Our story begins in Ancient Greece, a cradle of civilization and birthplace of many medical developments. Glaucoma comes from the Greek glaukos, a word that denoted a light bluish color. Greek scholars believe this originally described eyes with cataracts, which can take on a frosted, glassy appearance. Though the Greeks recognized the existence of progressive vision loss and were able to label it, they did not yet fully understand the nature of glaucoma as a distinct form of vision loss. It would not be until the 17th century that doctors began making serious headway against glaucoma.