The Greeks have been practicing medicine for thousands of years now.The Ancient Greeks believed they had all the solutions to every problem, and looking back at a system like this, which lasted for millennia, must make us rethink our medical system. However, the Ancient Greeks also stated that medicine must make perfect sense to the patient.Greece, like Egypt, was based mostly on religious ideas. Asclepius, sometimes known as Hepius, is considered a hero and god of medicine in Greek religion and mythology. The Asclepius cult that developed in Greece gained popularity, and became a major supplier of medical care. This cult was built on ancient concepts and offered several therapies that were not similar to current alternative medicines.The Ancient Greeks made great breakthroughs in medical research. The work of Hippocrates and his disciples resulted in the earliest recording of several scientific discoveries. Hippocrates was a Greek doctor who had a major impact on the progress of medicine in Greece. He published several analyses and reports on diseases, and his prescribed treatments still serve as the foundation of modern medical treatments. In Greece, medicine was extremely important, as living a healthy life was a top priority. Healthy lifestyles were of high importance in Greek culture. In many respects, the Ancient Greeks were the creators of medicine as we know it, using knowledge from Egypt and developing new concepts.After a while, Roman medicine, which appears to have begun as a simple family-based herbal system of medicine, started to gain popularity too. However, it was later replaced by Greek medicine. Originally, Roman medicine practitioners could not understand Greek medicine and doubted its methods. In fact, people called the first Greek doctor in Rome, ’the butcher’. Greek methods were not like the modern medicine system. They believed that there was a single treatment for every disease that worked regardless of who you were or what environment you lived in. However, they also made several mistakes before finding the right answers to their questions.The Ancient Greeks practiced many other holistic treatments. They are often regarded as the founders of Western medicine more than 2,000 years ago, but, in the past few years, our understanding of the human body and how to treat it has evolved beyond what anyone could have predicted, and we have come across multiple flaws with Ancient Greek methods.So, what is the point of learning Greek medicine today? It is part of a much larger question, why continue studying medicine from a time where humans never fully understood about viruses, antibiotics, blood circulation, or anesthesia even though we now have a significantly more thorough and accurate picture of medicine? Read on to find out!If you liked reading this article, why not learn more about the Ancient Greeks? Check out these articles about Ancient Greek astronomy and Ancient Greek education!What did people do to stay healthy or recover faster?Diet, drugs, and surgery were the three pillars of Greek medicine, and diet was always prioritized.It was not just a diet in terms of what someone ate and drank. It was all about their routine, lifestyle, how much they exercised, or how little they exercised, and how much they slept.Greek doctors also believed that if someone had too much blood, they would get a fever. As a result, medical treatment focused on reducing the amount of blood in the body. Greek physicians performed this by cutting at the patient’s arm until enough blood poured out. This was meant to help get rid of the fever.They would attach leeches on the arm to suck the excess blood out. Surgery was used as a last resort by doctors in the ancient era to help patients. However, by the 16th-17th centuries, high dependence on experimental scientific methods had replaced classical medical theory.Getting Sick In Ancient GreeceWhen people came across others who were suffering from a new disease, it was typical for them to assume a demonic spirit had possessed that person.Religion was paramount to the Ancient Greeks. They felt it would improve their lives while they were still alive. They also thought that the gods would take better care of them after they died.The Ancient Greeks worshiped several gods and goddesses. They even criticized others who worshiped different entities or did not worship a particular god in a specific and proper way. Ancient medicine likewise explained sickness in terms of what the patient had done wrong, but it focused on eating the incorrect foods or getting too much or too little exercise.During these times, the living area or home’s location and the weather could also play a role in evaluating what illness a person was suffering from and what medicines should be prescribed. Ancient medicine proposed blaming an external factor, which contemporary medicine is only now beginning to understand.It is a common notion if you think about it, if you have something other than yourself to blame, something external, you have something to battle, something to oppose.Which ancient treatments are still practiced today?Obesity-related illnesses and mental health problems are increasing every day, and with doctors becoming strained, it us no surprise that medicine is gravitating towards a Greek-style holistic approach as people seek more and more alternative medicines. Here are some methods that are still being used.There is still such a thing as leech therapy. According to the British Medical Journal, the first use of leeches in medicine goes back to 800 BC, when they were utilized in bloodletting, which is a method said to cure fevers, headaches, and serious illnesses. Leeches are now utilized to increase blood circulation following skin transplants and reconstructive surgery. The saliva of a leech includes enzymes and chemicals that serve as an anticoagulation agent.Maggots have been used by medics since ancient times to help clean wounds and prevent infection. Doctors do not have to worry about maggots chewing on healthy tissue since they only feed on dead tissues. Research published in the Archives of Dermatology had found that placing maggots on surgical wounds helped eliminate more dead tissue from the areas than surgical cleaning, in which doctors use a knife or scissors.Tran sphenoidal surgery is a percutaneous operation in which doctors remove tumors from the brain through the nose. According to Raj Sindwani, an otolaryngologist, this procedure has been going on for thousands of years, with the Ancient Egyptians finding that the best way to access the brain was through the nose.Ancient Greek PhysiciansEvidence suggests that Greek doctors performed brain surgery and were skilled at it. However, not all Greeks sought medical attention while they were sick. Many people still looked to the gods for help. The god Apollo was consulted in a temple at Delphi, and by the sixth century, many people had turned to the deity Asclepios for help.For people in poor health, places called Asclepias were constructed. Back then, a philosopher developed beliefs, whereas a doctor introduced ideas that were written, taught, and shared. Along with the rise of a scientific or philosophy-based approach to medicine, superstition and religion persisted in medical practice.In Ancient Greece, like in Egypt, medicine was mainly founded on religious beliefs. The cult of Asclepius developed popularity and became a major source of medicinal assistance. This cult expanded on ancient notions and offered many therapies that were not dissimilar to current alternative medicines. Medicine was a mixture of beliefs and practices that we are continually evolving as a result of new philosophies and ideas.Herophilus of Chalcedon, the father of anatomy, was the first medical educator at Alexandria. He disagreed with Aristotle, placing intellect in the brain and connecting the nervous system to movement and sensation. Herophilus also distinguished between veins and arteries, observing that the latter had a pulse, but the former did not. Greek doctors are known today to have performed cataract surgery around the third century.Many factors were taken into account in ancient medicine, connecting the spiritual and the physical. The Ancient Greeks thought that humor, geographic location, social position, nutrition, trauma, beliefs, and thinking all had an impact on health. The Ancient Greeks thought that sicknesses were punishments and that healing was a gift from the gods from the beginning of time.The pure spiritual views surrounding punishments and gifts were checked against symptoms and results as their treatment progressed. To gain the trust of a patient, a doctor first ensured that their image is correct. It is the white coat today. However in Ancient Greece, wearing basic, simple clothing, avoiding heavy scents, and never reciting poems at the patient’s bedside were all the rules followed by ancient doctors. If you have ever read a Greek tragedy, you will understand that when you are sick, hearing ‘death is the only water to wash away this dirt’ (Euripides) is not exactly uplifting!Laughter Is The Best MedicineHumorism relates to blood, phlegm, yellow bile, and black bile, with each of the four being associated with an organ, temperament, season, and element.Diet was also regarded as a problem, which may be exacerbated by a lack of access to proper sustenance. Trauma, such as that experienced by gladiators, as a result of dog bites or other injuries, had a part in ideas linked to anatomy and diseases.Furthermore, there was a strong emphasis on the patient’s beliefs and thinking in the diagnostic and therapy ideas. It was acknowledged that the mind had a part in healing or that it may even be the only cause of sickness.The doctrine of humor became vital to Greek medicine. According to the humoral hypothesis, excellent health results from a perfect balance of blood, phlegm, yellow bile, and black bile. As a result of an imbalance of the four senses of humor, bad health followed.Hippocrates is regarded as the father of modern medicine. He and his students documented countless illnesses in the Hippocratic Corpus and developed the Hippocratic Oath for doctors, which is still in use today.He and his disciples also established medical terminologies that are part of our vocabulary today, for example, the medical terms acute, chronic, epidemic, exacerbation, and relapse. All of Hippocrates’ and Socrates’ contributions to Greek medicine also seemed to have a lasting influence on Islamic medicine and medieval European medicine until many of their findings became outdated in the 14th century.Here at Kidadl, we have carefully created lots of interesting family-friendly facts for everyone to enjoy! If you liked learning these Ancient Greek medicine facts, then why not take a look at Ancient Greek entertainment facts or Ancient Greece facts?
The Greeks have been practicing medicine for thousands of years now.
