Two Cases of lithopedion in Ancient Greece

Abstract

In the present work we are going to demonstrate how the references in one of the most important Greek Stelae from Epidaurus, that tells the case of two women, Cleó and Ithmónica, who have a pregnancy that lasts for years, can be identified with a pathology that today we call lithopedion. The difficulty in knowing when a woman became pregnant and how long a pregnancy lasted is a theme that is present in Greek medical literature. The writings of Hippocrates, Aristotle, and Soranus of Ephesus reveal this difficulty, and how we will see allude to a disease called mola. We identify this pathology with the formation of a lithopedion.