Medicine is one of the oldest practices in the history of mankind, but it was only in ancient Greece that there was a fundamental change in medical techniques. Medicine moved from a set of practices and beliefs based on nature and superstition to a rational activity. Thanks to the influence of Hippocrates, Doctors began to look for explanations for diseases, to find a diagnosis and to figure out the most appropriate treatment. But, how were doctors in ancient Greece?
How were doctors in ancient Greece according to Homer?
In ancient Greece, medicine was not sophisticated, much less sophisticated. In the epic poems of Homer, The Iliad and The Odyssey, it can be seen that In the Archaic period (between the 8th and 5th centuries BCE), medical practices were associated with religious rites and superstitions.
For the Greeks, most diseases had a divine origin, as a kind of punishment sent by the gods. Such diseases were treated by priest-doctors, Those who observed magical rites for therapeutic purposes, invoking some divinity. They also resorted to other remedies like catharsis, music, dance and astrology.
However, he also believed that diseases were a result of nature, as was the case with the wounds and traumas of soldiers in battle and diseases arising from the effects of the environment.
really, The Iliad refers to those who, according to Homer, were the first two Greek physicians: Polydirius and Macon, sons of Asclepius, the god of medicine. (in Latin Aesculapius). King Agamemnon’s army was considered a great hero both for putting his healing knowledge and surgical knowledge into practice.
Influence of the Unani physician and Hippocrates
From the 5th century BC. C. Medicine, as it was then practiced, began to develop into a more empirical and rational As a result of the socio-political changes that took place in Greece. They consolidated the birth of the polis or city and gave rise to an economy based on trade and craft production.
longer, Logic replaced myths and scientific advances began to appear in all fields, including medicine, However, the figure marking the “scientific” and “technical” phase of Greek medicine with his teaching and his writings is that of Hippocrates.
He is credited with the origin of the Hippocratic Corpus, A collection of medical texts that gather and examine relevant data on diseases with a rational perspective and various medical aspects: anatomy, physiology, gynecology, pathology, epidemiology and surgery.
The emphasis is on observation of the sick and their ailments in these texts., and more attention is paid to diet and diet, which is known as preventive medicine. The idea that diseases are the result of an imbalance between four substances: bile, phlegm, blood and water is also exposed.
According to Hippocrates, doctors had to look healthy, present “good complexion” and “be strong”. Similarly, he had to take care of his dress and his behavior, because for that doctors should be as ethical and moral as possible.
There were many doctors who roamed ancient Greece mainly to treat the ailments of soldiers and powerful people.
