ANCIENT GREEK MEDICINE

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ANCIENT GREEK MEDICINE

• Jonathon Erlen, Ph.D.

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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.
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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.
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In fact, much of the Greek medical legacy would
actually hinder the evolution of medical science
in the Western world.
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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.
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HOMER
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His 2 epic works the Illiad and the Odyssey
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HOMER
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Homer continued the Mesopotamian and Egyptian
theory of disease causation by blaming diseases
on divine intervention by the gods.
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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.
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THALES
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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?
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Thales postulated that all life came from hudor,
which is Greek for water
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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

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Empedocles
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EMPEDOCLES 4 ELEMENTS

• WATER
• EARTH
• FIRE
• AIR

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PLATO
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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.
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PLATO
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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.
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PLATO
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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.
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ARISTOTLE
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ARISTOTLE
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ALEXANDER THE GREAT
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ARISTOTLE
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ARISTOTLE
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HIPPOCRATES OF COS
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HIPPOCRATES OF COS
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HIPPOCRATES OF COS
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SOCRATES
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HIPPOCRATES OF COS
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HIPPOCRATES OF COS
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HUMORS

• BLOOD
• YELLOW BILE
• BLACK BILE
• PHLEGM

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HIPPOCRATES OF COS
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eucrasia
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dyscrasia
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iatros
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iatreion
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Theophrastus
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THERAPEUTICS

• DIETARY CHANGES
• REST AND EXERCISE
• PHARMACA
• CHEIRURGIA

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HIPPOCRATES OF COS
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prognosis
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HIPPOCRATES OF COS