The Chicago whip. (Chicago, Ill.) 1919-19??, 1920-08-07
HEALTH HINTS.
BY J. Sylvander Trice. Nj. D.

Ancient Greek Medicine
The laws of Hammarubi show, iron
the earl;es, writings, that the frs
medicine service after an advance hat
been made from fetish worship an,
Shamanism, were OF surgical nature
Pythagoras $3.50 B. c. was lookeC
upon as being the founder OF phylo
iophical medicine. The Aledanderiai
Library of Medicine was founded ii
500 3. c. This period was graced b,
H;ppocorates who was born in 4oI
3. c, aid was - RI father Of al
medical science.
Ii is said that the Greeks were thu
wisest, wittiest, and most versatile
OF all ancient people. They were ;
complete nation made up of various
adventurous tribes from Ionia, Thes
sally and Arcadia. They were prac
tically isolated from the rest of thu
world by their semi-insular and di
versified country, indented with deer
arms of the sea and protected BY
abrupt mountain walls. The inhabi
tants became strong, patriotic, proud
and self-centered while at the same
time they enjoyed the cultural ad-
Santsges of free maritime intercourse
with the outside world. The world
can never repay its obligation to the
Greeks Tor the formative impetus
they gave to the human mind nor for
the example OF beauty aud excellence
with which they have embellished the
earthly existence Of every man. For
the science, grandeur OF their sur
roundings, their Unborn love of beauty
and excellence in mind. body and
estate bore abundant fruit and III
respect shaped the thoughts and
the ideas for all succeed
ing generations OF mankind.
Medicine, as in the fine arts, philos-
ophy, rhetoric and poetry laid the
for all future development,
and themselves reached degrees OF ex-
ccllence which has in some respects
never been surpassed As modern
religion reverts back to Jesus the
Man OF Nazareth" modern medicine
looks back to Hippocrates Of Greece.
The Greeks being made up of a
OF rowing warlike and seafar-
ing tribes, who worshipped variety
Of gods, had an assortment OF tutelary
and medical deities. Detcmere was
the divinity of farmers Dionysus of
vine growers, Poseidon of sailors, and
so on. Medicine had its gods and
godesses also, who presided over
different functions OF the body and
were able to produce and cure human
diseases and to send plaques and
oestilences and to avert them. The
same disease might be caused by diff
ierent dei,ies at different times. In
he Hippocratic account of the sacred
diseases" (epilepsy) SO called, APP
because epileptics were
bought to be possessed with devils
Or spirits, the seizures are attributed
o different deities as follows: If
hey initiate goat or grind Their
eeth or il their right side be con-
,ulsed they say that the mother Of
he gods (Cybele) is the cause. If
hey speak in sharper, shriller tone
hey liken this state to horse and
Jay that Poseidon is the cause, but If
foam be emitted from the mouth
md the patient kick with his feet,
Ares Mars gets the blame. There
we're great number of gods and
yoddesses who possessed the power
Il healing and OF causing diseases.
There was Apollo (cailed AlcXikakos)
the ayerter of ills. He was also di-
rector OF the sun and the giyer OF
eight Apollo was, as we'll as a god OF
healing, god OF poetry, art and music,
and dispenser OF justice; he was also
physici receiving name
4 Palan, thus we have the term sons
II Palan applied to physicians. OF
the gods and godesses who influence
ills and healing were with Apollo
Centaur Chiron, Jason, Hercules,
Achilles and Aesculapios, who was
the son of Apollo.
Aeschulapius was struck and killed by
a thunderbolt, Jupiter hurled at him
to please Pluto, because OF diminished
of deaths. Temples, called
Asclepieia, were erected in his honor
and he was made the object of their
These temples later proved
to be nothing more than "Devine
Sanatoria." where the sick were
treated. Much of the treatment ir
these sanitoria depended upon analysis
Of the patients dreams. If the patient
recovered he was expected to present
a thank offering TO the god which
usually was model OF the diseased
part in wax, silver or gold, having Z
history OF the treatment attached
In instances the patients were healed
by the anointment of the sick while
asleep by the god or that one of the
sacred dogs or snakes in the temple
had licked the affected parts. One
sufferer who had ioS4 ire use of foul
fingers, another who was blind, an
other who had an ulcer of the stom
ach, and still another who had car
ried spear point in his jaw for 81,
years were all cured by the methods
stated above, SO the records show.
Continued next week.