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

The Greeks’ approach to physical health drew upon these changing social, philosophical, and religious beliefs, as well as medical knowledge they borrowed from earlier societies like Egypt and Mesopotamia.

Most hostorians place the beginnings of Greek medicine back in the Homeric period, around the 8th century BC, when people thought disease was caused by the gods. 

At that point, healing was often seen as a holy act done by priests in temples. However, 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.

Then, in the 5th and 4th centuries BC, known as the Classical Period, the great doctor Hippocrates lived.

He has become known as the Father of Medicine. Hippocrates and his followers rejected ideas about spirits and magic causing illness.

Instead, they worked to make medicine a subject based on careful research and logical thought. 

As a result, they began clinical observations and kept records of cases, and they started making ideas about what caused disease and how to treat it.

Hippocrates was born on the island of Kos around 460 BC, and he is best known for the Hippocratic Oath: a set of rules for doctors that, even in more modern forms, is still important today. 

What made him so revolutionary is that Hippocrates believed nature could heal human sicknesses, and he stressed diet and lifestyle were important to staying well. 

His helped developed the idea of the four humours (blood, phlegm, yellow bile, and black bile) in the body.

This concerpt was so influential, that they were used in Western medicine for thousands of years after his death.

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’ 'four humours' 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 human anatomy. 

There is also Asclepiades of Bithynia, who questioned the humour idea and suggested that health and disease came from tiny particles and empty spaces in the body.

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

Ancient Greek medicine recommnded a range treatments that may seem strange now. 

One such method was the use of medicinal plants. In De Materia Medica, Dioscorides listed over 600 plants and how to use them, many of which are still used in plant medicine today. 

Bloodletting and cupping were also very 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 to drain blood from the patience.

Alternatively, cupping used suction on the skin to draw out blood or harmful humours. 

Perhaps the most shocking is the use of trepanation. This involved drilling holes in the skull, which 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 use these to make medicines for swelling.

Also, copper compounds were used for their germ-fighting properties. 

Strangely enough, the patients in Asclepian temples used dream therapy as a cure for various sicknesses.

As part of this, they people would sleep in the temple overnight, where theyhoped Asclepius, the god of medicine, would send a dream that showed them what cure they needed.

This practice was a mix of religious ritual with an early understanding of placebos.

Clearly, even after Hippocrates, religion stayed important in Greek medicine. While people might still undertake observation and record keeping to help understand ailments, they would also ask gods of healing, like Asclepius, for aid. 

As a result, temples for Asclepius, known as Asclepeions, became popular healing centres.

It was here that treatments mixed rituals and offerings with practical steps like diet, exercise, and natural medicines. 

We have evidence of many carved thank offerings to the god that showed that many believed they were healed at these temples, though exact numbers are not known for certain.

For those who could not afford a doctor like Hippocrates, or who were unable to travel the long distances to reach healing temples, they had to rely upon simple superstitions.

The most common belief among the Greeks was known as the 'Evil Eye', a curse that was thought to cause many sicknesses or bad luck.

As a result, the people would pay for charms to protect themselves.

Even though the ancient Greeks had some very confused ideas about health, they did have some advanced views about public health.

They actually understood the importance of cleanliness, diet, and exercise in stopping disease. 

For example, cleanliness was very important, and bathing was common in public baths.

They also built systems for water supply, like aqueducts and wells.

Interestingly, some medical writings warned against 'bad air' and noted its link to sickness.

Therefore, cleanliness practices tried to reduce bad air by encouraging fresh air in the home or spending time outside. 

Diet and nutrition were also key. They ate a balanced diet of grains, fruits, vegetables, fish, and wine.

This is because they thought diet affected the humours, so doctors often told patients to change their diet to get better.