Ancient civilizations played a massive role in how physicians today practice medicine. Without the ideas of ancient Egypt and ancient Greece, modern medicine may have been different. I feel that these two civilizations are responsible for many diagnostic tools we use today. I will be comparing and contrasting the medicinal practices of ancient Egypt and ancient Greece.
By reading various papyri we are able to dive into the Egyptian practice of medicine. These papyri explore various illnesses and their cures. Papyrus texts reveal that doctors had detailed knowledge of the various body systems. The knowledge of medicine, anatomy and the functioning of the human body has been attributed to the embalming procedures practiced by the Egyptians. They were very advanced in herbal remedies. Radishes, onions, juniper berries and garlic were a big part of this civilizations diet. The antibodies in these foods are raphanin, allicin, and allistatin, which all contain sulfur which we use as an antibiotic to treat different types of infections.
They were known to prescribe castor oil as a laxative. Pain was eased by mandrakes and henbane. They were very skilled in treating injuries such as breakages, burns, and infections. Broken bones were set with splints made of strips of bark wrapped in linen, honey was used to treat burns and mold from bread was used as an antibiotic. Egyptian physicians also performed surgeries like relieving pressure on the brain and were adept at performing eye surgery. They also believed highly in cleanliness. They would perform a purification ritual before proceeding to treat a patient.
Another part of Egyptian medicine was magic. They used charms and spells to help treat patients. The physician would perform rituals involving incantations of various spells. These spells were believed to rid patients of evil spirits.
Physicians were trained at the Per Ankh or ‘The house of light’. physicians also treated their patients here. The Egyptians believed that Gods also had something to do with ailments. For example, it was believed that defying the god Zenus would cause tumors which could not be cured.
Like that of Egypt, ancient Greece also believed in gods. Asclepius is the god of medicine and healing. Healing temples were built in Asclepius’ honor. People would flock to these healing temples because they believed that all of their illnesses would be cured. Greek physicians also believed in using magic and rituals and cure patients of sickness.
In Greece, medicine and religion were strongly tied together. Hippocrates, known as “the father of medicine” wanted to separate medicine from the divine. He began to question patients to properly help them. Hippocrates would ask patients how they felt, he would check their symptoms and then diagnosis and treat them. He influenced our world of modern medicine because this is how physicians today treat patients. He also introduced case studies, which was the first step in modern medicine.
Greeks also used various herbs to treat illness. Anise, a flowering plant, was used to help relieve women of menstrual cramps. Black hellebore was used to help treat paralysis and gout. Greeks also believed that we were made out of substances known as the four humors; sanguine (blood), choleric (yellow bile) , melancholic (black bile) and phlegmatic (phlegm). Greeks believed that if you were healthy, that was because your four humors were balanced. If you had too much of one humor, you would be unbalanced and you would feel ill. For example, if you has too much blood it would give you a fever. Your medical treatments would aim to balance the blood in your body. Physicians would treat this by cutting your arm until blood came out and this was believed to reduce fever.
Greeks were adept surgeons. They introduced the use of modern medical instruments such as forceps, scalpels, syringes, catheters and the spoon of Kritolonious which was used for eye surgery. They also believed highly in sterilization.
Both of these civilizations believed that magic and rituals could cure patients of illness. They also believed that gods would cure or cause illness for you. Both believed in healing temples. Greece had the temple of Asclepius and Egypt had Per Ankh. Like Egypt, Greeks were able to perform surgical procedures, however, the Greeks were more advanced because they had proper surgical instruments. The Greeks believed in the four humors while the Egyptians did not.
In conclusion, Egypt and Greece were both far ahead of their times with as far as diagnosing and treating illness. Without either of these civilizations , modern medicine could possibly be different than we know today.