Medicine in ancient Greek

Medicine in ancient Greek
It can be truly said that ‘modern’ rational medicine, divorced from the supernatural forces of possession by the devil or by evil surprises, was founded in Ancient Greece.

An important concept that influenced not only medical but also lay concept of disease was the humoral theory of Empedocles , develop by later Greek philosophers, in particular Aristotle.

This theory stated that everything derives from four elements – water, air, earth and fire – with their associated qualities respectively of wetness, coldness, dryness and heat.

With this theory, later writers combined the somewhat similar doctrine of Hippocrates which held that the body as composed of the four humors or fluids, black bile, yellow bile, blood and phlegm, with their associated temperaments – melancholic, choleric, sanguine and phlegmatic.

A balanced of these humors determined the health of the individual and the subjects temperament also resulted from his prevailing humor this the sanguine, phlegmatic choleric or melancholic temperament.

To this day we still talk of an ‘aerial spirit’ or of a ‘fiery nature; and indeed this doctrine of the four elements persisted into the 17th century.

Much of our modern medical traditions and many of today’s medical terms derive form ancient Greek.

The Greek culture absorbed knowledge from Mesopotamia via Asia Minor and also form Egypt.

By the 6th century BC, medical schools were flourishing on the island of Cos and on the adjacent peninsula of Condos, which is now modern day Turkey.

The most famous medical teacher of Cos was the man who is commonly regarded as the ‘Father of Medicine’, Hippocrates.
Medicine in ancient Greek