Pedanius dioscorides biography of martin

     About two thousand years ago, Pedanius Dioscorides, a physician traveling throughout the Roman Empire with Emperor Nero's army, would collect samples of the local medicinal herbs everywhere he went.  He turned his passion for plants and other medicinal substances into a monumental reference work on herbs and pharmacy that remained the supreme authority on the subject for over 1500 years.
     In 70 A.D., Dioscorides published De Materia Medica, or, "On Medicinal Substances" in five volumes.  Translated into several languages both ancient and modern, and later supplemented with commentary by European, Middle Eastern, and Indian authors, it has been the prime authority and source work on herbs and other medicinal substances in the history of Western Civilization, and quite possibly in the history of the world.
     Pedanius Dioscorides was born around 30 A.D. in the town of Anazarbi