research on ancient medicine

• Travel/Study

BIBLE HISTORY DAILY

Medicine in the ancient world.

Many Emergency Medical Service departments use the Star of Life – an image which is derived from ancient images of Asklepios. Snakes were believed to be sacred to the god, and he was often depicted as a bearded man with a walking staff that was entwined with serpents.

Life in the ancient world was risky business. The perils of war, disease, famine and childbirth are just a few examples of circumstances that contributed to a much lower average lifespan in the ancient world than we have in the modern era.

People in antiquity were no less concerned about the prevention and cure of maladies than they are now, however, and entire cults, sanctuaries and professions dedicated to health dotted the spiritual, physical and professional landscapes of the ancient world.

So what exactly did ancient cultures do to combat disease and injury , and did these methods have any real basis in science as we know it today? The answers may surprise you.

Prayer as Medicine

This first-century A.D. ceramic votive depicts an image of a uterus; It was probably dedicated by a woman in hopes of conceiving. Such a representation demonstrates a sophisticated understanding of both the anatomy and function of internal organs. Photo: British Museum.

Most Asklepions were located in remote and beautiful areas, such as the famous sanctuaries of Epidauros in Greece and Pergamon in northwest Turkey. Animal sacrifices and votive offerings were made at altars and temples to the god. Excavations at Asklepions have uncovered “anatomical votives,” so named because they represent the body part that was injured or affected by illness.

FREE eBook: Life in the Ancient World . Craft centers in Jerusalem, family structure across Israel and ancient practices—from dining to makeup—through the Mediterranean world.

The Beginnings of Modern Medicine

This gilded bronze ear was presented to the Asklepion at ancient Pergamon by a woman named Fabia Secunda, who had it made “for the god Asklepios because the ear was healed in a dream.”

From such writings, as well as other inscriptions, we see that ancient physicians knew that lancing, draining and cleaning infected wounds promoted healing, and that they knew of certain herbs that had healing and disinfecting properties. b Wild ginger was known to be helpful for nausea, and a particular clay found on the Greek island of Lemnos was believed to be helpful for ailments such as dysentery. This clay, called terra sigillata for the stamped discs that were formed from it and sold as medicine, contains the counterpart to elements such as kaolin and bentonite, which are used in modern medicines to treat diarrhea.

Become a BAS All-Access Member Now!

Read Biblical Archaeology Review online, explore 50 years of BAR , watch videos, attend talks, and more

Surgical Techniques

Surgical techniques in the ancient world could be surprisingly advanced. The famous Roman physician Galen (c. 129–199 A.D.), who was born in ancient Pergamon near the Asklepion, is generally regarded as the most accomplished medical researcher of the Roman world, and some of his surgical procedures would not be seen again until modern times. He successfully conducted cataract surgeries by inserting a needle behind the lens of the eye in order to remove the cataract, and his described methods of preparing a clean operating theater reveal a keen awareness of contagion. 1 While some of Galen’s practices and theories are still followed and praised by physicians today, others, such as his rejection of the stomach wall as having no role in digestion, have been proven by modern science to be erroneous.

Medicine as Science

This first-century A.D. relief of a leg was dedicated by a man named Tycheas as “a thank-offering to Asklepios and Hygeia” at the Asklepion on the island of Melos, Greece. Photo: Bridgeman Art Library.

Perhaps one of the most famous eastern physicians was Abu ‘Ali al-Husayn ibn ‘Abd Allah ibn Sina (980–1037 A.D.), whose work The Canon of Medicine codified existing medical knowledge. The Canon includes descriptions, causes and diagnostic techniques for conditions such as rabies, stomach ulcers, different types of hepatitis, breast cancer , facial paralysis, diphtheria, leprosy, diabetes, cancer and gout. Later translations Latinized his name to Avicenna, and by the 13th century his work had become the standard medical reference text throughout Western Europe.

Watch author Sarah Yeomans as she lectures on “Doctors, Diseases and Deities: Epidemic Crises and Medicine in Ancient Rome.”

A scarred skull demonstrates evidence of trephination, a surgical technique in which holes were drilled in the patient’s skull to relieve intracranial pressure caused by head trauma. Photo: Israel Antiquities Authority.

Trepanation

Archaeology has further illuminated medical practices in the ancient world. Certain skeletons discovered during excavations demonstrate evidence of rather astonishing surgical successes. Perhaps the most startling evidence of sophisticated ancient surgery can be found in skulls that show signs of trepanation , a procedure still used today that is performed by drilling a hole into the skull to relieve intracranial pressure.

Trepanated skulls from ancient societies in Central and South America, Africa, Asia, Europe and the Near and Middle East have been found that perhaps date back as far as the Mesolithic period, about 12,000 years ago. 2 By examining the bone regrowth around the surgical hole in the skull, scientists are able to determine how long the patient survived after undergoing the procedure. Some patients died immediately, some lived only a few weeks, but others seem to have healed completely.

The plague of Justinian was one of the worst epidemics in human history. Click here to read a Bible History Daily feature on the pestilence, including research on bacterial links between the Justinian plague and the Black Death.

Excavations have also revealed evidence of sophisticated dental practices in antiquity. In a mass grave at Horvat en Ziq in the northern Negev desert of Israel, a skull dating to about 200 B.C. was found that contains one of the earliest known dental fillings. A 2.5-millimeter bronze wire had been inserted into the tooth’s canal. d Elsewhere, skulls recovered from the catacombs in Rome, which were in use during the first through the fifth centuries A.D., exhibit some rather pricey dental work: Several were recovered that have gold fillings.

A 2.5 millimeter bronze wire (indicated by an arrow) in this tooth’s canal is evidence of early dentistry. Discovered in a mass grave at Horvat En Ziq, a small Nabatean fortress in the northern Negev desert in Israel, the incisor contains one of the earliest known fillings, dating to about 200 B.C.E. Photo: Israel Antiquities Authority.

Medical Instruments

Ironically, it is often the funerary monuments and graves of ancient doctors that attest to their care of the living. Tablets that decorated funerary altars of physicians often depicted the instruments of their profession—objects that look remarkably similar to instruments used by surgeons today. Scalpels, forceps, forked probes for examining wounds, needles for stitching wounds, small spoons for cleaning wounds and measuring medicines, catheters and even gynecological specula are all examples of instruments employed by the medical doctors of antiquity.

This array of bronze surgical instruments, from a private collection in Jerusalem, dates from 40 B.C.E. to 400 C.E. and includes spoons used to scrape out wounds (lower right), a forked probe (among the spoons), knife and scalpel handles (center, their iron blades have disintegrated), spatula probes for working in wounds (lower left), forceps (upper left), hooks used to hold the skin back (left of center), and cyathisconele, cupped tools used to clean wounds (top center). Photo: Zev Radovan.

Of course, calling on a higher power for assistance during a physical trial or illness was as common in the ancient world as it is today. Many modern hospitals have nondenominational worship spaces where people can pray and meditate; people in antiquity visited shrines and temples to do the same. Individuals preparing to undergo dangerous ordeals such as childbirth or battle would often invoke the protection of the divine. Even as medical science continues to evolve, the contemplation of mortality will likely continue to cause humans to look beyond the known for the explanations that even modern science cannot yet provide.

This article was originally published in November 2013.

a. Bronwen Wickkiser, “ Asklepios Appears in a Dream, ” Archaeology Odyssey , July/August 2005 .

b. George B. Griffenhagen, “ Origins: On the Pill ,” Archaeology Odyssey , May/June 2002 .

c. David W. Tschanz, “ Origins: A Cure for the Common Cold? ” Archaeology Odyssey , Summer 1998 .

d. Hector Avolos, “ Ancient Medicine ,” Bible Review , June 1995 .

1. See Galen, Galen on the Usefulness of the Parts of the Body , trans. by Margaret Tallmadge May (Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press, 1968) and A. Sorsby, A. Modern Ophthalmology (London: Butterworths, 1963).

2. See S. Missios, “ Hippocrates, Galen, and the Uses of Trepanation in the Ancient Classical World ,” Neurosurgical Focus 23(1):E11 (2007); P. Marino and M. Gonzales-Portillo,” Preconquest Peruvian Neurosurgeons: A Study of Inca and Pre-Columbian Trephination and the Art of Medicine in Ancient Peru ” Neurology 47:4, (2000), pp. 940–955.

Related reading in Bible History Daily

Doctors, Diseases and Deities: Epidemic Crises and Medicine in Ancient Rome

Searching for the Balm of Gilead

Ancient Cupping in Israel

All-Access members, read more in the BAS Library

Ancient Medicine: In case of emergency, contact your local prophet

From Pets to Physicians: Dogs in the Biblical World

Free Clinic for Ancient Egyptians

Magic Incantation Bowls: Charms to Curse, to Cure and to Celebrate

Healing Waters: The Social World of Hot Springs in Roman Palestine

Not a BAS Library or All-Access Member yet? Join today.

Related Posts

The Origins of Democracy

By: James Sickinger

A Biblical Spice Rack

By: Devorah Emmet Wigoder

How Were Biblical Psalms Originally Performed?

By: Marek Dospěl

The Temple on Mount Gerizim—In the Bible and Archaeology

By: Megan Sauter

1 Responses

To be honest, I am shocked to discover the myth of “dissection of corpse banned by the church only after 6th century” is reiterated in this supposedly scholarly article. Galen never dissect human corpse, because it is forbidden under Roman law, and his research is consequently limited to ape dissection. Human corpse dissection was forbidden for most of the time during the Greco-Roman era except the early 3rd century BCE Alexandria. There was never a universal ban on dissection in medieval Europe. The Europeans had performed significant numbers of human dissections, especially postmortem autopsies during this era. reference: The Rise of Early Modern Science: Islam, China and the West

Write a Reply or Comment Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recent Blog Posts

Phoenician Ship Raised from the Seafloor

Deborah in the Bible

Milestones: Donald B. Redford (1934–2024)

Must-read free ebooks.

The Dead Sea Scrolls: Past, Present, and Future

Biblical Peoples—The World of Ancient Israel

Who Was Jesus? Exploring the History of Jesus’ Life

Ancient Israel in Egypt and the Exodus

Want more bible history.

Sign up to receive our email newsletter and never miss an update.

By submitting above, you agree to our privacy policy .

All-Access Membership

Dig into the illuminating world of the Bible with a BAS All-Access Membership. Get your print subscription to BAR and your online access to the BAS Library—as well as FREE online talks and Travel/Study discounts. Start your journey into the biblical past today!

Learn More Subscribe Today

Signup for Bible History Daily to get updates!

Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History Essays

Medicine in classical antiquity.

Carnelian ring stone with Asclepius, the god of medicine

Limestone statuette of a childbirth scene

Spoon or ligula

Sarcophagus with a Greek Physician

Colette Hemingway Independent Scholar

October 2004

Medicine in classical antiquity was a collection of beliefs, knowledge, and experience. What we know of early medical practice is based upon archaeological evidence, especially from Roman sites—medical instruments ( 17.230.110 ), votive objects, prescription stamps, etc.—and from ancient literary sources. Most of the literary evidence is preserved in treatises attributed to the Greek physician Hippocrates (ca. 460–370 B.C.) and the Roman physician Galen (129–199/216) ( 74.51.5491 ).

From the earliest times, treatments involved incantations, invoking the gods , and the use of magical herbs, amulets, and charms. Drug sellers, root cutters, midwives, gymnastic trainers , and surgeons all offered medical treatment and advice. In the absence of formal qualifications, any individual could offer medical services, and literary evidence for early medical practice shows doctors working hard to distinguish their own ideas and treatments from those of their competitors. The roots of Greek medicine were many and included ideas assimilated from Egypt and the Near East, particularly Babylonia.

Medical practitioners frequently traveled from town to town, but there is little evidence to suggest that they were hired to provide free care for the general population. In Rome, for instance, where traditional Italian medicine competed with foreign imports, many doctors were Greek. Anyone could practice medicine, although most were free citizens. Medical training in ancient Greece and Rome might take the form of an apprenticeship to another doctor, attendance at medical lectures, or even at public anatomical demonstrations.

In ancient Greece and Rome, Asklepios was revered as the patron god of medicine ( 81.6.94 ). Two of the most famous healing sanctuaries sacred to the god were at Epidauros and on the island of Kos. The success of the cult of Asklepios in antiquity was due to his accessibility—although the son of Apollo, he was still human enough to attempt to cancel death . Those who sought a cure in the temples erected to him were subjected to ritual purifications, fasts, prayers, and sacrifices. A central feature of the cult and the process of healing was known as incubation, during which the god appeared to the afflicted one in a dream and prescribed a treatment.

Hemingway, Colette. “Medicine in Classical Antiquity.” In Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History . New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2000–. http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/medi/hd_medi.htm (October 2004)

Further Reading

Grant, Michael, and John Hazel. Who's Who in Classical Mythology . London: Dent, 1993.

Hornblower, Simon, and Antony Spawforth, eds. The Oxford Classical Dictionary . 3d ed., rev. New York: Oxford University Press, 2003.

Karageorghis, Vassos, in collaboration with Joan R. Mertens and Marice E. Rose. Ancient Art from Cyprus: The Cesnola Collection in the Metropolitan Museum of Art . New York: Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2000. See on MetPublications

Milne, John Stewart. Surgical Instruments in Greek and Roman Times . Oxford: Clarendon, 1907.

Greece and Rome . Introduction by Joan Mertens. New York: Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1987. See on MetPublications

Penn, R. G. Medicine on Ancient Greek and Roman Coins . London: Seaby, 1994.

Scarborough, John. Roman Medicine . Ithaca, N.Y.: Cornell University Press, 1969.

Additional Essays by Colette Hemingway

• Hemingway, Colette. “ Art of the Hellenistic Age and the Hellenistic Tradition .” (April 2007)
• Hemingway, Colette. “ Greek Hydriai (Water Jars) and Their Artistic Decoration .” (July 2007)
• Hemingway, Colette. “ Hellenistic Jewelry .” (April 2007)
• Hemingway, Colette. “ Intellectual Pursuits of the Hellenistic Age .” (April 2007)
• Hemingway, Colette. “ Mycenaean Civilization .” (October 2003)
• Hemingway, Colette. “ Retrospective Styles in Greek and Roman Sculpture .” (July 2007)
• Hemingway, Colette. “ Africans in Ancient Greek Art .” (January 2008)
• Hemingway, Colette. “ Ancient Greek Colonization and Trade and their Influence on Greek Art .” (July 2007)
• Hemingway, Colette. “ Architecture in Ancient Greece .” (October 2003)
• Hemingway, Colette. “ Greek Gods and Religious Practices .” (October 2003)
• Hemingway, Colette. “ The Art of Classical Greece (ca. 480–323 B.C.) .” (January 2008)
• Hemingway, Colette. “ The Labors of Herakles .” (January 2008)
• Hemingway, Colette. “ Athletics in Ancient Greece .” (October 2002)
• Hemingway, Colette. “ The Rise of Macedon and the Conquests of Alexander the Great .” (October 2004)
• Hemingway, Colette. “ The Technique of Bronze Statuary in Ancient Greece .” (October 2003)
• Hemingway, Colette. “ Women in Classical Greece .” (October 2004)
• Hemingway, Colette. “ Cyprus—Island of Copper .” (October 2004)
• Hemingway, Colette. “ Music in Ancient Greece .” (October 2001)
• Hemingway, Colette. “ Ernest Hemingway (1899–1961) and Art .” (October 2004)
• Hemingway, Colette. “ Etruscan Art .” (October 2004)
• Hemingway, Colette. “ Prehistoric Cypriot Art and Culture .” (October 2004)
• Hemingway, Colette. “ Sardis .” (October 2004)
• Hemingway, Colette. “ Southern Italian Vase Painting .” (October 2004)
• Hemingway, Colette. “ Theater in Ancient Greece .” (October 2004)
• Hemingway, Colette. “ The Kithara in Ancient Greece .” (October 2002)
• Hemingway, Colette. “ Minoan Crete .” (October 2002)

Related Essays

• Death, Burial, and the Afterlife in Ancient Greece
• Greek Gods and Religious Practices
• Athletics in Ancient Greece
• Birth and Family in the Italian Renaissance
• Ethiopian Healing Scrolls
• Medicine in the Middle Ages
• Popular Religion: Magical Uses of Imagery in Byzantine Art
• The Roman Empire (27 B.C.–393 A.D.)
• Roman Glass
• Roman Housing
• Roman Inscriptions
• Women in Classical Greece

List of Rulers

• List of Rulers of the Ancient Greek World
• List of Rulers of the Roman Empire
• Ancient Greece, 1000 B.C.–1 A.D.
• Ancient Greece, 1–500 A.D.
• The Eastern Mediterranean and Syria, 1000 B.C.–1 A.D.
• The Eastern Mediterranean and Syria, 1–500 A.D.
• Italian Peninsula, 1000 B.C.–1 A.D.
• Italian Peninsula, 1–500 A.D.
• Ancient Greek Art
• Ancient Roman Art
• Babylonian Art
• Classical Period
• Cosmetic Implement
• Deity / Religious Figure
• Immortality
• Scientific Instrument
• Southern Italy