Selene of Alexandria (16 page)

"No, Father, a chaperone is fine. It's just…I want to study more than Philosophy. I want to study medicine and become a physician."

"What?" Calistus spluttered. "That is entirely different." He motioned to his guests. "You made no mention of learned women physicians among our class. I can't have my daughter entering a profession."

"Christian women of all classes practice medicine. I met a most remarkable physician – the daughter and widow of a nobleman – in Constantinople." Phillip came to her defense. "She trained a number of young girls to work in the Christian women's hospital."

Selene threw her brother a grateful smile then knelt at her father's feet. "Please, father. I will abide by any restrictions you wish. Let me follow this path. I have a true calling."

Orestes approached and put a hand on the older man's arm. "Calistus, a talent for healing is a true gift from God. If Selene has it, she should be allowed to learn and use it wisely."

Hypatia rose and joined the trio at the table. "I will personally see to her teachers. Only ones of the highest honor and reputation will be recommended to you."

Selene looked up at her father with shining eyes and hopeful face.

Calistus glanced at the accounts stacked on his desk, the gray tone returning to his complexion. "You are too much for me. Selene may study medicine, but not until next week. She is confined to the house till next Sabbath."

"Oh, Father, thank you!" Selene flung her arms around her father and hugged him till he grunted.

"Be careful, or your first patient will be an old man with cracked ribs."

She let him go, rose and bowed to her guests. "Thank you. Both of you. Honored Teacher," she turned to Hypatia, "when may I wait on you after the next Sabbath?"

"This day next week after the mid-day meal will be fine, my dear. I'll send word where we may meet. Come, Orestes." She linked arms with the Prefect. "We must complete our tour."

A discreet servant showed the guests to the door. Selene left to make the long overdue willow bark tea, but not before she overheard Phillip saying. "Father, with Selene studying, we'll need a housekeeper, one experienced with our staff…"

Chapter 12

The next week Calistus personally escorted Selene to the scholars' precinct south of the Caesarion to meet with Hypatia. They found her in a scriptorium where dozens of men, both old and young, hunched over tables copying texts for use in the Library or sale to private collectors.

After greetings, Hypatia asked Selene, "Do you write a fair hand, my child?"

"Yes, Lady. My tutors gave me high marks in writing Greek and Latin."

"Good. All students and apprentices do some work in the scriptorium. We've lost thousands of volumes through the centuries to war and fire. We want to preserve the rest."

"The public library at the Serapeum burned in my youth." Calistus shook his head. "A great loss."

"That was a terrible time." A sad look stole over Hypatia's face then she brightened, gesturing toward a small group of men piecing together a deteriorating papyrus scroll. "Here is preservation rather than destruction. The copies are written on parchment and bound in codices. The book is a much more durable and convenient form than the papyrus scroll. Come, I'll show you the main parts of the Library, then introduce Selene to her teachers."

Hypatia glided down the main aisle of the scriptorium flanked by the scratching of reed on parchment. Selene and her father followed closely. They exited to a maze of covered walkways where bound codices and older scrolls wrapped in leather sleeves rested in row after row of recessed niches hidden behind the columns. Dangling tags identified the contents of scrolls organized in collections of literature, philosophy and science.

"Here's where the medical texts are housed." Hypatia indicated a side aisle. They turned the corner to see an ancient man sorting through dusty scrolls and large bound books. His fringe of white hair floated like spiders' webs around his dried apple face.

"I know it's here somewhere," the old man muttered as he replaced a scroll and stretched to pull down another. He couldn't reach the shelf and gave a little jump, his robes hiking up to show skinny ankles ribbed with blue veins.

"Auxentius, why don't you use a stool? I'm not sure your frail bones will take the beating you're giving them." Hypatia indicated a short wooden stool at the side of the aisle. Selene went to retrieve it.

"My dear Lady Philosopher, what would you know about bones? I promise to leave things of the mind to you if you agree to leave things of the body to me." Two red spots stained the old man's cheeks as he gasped for breath.

"Here, Master." Selene approached with the stool. "Or I could get the scroll for you?"

Auxentius blinked up at her as if trying to bring her into focus. "What? Oh, er, the third one from the left on the second shelf from the top." Even with her height, Selene had to use the stool to get the scroll. It would have been totally beyond the old man's reach.

He snatched for the document like a magpie going for a shiny trinket. "Thanks, child. Now where is that reference?" Auxentius sat on the stool and spread his treasure on his lap. "Damn pests!" He shook the scroll, releasing a cloud of tiny desiccated insect bodies. Selene saw several holes in the fragile papyrus. "We lose more books to bugs and vermin than to fire or theft," the old man muttered.

The old man bobbed his head. "So we did, so we did. I forgot. Which reminds me..." His muttering subsided as he stroked his beardless cheek. After a moment of blankness, he became aware of them again. "Did you say it was after noon?"

Hypatia nodded. Selene spoke up. "Master Auxentius, have you eaten your mid-day meal? I've found the mind works better when the stomach is well fed."

"Food? I think I had some fruit this morning. Or was that yesterday? No matter. We can go to the dining hall and I can examine you there. Hypatia told me you have already studied using some unorthodox methods. Let's see what you really know." The old man hobbled down the aisle.

"Don't worry, my child," Hypatia said. "Auxentius is a most learned teacher in medical history and theory. He only wants to test your knowledge so he can plan your studies. I'll come to the dining hall in an hour and take you to meet your anatomy teacher. Come, Calistus, I wish to talk to you about the council's latest decisions concerning public water."

Selene glanced at her father, who smiled his approval. Auxentius led Selene down the corridor, occasionally murmuring something incomprehensible. She assumed he was not talking to her and, since he waited for no response, she followed quietly. When they reached the common dining hall of the scholar's quarter, he seated himself at a long stained wooden table and waved over a youngster carrying a heavy load of used dishes. The child tottered over and stood sweating beneath his burden. "Boy, get me some wine, fruit and meat rolls from the kitchen. Anything for you, my dear?" He looked at Selene. She shook her head. "Good. It's difficult to talk with your mouth full. Tell me what you know about Aesculapius, Hippocrates, Herophilus, Galen and Pliny. What were their major contributions to medicine? Discuss their seminal texts and contemporary criticisms of their beliefs."

Selene sat frozen with mouth agape, her mind temporarily blank. She had not prepared for an examination. Auxentius peered at her with heavily lidded eyes that didn't blink. He reminded her of the small lizards that sunned themselves on the rocky beaches where she ran. The absurd thought broke through Selene's panic. She took a deep breath and started, "Aesculapius is the Greek god of healing. The pagans call his daughters Hygieia and Panacea goddesses of…"

"Wrong! Ancient people ignorantly believed them to be gods." Auxentius snorted. "They were real people like you or me. Continue."

Selene wished she had ordered some watered wine from the boy. Her mouth felt dry and her nerves jumpy. She rushed ahead, storing the implications of Auxentius' statement about two famous women healers away for later contemplation. "H-Hippocrates was one of the first physicians to describe his patients' illnesses in detail. His writings are still in use today. Several of his sayings are everyday knowledge such as 'When sleep puts an end to delirium it is a good sign.'"

Auxentius nodded in grudging approval just as his food arrived. Absently, he started stuffing himself, breadcrumbs dropping into his robes. A dribble of fruit juice leaked from the corner of his mouth but stopped halfway down his chin. Selene tried to concentrate.

"Herophilus is not familiar to me, Master."

"Ignorant child!" the old man muttered, devouring the last of a meat roll. "Herophilus wrote the first anatomy text based on real observations. Damn churchmen won't allow us to do dissections on humans now. Not even criminals!" He rambled on, proving it was difficult to talk, much less be understood, with a full mouth. Selene dropped her head in despair at keeping up with his seemingly inexhaustible store of knowledge. In the middle of a rant about the absurdity of some obscure author, he suddenly took note of her again. "Continue. What of Galen and Pliny?" He waved a pomegranate vaguely in the air.

Selene forged ahead in a tentative voice. "Galen of Pergamon was a physician to the Roman Emperors. His writing on anatomy and treatment of diseases is considered the definitive text in modern medicine."

"Galen studied here in Alexandria as well as Pergamon and Rome," Auxentius muttered into a bread roll. Selene waited for him to embroider his comments, but he seemed satisfied.

"Your opinion, girl." Auxentius tipped his head to the side. "If you want to be a physician, you must have an opinion and not be afraid to tell others."

Selene intuitively knew the truth of his words. All good physicians exuded a sense of confidence, inspiring people in their ability to cure – whether justified or not.

"I found much to admire in Natural History, Master, but also much that was fantastical. In particular, I doubt the existence of a race of headless men or another with feet so large they use them to shade themselves from the sun."

"Absolutely right! Rubbish! How any intelligent man could swallow such donkey dung, I don't understand." He wandered off into another lecture, this one on the uselessness of cataloging information without testing its veracity.

"Auxentius, are you quite through?" Selene heard with relief Hypatia's amused tone over her shoulder.

"Yes, the meal was quite satisfying. I'm not sure what kind of meat the cook uses in the rolls, but they are very tasty…"

"I mean with Selene. Are you finished testing her?"

"Oh, the girl. Yes, yes. Quite satisfactory. Knows her Pliny. Heard of most of the classic writers. Much better than the usual student. She'll do. I'll make up a list of readings for her this afternoon…" He noticed the scroll lying ignored during his meal. "Now what is this doing here?" Auxentius scratched his head. "Oh, yes, the reference!"

"Come, Selene. I'll take you to your anatomy teacher." They left Auxentius poring over the text, oblivious to their exit. "I'll remind him later to prepare a syllabus for your initial studies." They continued out of the eating hall and walked to a small stone building set back from the street. As they came closer, the sweetly sick smell of decaying meat caused Selene's stomach to clench. She glanced quickly at Hypatia. The older woman seemed oblivious to both the odor and Selene's reaction.

They ducked through the open door. Light filled the inside from several high wide windows. The walls were lined with shelves. Some contained books, others covered jars, another a collection of sharp instruments – knives, bone saws, awls. Dust motes floated in the streaming sunshine, lighting a battered stone table dominating the room. Selene stifled a gasp. The body of a small ape lay spread-eagled on the table, its internal organs heaped in piles around the still figure. Small channels allowed blood and body fluids to drain through holes in the table into buckets set below. Selene batted at the flies that infested the air and struggled to keep her stomach under control.

A tall man of obvious Nubian stock separated from the shadows in a corner. He wore only a rough brown sleeveless tunic, stained from his bloody exertions. His smooth ebony limbs and shaved head glistened in the light. Selene particularly noted his large blunt hands – the nails pared short and rimed with blackened blood.

"Master Haroun, here is the new pupil we discussed last week, Selene, daughter of the Counselor Calistus."

He peered at her closely. Selene felt like a prize racehorse up for auction. He finally spoke. "Has old Auxentius been at you yet?"