Broken Heroes: Disability In The Ancient World | Prof. Christian Laes

Disability in the ancient world: how were disabled people seen, treated and talked about in Greek and Roman society? What place did physically and mentally disabled people have in families, work and public life when there was no word for “disability” in our modern sense?

In this episode of Echo & Ink, I am joined by Professor Christian Laes to explore how the Greeks and Romans understood bodily and mental difference. We look at what ancient authors, inscriptions, legal texts, medical writing, art and archaeology reveal about people who could not see, could not walk easily, lived with chronic pain or illness, or were described as having limited understanding. We ask how far we can reconstruct their everyday lives and social roles from scattered sources.If you are interested in disability, history, classics, or the history of the body, this is a dense, source-driven conversation that stays close to the evidence.

🔔 Subscribe to Echo & Ink for more in-depth conversations on history, cross-cultural scholarship, and the ideas that shaped our world.

☕ Support the show: If you enjoy this episode and want to help keep Echo & Ink going, you can buy us a coffee at https://buymeacoffee.com/echoandink

Every contribution helps us bring forgotten voices and hidden histories back to light.

🎵 Music creditMusic: “Science Discoveries” by Oleg Mazur (Free Music / Oleg Mazur)Licensed under Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY)Source: https://soundcloud.com/fm_freemusic/science-discoveries-light-flowing-music-for-corporate-projects-by-oleg-mazur-free-download