ANCIENT GREEK MEDICINE Jonathon Erlen, Ph.D.

We cannot really talk about medical "science" in these 2 civilizations, as their approach to ill health and medicine was religious rather than scientific as we use this term today.

We must, however, be very careful not to overstate the views and contributions of ancient Greek medicine. Their anatomical and physiological opinions did not directly lead to modern Western medicine.

In fact, much of the Greek medical legacy would actually hinder the evolution of medical science in the Western world.

Ancient Greek society was built around the polis, or city- state, such as Athens and Sparta. The polis was roughly the size of one of our current counties and contained one major city or town.

HOMER

His 2 epic works were the Illiad and the Odyssey

Homer continued the Mesopotamian and Egyptian theory of disease causation by blaming diseases on divine intervention by the gods.

The first recorded natural philosopher of Miletus was Thales, whom we can say flourished in 580 B.C. Thales was a wealthy man who had made a fortune selling olive presses and then retired.

THALES

In retirement this philosopher speculated about the nature of "being", in other words what was Physis [pronounced foosis] or the nature of nature. What caused or was necessary for life?

Thales postulated that all life came from hudor, which is Greek for water

Thales' idea was ridiculed by following philosophers over the next century who came up with their own definitions of physis, of being. Fire Fire Air Earth

Empedocles

EMPEDOCLES’ 4 ELEMENTS WATER EARTH FIRE AIR

PLATO

In one of his books, Timaeus, Plato discusses the basis of good health and the cause of diseases, saying they both depended on the appropriate balance of the 4 elements, proper nutrition, and proper respiration.

PLATO

Plato did break with Empedocles' teachings concerning the site of intelligence in the body. While Empedocles had place this location in the heart, Plato claimed that intelligence was located in the brain. Plato also credited the blood with providing nutrition throughout the body.

PLATO

Plato had no first hand medical experience and never dissected animals-he based his medical theories on his studies of the writings of earlier medical authorities and natural philosophers, the works of contemporary medical authors, and tied these views together with his own physical theory of the universe, thus creating a systematic and detailed medical theory for his time.

ARISTOTLE

ALEXANDER THE GREAT

ARISTOTLE

TELEOLOGY Nature with a Purpose

ARISTOTLE

HIPPOCRATES OF COS

SOCRATES

ASCELPIADS They were iatros, Greek physicians, who were members of the guild dedicated to Asclepios, the healing god of ancient Greece.

HIPPOCRATES OF COS

COANS The Coans tended to consider the whole person to a greater extent in making their diagnoses and to make a synthesis of the symptoms they observed.

COANS The Coans prescribed more systemic treatments.

CNIDIANS The Cnidians were more inclined to consider individual symptoms as diseases onto themselves.

CNIDIANS As a corollary to their diagnostic ideas the Cnidian iatros used more local treatments.

HIPPOCRATES OF COS

4 CARDINALHUMORS BLOOD YELLOW BILE BLACK BILE PHLEGM

HIPPOCRATES OF COS

EUCRASIA

DYSCRASIA

EMPEDOCLES’ 4 ELEMENTS WATER EARTH FIRE AIR

DYSCRASIA

HUMORAL SYSTEM OF DISEASE CAUSATION

IATROS

POLIS IATROS

IATREION

HIPPOCRATES OF COS

RHIZOTOMISTS

THERAPEUTICS DIETARY CHANGES REST AND EXERCISE PHARMACA CHEIRURGIA

DIETARY CHANGES

REST AND EXERCISE

PHARMACA

CHEIRURGIA

HIPPOCRATES OF COS

WOUND SALVE

PROGNOIS

HIPPOCRATES OF COS

AMERICAN MEDICAL ASSOCIATION

HIPPOCRATES OF COS