Mind-Benders of Greek & Roman History
Galen proved arteries carry blood, not air — about 1,450 years before circulation was understood
Against the prevailing view that the arteries were full of air or a life-spirit, Galen showed by experiment around 180 CE — tying off a living artery in two places and cutting between the ligatures — that arteries in fact carry blood. A full account of how the blood actually circulates would not come until William Harvey in 1628 CE, roughly 1,450 years later.
How we know
Galen c. 129–216 CE; double-ligature demonstration c. 180 CE, overturning the older pneuma/air doctrine; William Harvey, De Motu Cordis, 1628 CE. Gap = 1,628 − 180 = 1,448 ≈ 1,450 yrs.
One of many fact-checked wonders across eight traditions at The Spring of Wisdom.