Greek medicine: history, development and contributions

A review of the history and stages of development of Greek medicine.

One can talk about as many medicines as there have been cultures and historical periods. The way in which human diseases have been treated and approached are very varied and have depended on the historical context in which the physician lived.

Greek medicine is no exception.. The way the ancient Greeks viewed disease is quite different from how we do it today, although it has influenced and laid the foundations for today's medical practice.

Still, it cannot be said that Greek civilization was static and culturally monolithic. In fact, there were great changes, which have caused Hellenistic historians to divide Greek civilization into two major periods.

That is why when talking about Greek medicine we cannot ignore the great differences that existed between the most ancient times compared to the most classical ones, and in this article we will see them in greater depth.

Ancient Greek Medicine

Within the great periods of the history of Western civilization, Ancient Greece is the period from the 11th-12th century BC to the 5th century BC.. During these centuries, the Hellenic culture incorporated elements from other ethnic groups from Mesopotamia, the Middle East and Africa. At this time, Greek medicine was characterized by its lack of refinement and sophistication.

Major historical events of the time give clues as to what medical work was like in ancient Greek culture. One of them was the battle of Troy, one of the great armed conflicts experienced in the early days of the young Europe. It was during the war that several questions were raised about how to treat the wounds of badly wounded soldiers. how the wounds of badly wounded soldiers were to be treated.. . Medical practices, judging from epic poems such as Homer's Iliad and Odyssey, were intermingled with religious rites and superstitions. In fact, in the first of these works, reference is made to those who, according to Homer, were the first practitioners of medicine: Polydirius and Macaon.

According to the legend, Macaon put his healing knowledge into practice with a king, the Spartan Menelaus, who had been wounded by an arrow.who had been wounded by an arrow. The story goes that Macaon treated the monarch by first exploring the wound and the condition of his patient, then sucked the Blood from the injury and finally administered the treatment.

Cult of the god Asclepiades

As we have already mentioned, in the early days of Greek culture, the vision of the therapeutic process was marked by the belief that one's health depended on the wishes and will of the gods of Olympus. the belief that one's health depended on the wishes and wills of the gods of Olympus.. Most Hellenic temples were built near water fountains, since it was believed that if someone fell ill, he could be cured by water, which, rising near a temple, would acquire regenerative powers.

Among the many deities that make up the Greek pantheon, one stands out above the rest in terms of its role in the therapeutic process: Asclepiades. This deity was the god of medicine, being the son of the god who had previously been the god with the same function, Apollo, and a beautiful but mortal virgin named Coronis.

Legend has it that Apollo fell madly in love with the virgin when he saw her bathing in the forest and left her pregnant, however, her father wanted her to marry his cousin, Ischium. Upon learning of this, Apollo cursed his fate, and decided to kill both his beloved and her fiancé, however, after taking their lives, he felt sorry for his unborn child and decided to extract it from the dead womb of Coronis, giving birth to Asclepiades.

The newborn was taken to Mount Pelion and raised by the centaur Chiron, who taught him multiple skills, including medicine. Asclepiades, once he had grown up, went to practice his knowledge in the great cities, developing into a prestigious physician. With the passage of time, his father, Apollo, who until then had been the god of medicine, abdicated this title, ceding it to his son.

Understanding the myth behind this god, it is logical to think that the physicians of Ancient Greece venerated him, considering his designs as something fundamental for the patient to be cured. The sick turned to him to overcome their illness or to ask why he had punished them with it.

Some temples erected to Asclepiades functioned in a similar way as modern hospitals do today. For example, in Pergamon and other temples the sick went there and undressed and put on white robes. Once this was done, they would go to another enclosure of the temple, similar to a hotel, with attentions to treat the patients and lodge them for a while.

In the origins of the cult of this god there were beliefs that today would be unthinkable.and even the Greeks of several centuries later would flatly refuse to use them as an effective treatment. Cures and incantations were performed, and certain practices considered 'natural' were followed, such as having ulcers licked by dogs blessed by the god.

The priest who was in charge of seeing that the rites to the god Asclepiades were carried out according to tradition, as well as collecting the offerings destined for him and seeing that the patients received the proper religious treatments was called iatros, was called iatros and, in fact, this word has survived to the present day, meaning 'the medical, the medical, the medical'.meaning 'the medical, the surgical'. This iatros had a function similar to the vision we have today of shamans and sorcerers.

Medicine in Classical Greece

From the 5th century B.C. there are a series of socio-political and cultural changes that make Greece become the great power of the time and this is also reflected in their knowledge, especially in the field of biology, astronomy and, most notably, in medicine. It could be said that it was at this time, although in a very different way to how it is understood today, that scientific medicine appeared.

One of the great thinkers in the history of Western civilization appeared at this time, Aristotle, who carried out an extensive study of life forms, beginning with animals.. This philosopher, from the city of Stagira, studied and classified about 500 animals with the intention of understanding not only the natural world, but also human nature itself.

But while the work of Aristotle and other great classical Greek thinkers is undoubtedly something that deserves attention and a greater degree of depth, it is undoubtedly Hippocrates of Cos who should have a truly prominent role in this article.

Hippocrates: disease is a natural phenomenon

Hippocrates of Cos is, for physicians and non-physicians alike, a figure who has had an important role and fame within the field of health sciences. His name is associated with one of the great discoveries of history, which meant a great change in the conception of the origin of diseases in pre-Christian Greece: all disease is a natural phenomenon.

Hippocrates was against the idea that disease was the result of demonic possession, divine punishment or sorcery.divine punishment or sorcery. Thus, within the Hippocratic vision of medicine, it was considered that one could become ill due to causes that were in the environment, such as climate, food, bad water... It is not surprising that Hippocrates is known as the father of medicine as it is understood today.

Among the great contributions of Hippocratic practice and theory, the following three can be mentioned:

Observation and reasoning

As already mentioned, the religious view of the disease was overcome and the medical condition of the patient was carefully observed and explored.

Diseases have symptoms, which give clues as to what medical condition the patient is suffering from and how it can be dealt with.

In fact, Hippocrates was one of the first to establish the differential diagnosis of a disease, specifically between the diseases of malaria and malaria.Hippocrates was one of the first to establish the differential diagnosis, namely between the diseases of malaria and fever.

2. Organic cause of disease

The main idea of Hippocrates and which today is the foundation behind modern medicine is that every physiological disease has a biological cause.

At the Hippocratic theory of the four humors it talks about how diseases arise, defending the idea that they are the consequence of an imbalance between four substances: bile, phlegm, blood and water.

3. Deontology

He defended the idea that that the physician should work in the most ethical and moral way possible to the patient, assuring him/her benefit and without discriminating between social groups, ethnicity, sex or race.

Until that time, those who had the right to be treated by a physician were usually men who were among the highest elites of their city-states. Hippocrates changed this, making women, the poor and foreigners receive, in some way, medical care.

Influence of Greek medicine today

Despite the fact that more than twenty centuries have passed since the time Hippocrates lived, many of his great contributions have had an impact on today's vision of medicine and its field of application.

It should not be overlooked that, thanks to the great scientific scientific advances, in addition to the foundation of disciplines such as microbiology, oncology and genetics, we know more clearly what are the main causes of disease.the causes of diseases are now more clearly understood. However, these could hardly have arisen if it were still believed today that diseases are the result of invisible heavenly curses.

Perhaps the best known contribution is that of the Hippocratic Oath.. As mentioned above, Hippocrates defended the idea that every sick person had the right to be cared for, regardless of his or her status or social condition. Today, this oath is fundamental in medical practice and, in fact, those who have just finished their medical studies must recite it during the act of graduation.

Another of the great contributions of Greek medicine, in this case by Aristotle, is the study of animal anatomy. the study of animal and human anatomy.. Thanks to this, and despite the rudimentary technique, it was possible to perform the first surgical interventions with genuinely therapeutic results.

Finally, it is very important the idea that emerges from the Greek medicine of the 5th century B.C. Every disease has a biological origin and, therefore, in one way or another, it is possible to prevent the cause of the disease from causing it. In other words, thanks to the medicine of the time, better treatments could be developed, not only to cure the patients, but also to prevent them from suffering from the disease.not only with the intention of curing patients, but also to prevent them from suffering from the disease. Prevention and care significantly improved people's well-being.

Bibliographical references:

• Cohn-Haft, L. (1956), The Public Physicians of Ancient Greece, Northampton, Massachusetts.
• Jones, W. H. S. (1946). Philosophy and Medicine in Ancient Greece, Johns Hopkins Press, Baltimore.
• Mason, S. F. (1956) A History of the Sciences. Collier Books: New York.