: You can find the full article via Taylor & Francis Online . Other Recommended Readings
: It traces how "black bile" wasn't always a physical liquid. In early Greek epics like Homer’s, "black" was used to describe dark, raging emotions like anger ( cholos ). This paper argues that ancient doctors later "materialized" these dark metaphors into a literal bodily fluid to fit a scientific four-humor system. black bile
: Black Bile, Manic Depression and Melancholy . This paper bridges the gap between ancient humoral theory and modern psychiatry, finding surprising resonances between the "movements" of black bile and modern clinical descriptions of manic depression. Quick Facts for Context Introduction in: Galen’s Theory of Black Bile - Brill : You can find the full article via Taylor & Francis Online
: Galen’s Theory of Black Bile . This book/paper explores how the influential physician Galen had to "defend" the existence of black bile against rivals who (rightly) pointed out that it didn't seem to exist in healthy bodies like blood or phlegm do. This paper argues that ancient doctors later "materialized"
Published in History of European Ideas (2020), this paper by George Kazantzidis explores the radical shift in ancient thought when doctors first linked a physical substance to a mental state.
If you are looking for an "interesting paper" on ( melaina cholē ), the following selection offers a fascinating deep dive into how this mythical substance shaped centuries of medicine, psychology, and philosophy.