New Diseases and Sectarian Debate in Hellenistic and Roman Medicine

Ancient medical practitioners discussed and debated whether previously unknown kinds of disease had been discovered and whether new diseases could come into existence. The debate over new diseases was of fundamental importance in defining the medical sects (haireseis) which came to dominate elite medicine from the Hellenistic period. This paper offers an overview of the most significant Greek and Roman sources for the debate over new diseases and an account of the origins and significance of this debate.

The cradle of Western medicine

The origins of Western Medicine can be found through the Greeks and the Romans, originally with Mythological figures represented by the god Asclepius, and later by Greek doctors such as Hippocrates and Galen. Roman medicine was highly influenced by the Greek medical tradition, relying more on naturalistic observations rather than on spiritual rituals. The writings of Galen survived more than other medical scriptures in antiquity. His theories dominated and influenced Western medical science for more than 1,300 years. This acceptance led to the spread of Greek medical theories throughout the Roman Empire, and thus a large portion of the West. Most of the actual medical terms are of Greek origin, as they were the founders of rational medicine in the golden age of Greek civilization. The Hippocrates were the first to describe diseases based on observation, and the names given by them to many conditions are still used today. On the other hand, most anatomical terms are in Latin (Nomina Anatomica), explained by the printed descriptions and illustrations of human dissections published in 1543 in the seminal work “De humani corporis fabrica” (“The Fabric of the Human Body”) by Andreas Vesalius.

Feet and fertility in the healing temples: a symbolic communication system between gods and men?

Anatomical ex-votos of feet have always been interpreted as representing the unhealthy part of the body for which patients were asking healing. However, according to the archaeological data and literary sources, another interpretation is also possible: the purpose of this article is to focus on the strong relationship between feet and fertility in the ancient world by cross-referencing the available archaeological evidence with the scientific data relating to this topic. That shed light on an important aspect of the Healing Temples in Greek and Roman medicine.

Mental and physical gradualism in Graeco-Roman medicine

The aim of this chapter is to explore how ancient medical ideas offer relevant parallels to the modern notions of degree vagueness and combinatorial vagueness with respect to mental health and its management. By closely examining several key examples, this chapter argues that Graeco-Roman physicians recognized physical and mental health as states that admit of gradation and were aware of the nuances, variations, and even the relativity of the distinction between ‘healthy’ and ‘ill’. When it comes to notions of physical and mental health, these nuances are both quantitative and qualitative. One of the characteristics of Graeco-Roman medicine is the consideration given to a body–mind continuum as something that is subject to health and disease and can be the object of medical attention. Section 2 introduces ancient conceptions of physical health and demonstrates the relevance of degree and combinatorial vagueness in this domain. Section 3 focuses on mental health.