Le Sang des Anciens : notes sur les paroles, les images et la science du sang

Abstract

In most Indo-European languages, blood is designed by words derived from the radical of αρ and asser. Nonetheless, Greek developed a rich semantic field for α μα, while Latin preserved the distinction between the blood unseen, sanguis, and the blood poured outside the body, cruor. This basic distinction is confirmed by the inventory of its images : the visible blood is mostly a sign of death for poets, painters and sculptures of battles and sacrifices. Conversely, the scientists, from Hippocrates to Galen, concentrate on internal blood, formulating different hypotheses on blood’s function for a body’s life, while ignoring its circulation.