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Couvade in the Ancient Greek literature: disease or ritual performance?
Journal Pre-proof Couvade in the Ancient Greek literature: disease or ritual performance? Marios Papadakis, Andreas Manios PII:
S0033-3182(20)30001-3
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.psym.2020.01.001
Reference:
PSYM 1052
To appear in:
Psychosomatics
Received Date: 5 January 2020 Revised Date:
6 January 2020
Accepted Date: 6 January 2020
Please cite this article as: Papadakis M, Manios A, Couvade in the Ancient Greek literature: disease or ritual performance?, Psychosomatics (2020), doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.psym.2020.01.001. This is a PDF file of an article that has undergone enhancements after acceptance, such as the addition of a cover page and metadata, and formatting for readability, but it is not yet the definitive version of record. This version will undergo additional copyediting, typesetting and review before it is published in its final form, but we are providing this version to give early visibility of the article. Please note that, during the production process, errors may be discovered which could affect the content, and all legal disclaimers that apply to the journal pertain. © 2020 Academy of Consultation-Liaison Psychiatry. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
TITLE PAGE
Title: Couvade in the Ancient Greek literature: disease or ritual performance?
Authors & Affiliations: Marios Papadakis1, Andreas Manios2 1
Department of Surgery, Helios University Clinic, University Witten-Herdecke, Germany.
2
Department of Surgical Oncology, University Hospital of Crete, Heraklion, Greece
Conflicts of interest: No conflicts of interest.
Corresponding author: Marios Papadakis, M.D., Ph.D. Helios University Clinic, University Hospital Witten-Herdecke Department of Surgery Heusnerstr. 40, 42283 Wuppertal, Germany email: [email protected]
1
Couvade in the Ancient Greek literature: disease or ritual performance?
Abstract Introduction: Couvade, also known as sympathetic pregnancy, is the phenomenon whereby the expectant father experiences somatic symptoms during his wife's pregnancy, delivery, or postpartum period. It can be both a ritualised behavior and an expression of psychosomatic complaints. We, herein, present early descriptions of couvade, provided from ancient Greek authors. Material-Methods: The whole ancient Greek literature was digitally searched. All relevant references were analyzed from the original sources. Results: There are at least five references to couvade in the ancient Greek literature from the following writers: Diodorus Siculus (1st century BC), Strabo (1st century BC-AD), Plutarch (1st century AD), Zenobius (2nd century AD) and Apollonius Rhodius (3rd century AD).. Discussion-Conclusion: All references presented, describe couvade as a ritual practice, the most usual pattern being lying in bed and mimicking physical pain. Couvade as psychosomatic complain has also been described, but, for a number a reasons is often overlooked, especially its mild forms. We conclude that ancient Greek writers were aware of ritual couvade, as reflected from the numerous existing descriptions tracing back to the antiquity, i.e. 1st century BC - 3rd century AD.
Key-Words: Couvade, History, Ancient Greece, Apollonios,
2
Sir, Couvade, also known as sympathetic pregnancy, is the phenomenon whereby the expectant father experiences somatic symptoms during his wife's pregnancy, delivery, or postpartum period (1). These symptoms can resemble pregnancy symptoms, labor or other actions of birthing women. It can be both a ritualised behavior and an expression of psychosomatic complaints. We, herein, present early descriptions of couvade, provided from ancient Greek authors: Diodorus Siculus (1st century BC), Strabo (1st century BC-AD), Plutarch (1st century AD), Zenobius (2nd century AD) and Apollonius Rhodius (3rd century AD). Diodorus Siculus, was an ancient historian born in Sicily, who flourished in the 1st century BC. Diodorus gives a brief but clear description of the couvade, as, to his knowledge, was practised in Corsica: “It is weird what happens with their childbirths: when the woman is pregnant, no concern is raised regarding her delivery, but it is her husband who lies at his bed, as if he were sick, and he stays in bed for a specified number of days, pretending that he experiences severe body pain” (2). To our knowledge, this is the earliest description of couvade in the existing literature. Strabo, the Greek geographer and historian of the 1st century (63 BC - 24 AD), left us a brief description of couvade as practised by the Iberians: “These feelings are common both to the Keltic, Thracian and Scythian nations, as well as the valour not only of their men, but likewise of their women. These till the ground, and after parturition, having put their husbands instead of themselves to bed, they wait upon them” (3). Plutarch (46-120 AD), was a Greek biographer and essayist, born in Chaeronea, Greece. In his proverb collection titled “De Proverbiis Alexandrinorum” he states that “When their women are pregnant, Tibareni bow their head and lie in bed” (4). Exactly, the same description is found by Zenobius, a Greek sophist who lived in the 2nd century, in his only work still extant, titled “Epitome collectionum Lucilli Tarrhaei et Didymi” (5). 3
Astonishgly, Plutarch in his literalistic biography Theseus reproduces a description of Paeon the Amathusian about men practising couvade in Amathus (now Limassol, Cyprus): “Paeon says further that Theseus came back, and was greatly afflicted, and left a sum of money with the people of the island, enjoining them to sacrifice to Ariadne, and caused two little statuettes to be set up in her honour, one of silver, and one of bronze. He says also that at the sacrifice in her honour on the second day of the month Gorpiaeus, one of their young men lies down and imitates the cries and gestures of women in travail; and that they call the grove in which they show her tomb, the grove of Ariadne Aphrodite”(6). Apollonius Rhodius, was a Greek writer, born in Alexandria, under the reign of Ptolemy, who later moved to Rhodes. His most famous work, Argonautica, is an epic poem about the voyage of Jason and the Argonauts and their quest for the Golden Fleece. Argonautica consists of four books, the second one providing a short description of couvade: “And straightway thereafter they rounded the headland of Genetaean Zeus and sped safely past the land of the Tibareni. Here when wives bring forth children to their husbands, the men lie in bed and groan with their heads close bound; but the women tend them with food, and prepare child-birth baths for them” (7). The Tibareni were the residents of an area on the coast of ancient Pontus, i.e. the modern-day eastern Black Sea Region, on the east of the river Isis. Newman comments on Apollonius’ description that “the fact that such a bald statement of the couvade was considered sufficient by the author, who was normally rather prolix, is perhaps some evidence that the custom was so well-known that it required no further explanation” (1). All these references describe couvade as a ritual practice, the most usual pattern being lying in bed and mimicking physical pain. Ritual couvade is believed to be a voluntary conscious behavior of preindustrial societies, whereas couvade as psychosomatic complaint is an involuntary phenomenon observed in industrial societies. We now know that couvade can also
4
present as psychosomatic complain, which, for a number a reasons is often overlooked, especially in its milder forms. We conclude that ancient Greek writers were aware of ritual couvade, as reflected from the numerous existing descriptions tracing back to the antiquity, i.e. 1st century BC - 3rd century AD.
5
References 1. Newman LF: Some references to the couvade in literature. Folklore 1942;53(3):148-157 2. Diodorus Siculus: Diodori bibliotheca historica. Lipsiae, in Aedibus B.G. Teubneri, 1867, pp 18 3. Falconer W, Hamilton HC: The geography of Strabo. London, Henry G. Bohn, 1854, pp 247 4. Crusius O: Plutarchi de proverbiis Alexandrinorum libellus ineditus. Tübingen, Fues et Kostenbader, 1887 5. von Leutsch E, Schneidewin F: Corpus paroemiographorum graecorum. Vol 1. Göttingen, Vandenhoeck et Ruprecht, 1839, pp 127 6. Perrin B. Plutarch's Lives: in eleven volumes. Vol. 1, Theseus and Romulus, Lycurgus and Numa, Solon and Publicola. London, William Heinemann LTD, 1967, pp 43 7. Seaton RC: Apollonius Rhodius, The Argonautica. New York, The Macmillan Co, 1912, pp 171
6
S0033-3182(20)30001-3
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.psym.2020.01.001
Reference:
PSYM 1052
To appear in:
Psychosomatics
Received Date: 5 January 2020 Revised Date:
6 January 2020
Accepted Date: 6 January 2020
Please cite this article as: Papadakis M, Manios A, Couvade in the Ancient Greek literature: disease or ritual performance?, Psychosomatics (2020), doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.psym.2020.01.001. This is a PDF file of an article that has undergone enhancements after acceptance, such as the addition of a cover page and metadata, and formatting for readability, but it is not yet the definitive version of record. This version will undergo additional copyediting, typesetting and review before it is published in its final form, but we are providing this version to give early visibility of the article. Please note that, during the production process, errors may be discovered which could affect the content, and all legal disclaimers that apply to the journal pertain. © 2020 Academy of Consultation-Liaison Psychiatry. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
TITLE PAGE
Title: Couvade in the Ancient Greek literature: disease or ritual performance?
Authors & Affiliations: Marios Papadakis1, Andreas Manios2 1
Department of Surgery, Helios University Clinic, University Witten-Herdecke, Germany.
2
Department of Surgical Oncology, University Hospital of Crete, Heraklion, Greece
Conflicts of interest: No conflicts of interest.
Corresponding author: Marios Papadakis, M.D., Ph.D. Helios University Clinic, University Hospital Witten-Herdecke Department of Surgery Heusnerstr. 40, 42283 Wuppertal, Germany email: [email protected]
1
Couvade in the Ancient Greek literature: disease or ritual performance?
Abstract Introduction: Couvade, also known as sympathetic pregnancy, is the phenomenon whereby the expectant father experiences somatic symptoms during his wife's pregnancy, delivery, or postpartum period. It can be both a ritualised behavior and an expression of psychosomatic complaints. We, herein, present early descriptions of couvade, provided from ancient Greek authors. Material-Methods: The whole ancient Greek literature was digitally searched. All relevant references were analyzed from the original sources. Results: There are at least five references to couvade in the ancient Greek literature from the following writers: Diodorus Siculus (1st century BC), Strabo (1st century BC-AD), Plutarch (1st century AD), Zenobius (2nd century AD) and Apollonius Rhodius (3rd century AD).. Discussion-Conclusion: All references presented, describe couvade as a ritual practice, the most usual pattern being lying in bed and mimicking physical pain. Couvade as psychosomatic complain has also been described, but, for a number a reasons is often overlooked, especially its mild forms. We conclude that ancient Greek writers were aware of ritual couvade, as reflected from the numerous existing descriptions tracing back to the antiquity, i.e. 1st century BC - 3rd century AD.
Key-Words: Couvade, History, Ancient Greece, Apollonios,
2
Sir, Couvade, also known as sympathetic pregnancy, is the phenomenon whereby the expectant father experiences somatic symptoms during his wife's pregnancy, delivery, or postpartum period (1). These symptoms can resemble pregnancy symptoms, labor or other actions of birthing women. It can be both a ritualised behavior and an expression of psychosomatic complaints. We, herein, present early descriptions of couvade, provided from ancient Greek authors: Diodorus Siculus (1st century BC), Strabo (1st century BC-AD), Plutarch (1st century AD), Zenobius (2nd century AD) and Apollonius Rhodius (3rd century AD). Diodorus Siculus, was an ancient historian born in Sicily, who flourished in the 1st century BC. Diodorus gives a brief but clear description of the couvade, as, to his knowledge, was practised in Corsica: “It is weird what happens with their childbirths: when the woman is pregnant, no concern is raised regarding her delivery, but it is her husband who lies at his bed, as if he were sick, and he stays in bed for a specified number of days, pretending that he experiences severe body pain” (2). To our knowledge, this is the earliest description of couvade in the existing literature. Strabo, the Greek geographer and historian of the 1st century (63 BC - 24 AD), left us a brief description of couvade as practised by the Iberians: “These feelings are common both to the Keltic, Thracian and Scythian nations, as well as the valour not only of their men, but likewise of their women. These till the ground, and after parturition, having put their husbands instead of themselves to bed, they wait upon them” (3). Plutarch (46-120 AD), was a Greek biographer and essayist, born in Chaeronea, Greece. In his proverb collection titled “De Proverbiis Alexandrinorum” he states that “When their women are pregnant, Tibareni bow their head and lie in bed” (4). Exactly, the same description is found by Zenobius, a Greek sophist who lived in the 2nd century, in his only work still extant, titled “Epitome collectionum Lucilli Tarrhaei et Didymi” (5). 3
Astonishgly, Plutarch in his literalistic biography Theseus reproduces a description of Paeon the Amathusian about men practising couvade in Amathus (now Limassol, Cyprus): “Paeon says further that Theseus came back, and was greatly afflicted, and left a sum of money with the people of the island, enjoining them to sacrifice to Ariadne, and caused two little statuettes to be set up in her honour, one of silver, and one of bronze. He says also that at the sacrifice in her honour on the second day of the month Gorpiaeus, one of their young men lies down and imitates the cries and gestures of women in travail; and that they call the grove in which they show her tomb, the grove of Ariadne Aphrodite”(6). Apollonius Rhodius, was a Greek writer, born in Alexandria, under the reign of Ptolemy, who later moved to Rhodes. His most famous work, Argonautica, is an epic poem about the voyage of Jason and the Argonauts and their quest for the Golden Fleece. Argonautica consists of four books, the second one providing a short description of couvade: “And straightway thereafter they rounded the headland of Genetaean Zeus and sped safely past the land of the Tibareni. Here when wives bring forth children to their husbands, the men lie in bed and groan with their heads close bound; but the women tend them with food, and prepare child-birth baths for them” (7). The Tibareni were the residents of an area on the coast of ancient Pontus, i.e. the modern-day eastern Black Sea Region, on the east of the river Isis. Newman comments on Apollonius’ description that “the fact that such a bald statement of the couvade was considered sufficient by the author, who was normally rather prolix, is perhaps some evidence that the custom was so well-known that it required no further explanation” (1). All these references describe couvade as a ritual practice, the most usual pattern being lying in bed and mimicking physical pain. Ritual couvade is believed to be a voluntary conscious behavior of preindustrial societies, whereas couvade as psychosomatic complaint is an involuntary phenomenon observed in industrial societies. We now know that couvade can also
4
present as psychosomatic complain, which, for a number a reasons is often overlooked, especially in its milder forms. We conclude that ancient Greek writers were aware of ritual couvade, as reflected from the numerous existing descriptions tracing back to the antiquity, i.e. 1st century BC - 3rd century AD.
5
References 1. Newman LF: Some references to the couvade in literature. Folklore 1942;53(3):148-157 2. Diodorus Siculus: Diodori bibliotheca historica. Lipsiae, in Aedibus B.G. Teubneri, 1867, pp 18 3. Falconer W, Hamilton HC: The geography of Strabo. London, Henry G. Bohn, 1854, pp 247 4. Crusius O: Plutarchi de proverbiis Alexandrinorum libellus ineditus. Tübingen, Fues et Kostenbader, 1887 5. von Leutsch E, Schneidewin F: Corpus paroemiographorum graecorum. Vol 1. Göttingen, Vandenhoeck et Ruprecht, 1839, pp 127 6. Perrin B. Plutarch's Lives: in eleven volumes. Vol. 1, Theseus and Romulus, Lycurgus and Numa, Solon and Publicola. London, William Heinemann LTD, 1967, pp 43 7. Seaton RC: Apollonius Rhodius, The Argonautica. New York, The Macmillan Co, 1912, pp 171
6