The details of Galen's life, many of which are known from his own works, are now well established and documented, and so will be considered only very briefly here. Although some aspects such as the dates of his birth and death and specific details of his training and travels remain to some degree points of contention, recent studies, especially those of Nutton, have brought considerable clarity. The matters of particular relevance for the present study are firstly, the nature of his early training and how this influenced the way he saw the role of disciplines other than medicine in the training of a doctor, and secondly, to give an outline of the range of his works so as to place the translated treatises in the overall context of his oeuvre. A brief biographical summary is provided in Table 1.

Galen's early education, under the close and participatory supervision of his father, concentrated on mathematical and philosophical subjects, notably geometry and logic. This undoubtedly had a lasting influence on his methodological approach to medical problems and their exposition. Further, his philosophical training was eclectic and this again had a later reflection in his strong views on the importance of philosophy in medical training, not to mention his own approach to medical issues. Lack of philosophical training was a criticism he frequently levelled against his opponents.

After the redirection of his education into medicine as a result of his father's dreams, he travelled widely.