HOMER: The Iliad [Book XXIV]

In Book XXIV of Homer’s Iliad, Priam departs from Troy with the intention of ransoming Hector’s corpse from Achilles. Priam’s mission is a dangerous one – the Greeks may seize and hold him as a valuable hostage. Therefore, the god Mercury conducts Priam safely and stealthily through the camp to Achilles’ tent.

HARVEY: The Motion of the Heart and Blood

Published in 1628, On the Motion of the Heart and Blood was written by English physician William Harvey. In the treatise, Harvey introduces the doctrine of the circulatory system. He asserts that blood is pumped from the heart to the extremities, and then the blood returns from the extremities to the heart in a circular fashion.