the most esteemed and awarded men in medicine at the time, was in fact a woman.

Agnodice: Ancient Greece’s First Woman Physician

Women in ancient Greece had very little dignity to speak of, often relegated to silent, domestic servitude to their spouses. Greek men were considered all-powerful while the women remained in the backdrops, serving only at their husband’s behest. With the belief that women had no reputation to speak of, it follows that no woman should ever hold important positions in society, reserving the professions to their male counterparts. Medicine, the practice of which is considered as one of the most esteemed vocations of all, was off-limits to women and the thought of having a woman as a doctor during those times was disgusting to say the least. It was so unacceptable that if a woman was caught attempting to practice the healing arts, certain death awaited. No woman, for fear of losing their life, dared to challenge the norm.

That is until one woman decided to go against the Greek society’s standards.