Background reading

Reading 1: by D Moorhouse
Medicine was very important to the Ancient Greek. Ancient Greek Culture was such that a high priority was placed upon healthy lifestyles, this despite Ancient greece being much different to the Greece of the modern World.

Ancient Greece was much different to the Greece of today. In Ancient Times Greece was a collection of City States. Each of these was independent from the others but shared a similar culture and religious beliefs. Despite the lack of a coherent government the Greeks developed a society that matched, if not bettered, that of the Ancient Egyptians.

Medical practice in Ancient Greece, like Egypt, was based largely upon religious beliefs. The Cult of Asclepios grew in popularity and was a major provider of medical care. This cult developed old theories and introduced several treatments not too dissimilar from modern 'alternative medicines'.

The Ancient Greeks though made major strides in medical knowledge. The works of Hippocrates and his followers led to several scientific facts being recorded for the first time: and perhaps more significantly the work of these philosophers began a tradition of studying the cause of disease rather than looking solely at the symptoms when prescribing a cure.

The legacy of the Ancient Greek world on medical practice has been great. Hippocrates theory of the Four Humours was, for a long time, the basis upon which to develop medical reasoning. Likewise the methodology employed by the Greeks has, to a large extent, been retained and modified to form what we now consider to be conventional medicine.

Reading 2: by C Trueman
Ancient Greece, as with Ancient Rome and Ancient Egypt, played an important part in medical history. The most famous of all Ancient Greek doctors was Hippocrates. By 1200 B.C., Ancient Greece was developing in all areas - trade, farming, warfare, sailing, craftsmanship etc. Their knowledge of medicine developed accordingly.

Gods dominated the lives of the Greeks. Natural occurrences were explained away by using gods. This, however, did not occur in medicine where Ancient Greek physicians tried to find a natural explanation as to why someone got ill and died.

The Greeks were practicing medicine 1000 years before the birth of Christ. In the ‘Iliad’ by Homer, injured soldiers were treated by doctors and the Greek leader in the tale, Menelaus, was treated for an arrow wound by a doctor-in-arms, Machaon.

However, not all Ancient Greeks turned to physicians when ill. many still turned to the gods. The god Apollo was consulted at a temple in Delphi and by the sixth century B.C., many turned to the god Asclepios for help. Places called asclepeia were built for those in poor health. These were like temples and here people came to bathe, sleep and meditate. The poor were also allowed to beg for money in these buildings. Those who went to asclepeias were expected to leave offerings to Asclepios. The asclepeias were run by priests. Patients to asclepeias were encouraged to sleep as it was believed that during sleep they would be visited by Asclepios and his two daughters, Panacea and Hygeia. A visit by these three was expected to cure all ailments. Those who were not cured could stay at the asclepeia where they were. Written accounts have survived of those who were cured:

Hermodicus of Lampsacus was paralysed in the body. When he slept in the temple the god healed him and ordered him to bring to the temple as large a stone as he could. The man brought the stone which now lies before the abaton (where people slept).

During the period 600 B.C. to 400 B.C., the Ancient Greeks also made great advances in philosophy.