Food and diet in ancient medicine
Therefore, when a person becomes ill, modern treatments "target" the specific pathogen or bacterium in order to "beat" or "kill" the disease.
[1] Surgery was regarded by Greek and Roman physicians as extreme and damaging while prevention was seen as the crucial first step to healing almost all ailments.
The eating of correctly balanced foods made up the majority of preventative treatment as well as to restore harmony to the body after it encountered disease.
Ancient Greek medicine is described as rational, ethical and based upon observation, conscious learning and experience.
[2] It is important, however, to note that this rational approach to medicine did not always exist in the ancient Greek medical world, nor was it the only popular method of healing.
Along with rational Greek medicine, disease was also thought of as being of supernatural origin, resulting from the gods inflicting punishment or from demonic possession.
Sacrifices, exorcisms, spells and prayers were then carried out in order to reconcile with the gods and restore health to the patient.
[1]: 338 In Hippocratic medicine, the qualities in foods are analogous to the four humors in the body: too much of a single one is bad, a proper mixture is ideal.
Therefore, the consumption of correctly balanced foods and life-style of the patient was crucial to the prevention and treatment of disease in Ancient Greece.
[7] In the same Hippocratic text, the author goes on to explain that villages facing east and that are exposed to winds from the north-east, south-east and west tended to be healthy and, "the climate in such a district may be compared with the spring in that there are no extremes of heat and cold.
[7]: 151 As an example of the importance of seasonal food on maintaining balance of the humours and preventing disease is given by Hippocrates in "On Regimen" when the authors state that, "in winter, to secure a dry and hot body it is better to eat wheaten bread, roast meat, and few vegetables; whereas in summer it is appropriate to eat barley cake, barley meat and softer foods," (qtd.
[8] Because many physicians believed that red wine paralleled blood, it could be used to provide health and comfort as a result of its "hot and dry" nature.
While it was seen in a positive light, many Hippocratic physicians were also aware of the negative aspects of wine consumption along with the physical consequences of doing so.
[8] Gout, called podagra in ancient Greek medicine, is a common arthritis caused by deposition of monosodium urate crystals within the joints.
[9]: 85 However, purging with white hellebore was probably for the more chronic cases due to the fact that wine and barleywater drinks were very strongly recommended.
Additionally, legumes contain a high amount of albumen, which led them to be a critical dietary supplement in countries where meat was in short supply and difficult to store.
The extensive medicinal qualities of the bitter vetch were thought reliable enough to later administer to Roman emperors such as Augustus.
[13] Galen understood the humoral theory in a dynamic sense rather than static sense such that yellow bile is hot and dry like fire; black bile is dry and cold like earth; phlegm is cold and moist like water; and blood is moist and hot.
[15] The Ancient Greece classified cancer as a peculiar illness that is caused by the excessive amount of black bile.
[19] Additional to the contributions by Archagathus of Sparta, many Greek doctors and scientists found themselves in Rome as prisoners of war.
Aside from captivity, these Greek doctors and scientists also preferred practicing medicine in Rome due to the relatively better financial incentive that existed.
[20] Later on in the 3rd century, the Roman expanded their findings and adopted a theological treatment system known as the cult of Aesculapius where thermal baths were used to treat illnesses.
