Re: steph/destiny.
It's called a sugar high, Doctor.
She was a woman from ancient Athens who wanted to become a doctor. However, after the death of Hippocrates, the wise men of Athens decided that being a doctor was not a suitable profession for a woman and banned women from learning to practice medicine. Mostly because they found out that women were performing abortions and teaching other women contraceptive methods.
Thus barred, she cut off her hair and left Athens for Alexandria, to study under Herophilos of Chalcedon. Back in Athens, the physicians began to take over the practice of midwifery, much to the fury of the midwives and with the unintended consequence of their patients often dying.
Agnodice returned to her home and began to practice as a man. A woman in labor had a physician summoned and when Agnodice arrived, the woman refused to let her help, believing she was a man. She took her aside and showed her the truth and thus she began her practice. Other women learned of her secret and would only allow her.
Other physicians became quite jealous of her and finally made the accusation that she was copulating with all the wives of Athens, even raping some of them. Dragged before court, she stripped herself and showed them that she was not fornicating and impregnating the women of Athens.
But, it was illegal for a woman to be a physician. She was sentenced to death.
[Pause.] The women she treated come to her defense. The arguments they made in her defense... and the men, eventually fearing divorce or worse from their wives, released her to practice medicine again.