Eraclie Sterian

Eraclie Sterian (also known as Eracle, Eracli or Iraclie Sterian; November 23, 1872 – January 21, 1948) was a Romanian physician, writer, and political activist, known for introducing sexology and sex education in his country. Trained as a pathologist, he established his reputation as a popularizer of conventional and alternative medicine (primarily hydrotherapy), putting out the influential magazine Medicul Poporului. His early work also dealt with life extension practices and warnings about the effects of pollution. Sterian was a marginal ally of the Symbolist movement, to which his uncle Mircea Demetriade belonged; he had a longstanding friendship with poets Alexandru and Pavel Macedonski. He was a publisher of textbooks and literary works, including Demetriade's "Ali's Dream", and author of dramas. His pro-natalist propaganda play, Tout pour l'enfant, performed at the Théâtre Antoine in 1913.

As a doctor and a social critic, Sterian held unconventional views on eugenics, social hygiene, and the social role of sexual experiences. These caused a lasting scandal for their challenging of ancestral taboos—although, overall, Sterian remained a conservative and an avowed Christian, who claimed to have found a cure for compulsive masturbation. His sex manuals, aimed at a young audience, enjoyed success nationwide, and went through several editions in the 1910s. In parallel, as a disciple of René Quinton, he circulated claims that tuberculosis and its various complications could be successfully treated with seawater.