The strange world of ancient Greek medicine

The story of ancient Greek medicine is closely linked to the story of ancient Greek society, which lasted from around 800 BC to the 2nd century AD. 

This time saw major advances in philosophy, politics, art, and especially medicine. 

The Greeks’ approach to medicine used their social, philosophical, and religious beliefs, as well as medical knowledge borrowed from earlier societies like Egypt and Mesopotamia.

The beginnings of Greek medicine go back to the Homeric period, around the 8th century BC, when people thought disease was caused by the gods. 

Healing was often seen as a holy act done by priests in temples, but this view began to change around the 6th century BC during what is called the Age of the Philosophers. 

People started looking for natural reasons for diseases, and illness came to be seen as a natural event that could be studied and treated.

The 5th and 4th centuries BC, known as the Classical Period, were the best time for Greek medicine. 

This was when Hippocrates lived, who is known as the Father of Medicine. Hippocrates and his followers rejected ideas about spirits and magic causing illness.

They worked to make medicine a subject based on careful watching and logical thought. 

They began clinical watching and kept records of cases, and they started making ideas about what caused disease and how to treat it.

One of the most famous physicians is Hippocrates, who was born on the island of Kos around 460 BC. He changed medicine by removing its ties to religion and basing it on careful watching and logical thought. 

He is best known for the Hippocratic Oath, a set of rules for doctors that, in updated forms, is still important today. 

Hippocrates believed nature could heal, and he stressed diet and lifestyle to stay well. 

His idea of the four humours (blood, phlegm, yellow bile, and black bile) and how they affected health and disease was used in Western medicine for centuries.

Another important physician is Galen of Pergamon, a Greek doctor of the 2nd century AD who worked under Roman rule. 

Galen treated gladiators and later Roman emperors, and he wrote extensively about body structure, function, diagnosis, and treatment. 

He built on Hippocrates’ humour idea and made a detailed system of studying disease and treatments based on it. 

His work was used in European medicine until the Renaissance.

Other important physicians include Dioscorides, who wrote De Materia Medica, an important book on herbal medicine, and Herophilus, an early expert in body structure who did dissections to learn about the body. 

Asclepiades of Bithynia questioned the humour idea and suggested that health and disease came from tiny particles and empty spaces.

He supported treatments that did not involve surgery and stressed exercise and mental health.

Ancient Greek medicine used careful watching, logical thought, and treatments that may seem strange now. 

One such method was herbal medicine and we have eviddence that the Greeks wrote down many details about medicinal plants.

In De Materia Medica, Dioscorides listed over 600 plants and how to use them, and many are still used in plant medicine today. 

Bloodletting and cupping were common. The Greeks thought illness came from an imbalance of the four humours.

Bloodletting aimed to fix that balance. It involved cutting a vein or using leeches. Cupping used suction on the skin to draw out blood or harmful humours. 

Trepanation involved drilling holes in the skull, and the Greeks used it to treat problems like severe headaches or mental issues.

They thought trepanation would release harmful pressure or spirits. 

The Greeks also used shells or hard parts from sea snails in remedies, as Dioscorides noted certain ways to make medicines for swelling.

Copper compounds were used for their germ-fighting properties. 

Patients in Asclepian temples used dream therapy. They slept there because they hoped Asclepius, the god of medicine, would send a dream that showed a cure.

This practice blended religious ritual with an early understanding of the mind.

Even after Hippocrates, religion stayed important in Greek medicine, and they worshipped several gods of healing, especially Asclepius. 

Temples for Asclepius were called Asclepeions and functioned as healing centres.

Treatments mixed rituals and offerings with practical steps like diet, exercise, and natural medicines. 

Carvings and thanks offerings show that many believed they were healed at these temples, though exact numbers are not known.

Superstitions also affected healing. The Greeks believed in the Evil Eye, a curse thought to cause sickness or bad luck.

People used charms to protect themselves. Some days were thought to be unlucky for medical care.

The ancient Greeks had an advanced view of public health. They understood the importance of cleanliness, diet, and exercise in stopping disease. 

Cleanliness was very important, and bathing was common in public baths, which formed a main part of Greek cities.

They built systems for water supply, like aqueducts and wells, although many cities kept simple ways of getting rid of waste even in later times.

Some medical writings warned against bad air and noted its link to sickness. Clean practices tried to reduce bad air, but formal public health rules are not well recorded for classical Greece. 

Diet and nutrition were also key. They ate a balanced diet of grains, fruits, vegetables, fish, and wine, and they thought diet affected the humours, so doctors often told patients to change their diet to get better.

Exercise was another key part of public health, and Greek culture praised athletes as demonstrated by the Olympic Games.

Regular exercise was advised to keep the body in harmony. 

The Greeks saw mental health as part of being well, believing the mind and body were linked and that stress could affect physical health.

Leisure, music, and learning helped keep the mind balanced. 

Greek medicine set the basis for many parts of modern practice. One of its main legacies is the Hippocratic Oath.

This set of rules taught ideas like keeping patient information private, not harming patients, and continuing to learn more about medicine. 

The Greek way was based on careful watching and logical thought. This approach helped make medicine a subject based on proof.

Case stories by Hippocrates and his followers are early examples of clinical watching, a practice key to modern medicine.

Even though the four humours idea was wrong, it was an early attempt to explain the body and disease.

It stayed the main medical idea in the Western world for over two thousand years, and it influenced medical thought in Europe and the Middle East. 

The Greek holistic approach considered health as a balance of physical, mental, and environmental factors.

This idea also appears in today’s views of health. Modern public health and disease prevention still show that lifestyle, environment, and mental health all matter for physical health. 

Greek medicine left a rich gift of written works. Books by Hippocrates, Galen, and Dioscorides were kept, translated, and used as medical books in Europe and the Middle East for centuries.