Renowned Greek physician/surgeon--Critobulos--

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Critobulus (often transliterated as Kritoboulos) was a renowned ancient Greek physician from the 4th century BC. He belonged to the prestigious medical family of the Asclepiades of Cos Island and practiced medicine following the traditional Hippocratic School. Brill +2

He is most famous in history for serving as the royal physician to King Philip II of Macedon (the father of Alexander the Great).

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The Treatment of Philip II's Eye Injury

Critobulus’s most celebrated medical achievement occurred during the Siege of Methone (355–354 BC). While inspecting siege engines, King Philip II was struck in the right eye by a stray arrow. ScienceDirect.com +2

Critobulus performed a highly delicate and critical surgical operation to save the king's life. Using specialized ancient instruments—historically referenced as the "spoon of Diocles"—he successfully extracted the arrowhead from the orbital cavity. He managed the postoperative care using anti-inflammatory herbal treatments. Although Philip was left blind in that eye and bore a prominent vertical scar, Critobulus was widely praised by ancient historians like Pliny for completing the operation with minimal facial disfigurement.

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Association with Alexander the Great Historical and medical texts sometimes connect Critobulus to the campaigns of Alexander the Great as well. According to Roman historian Quintus Curtius, a doctor named Critobulus was present in India in 326 BC and extracted a deeply embedded, barbed arrow from Alexander’s chest after a battle against the Malli tribe. While some ancient accounts treat this as the same physician, modern scholars note that given the 30-year timeframe, this could potentially have been his son or a closely related physician of the same medical lineage (sometimes noted as Critodemus). Brill +1