12 Curious Cures and Remarkable Remedies of Ancient Greece

 

 

Although the ancient Greeks mostly believed illness to be a divine punishment and that the cure or remedy was a gift from the gods, they were not afraid to seek help from Hippocrates, the top doctor of the day.

You won’t believe the weird remedies and cures the ancient Greeks trusted;

Some senseless, some embarrassing, some ridiculous, some hilarious but all curious, unusual and bizarre.

 

Asclepius:

The earliest Ancient Greek Doctor

 

The earliest Greek doctor was Asclepius; however, as he was the son of the god Apollo, did he really exist?

According to his devotees, he certainly did and they flocked to the temple dedicated to him at Epidauros, a small town in the Argolis area of the Peloponnese, in their hundreds.

 

 

The Temple of Asclepius at Epidaurus was especially famous in ancient times as no patient ever died there!

This is not surprising as anyone who was at death’s door was not allowed in and furthermore, if they took a turn for the worse after they were granted admission, if they stared to die shall we say, they were promptly and secretly dumped in the surrounding woods by the temple priests.

 

 

The doctors, the priests that is, were in for the money (some things never change), if you refused to pay, well, tough luck, the gods would make you ill again!

By fifth century BC, things improved when Hippocrates; “Father of Medicine” appeared on the scene.

He declared the magical cures doled out by the gods were nonsense and believed only in the study of the human body and experiments.

Experiments is the key word here, some of the cures suggested by Hippocrates seem ridiculous!

Would you dare try them?

 

Hippocrates:

Father of Western medicine

 

 

Hippocrates (5th to 4th century BC), the most famous doctor of all and father of Western medicine, considered the human body to be just a bag of fluid which he called ‘the four humours’, produced via digestion and ancient Greek Mathematician Pythagoras believed bodily fluids were part of a man’s soul.

The humours; yellow bile, black bile, phlegm and blood, each had its own special taste, urine, for example, was said to be akin to fig juice.

To Hippocrates’ way of thinking, the best way to diagnose an ailment was to chew on a bit of earwax or sip a wee dram of vomit to see if it was sweet or bitter and rub phlegm between thumb and forefinger, to check its consistency.

Now that’s called being dedicated to your profession!

 

An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.

 

 

Now, when it came to matters of health in ancient Greece, people not only had Asclepius, god of medicine and his daughter, Hygeia, goddess of health, cleanliness and hygiene (from whose name derives the word hygiene), looking out for them.

They were also aware, especially the more affluent and enlightened of them, that certain daily habits seemed to have a positive effect on their well-being.

 

 

The ancient Greeks followed a healthy diet and took care of their bodies, fitness being at the top of the list.

They washed regularly, occasionally cleaned their teeth and stuck to the belief:

‘Everything in moderation’, which, in point of fact, is a phrase coined in the 6th century B.C by Cleobulus o Lindos, a poet and one of the Seven Sages of Greece.

‘Pan metron ariston (παν μέτρον άριστον) – ‘Everything in moderation’, or ‘Metron Ariston’ – ‘moderation is best’.

Either way, ancient Greeks understood that you should live your life avoiding extremes as much as possible.

When it came to Hippocrate’s idea of preventing sickness and disease, the main thing was to keep your four humors in balance throughout the year.

 

The four Humours:

Blood, yellow bile, black bile and phlegm

 

 

The four humours (blood, yellow bile, black bile and phlegm), or the four fluids of the body, were thought to determine a person’s temperament.

The word humor comes from the Greek word χυμός – chymos, meaning juice or sap, which goes a long way to explaining why Hippocrates considered the human body to be just a bag of fluid.

According to Hippocrates, maintaining the balance of your humours (eukrasia) was crucial to good health, if your humous were out of whack (dyscrasia), then you could expect nothing but bad health and disease.

The quality the of humours was also taken into consideration, for example, yellow bile caused warm diseases and phlegm caused cold diseases.

 

 

Blood

Blood, in ancient Greece, thought to be produced by the liver, was related to a saguine temperament; charismatic, talkative, enthusiastic, active and sociable extroverts who enjoy being part of a crowd.

Yellow bile

Yellow bile, it was said, caused a choleric personality; at their best they’re ambitious, brave and proud but they can also be vindictive, deceitful and violent.

Without exception, they are irritable and bad-tempered.

 Black bile

Black bile created a melancholy nature, the word melancholy itself actually evolved from the Greek word for ‘black bile’: μέλαινα χολή – melaina kholé.

People with an overload of black bile were prone to become melancholy; they lived in the past, worried about the future and what others think, had suspicious minds and a hard time trusting others.

 Phlegm

The Phlegm talked about by Hippocrates, was not the secretion we today call phlegm but rather a pituitary secretion from the pituitary gland which secretes multiple hormones.

Phlegm was associated with a phlegmatic nature; relaxed, peaceful, quiet, easy-going people who tend to hide their emotions.

 

Curious cures and remarkable remedies

of ancient Greece

 

 

When dealing with the subject of bad health, when the situation seemed hopeless and it appeared that the gods had ignored your cries for help, the only option left for the ancient Greeks was to trust in the weird and sometimes ridiculous remedies introduced by Hippocrates.

Below are twelve ancient Greek medical remedies which beggar belief!

 

1. Breaking a sweat:

Gloios – grime, sweat and olive oil; the sweat of athletes, a curative mix

 

 

In ancient Greece, athletes performed naked, their bodies slathered with glistening olive oil.

 Considered to be the strongest and healthiest of Greeks by their fellow man, the sweat which they produced during competitions was thought to have magical healing powers.

 Slaves hung around the gymnasiums, where these highly-regarded athletes showed of their prowess, waiting for the events to come to an end, when they would rush to scrape, with special metal tools called ‘strigil‘, the sweaty, oily mixture, known as ‘gloios‘, from the skin of the worn out competitors.

 The ‘gloios‘ was bottled and sold as ointment which when rubbed on the limbs or torso, calmed and relieved aches and pains.

Even worse, this filthy mixture was also taken orally, as syrup, to aid performance in all things athletic and otherwise!

 

2. Red hot iron rods:

‘Burn so as to leave none of the hemorrhoids un-burnt’

 

 

Here’s an extreme remedy if ever I heard one, if I was living in those times, I’m sure I would prefer to surrender to the pain of Hemorrhoids, rather than endure the pain of the cure!

Back in ancient Greece it looks like they were a common occurrence, as pages and pages of medical journals were dedicated to them.

Hippocrates, in his book ‘On Hemorrhoids’, tells us, in a particulary detailed way, how he dealt with them, no matter how painful:

‘Burn so as to leave none of the hemorrhoids un-burnt, for you should burn them all up’

After first cutting them out the offending appendages with a sharp razor, they were then attacked with red hot iron rods, in fact, seven or eight of them!

‘I recommend seven or eight small pieces of iron to be prepared, a fathom in size…Having laid him on his back..burn so as to leave none of the hemorrhoids un-burnt, for you should burn them all up…When the cautery is applied, the patient’s head and hands should be held so that he may not stir..Smear a sponge with honey and apply…; the sponge is to be pushed as far up as possible’

It just doesn’t bear thinking about!

 

3. Going with the flow:

Bloodletting

 

 

Hippocrates considered bad blood to be the cause of many ailments; a fever was thought to be brought on by an excess of blood (too much blood was classed as bad blood), as were as syphilis, headaches, nosebleeds and pneumonia.

All these afflictions were treated with bloodletting, a treatment where the doctors would cut open a vein and drain off some blood, which was thought would carry off any illnesses and diseases with it.

Bloodletting was also used to cast out any evil spirits and demons which happened to have taken up residence in the body.

Sometimes, leeches were used to suck the blood directly from the skin.

Bloodletting, which could be referred to in ancient times as as humoral medicine and was also performed to retain the balance of the four humours; phlegm, black bile, yellow bile and blood (mentioned near the beginning of this post).

Occasionally, as with stubborn migraine headaches, bloodletting didn’t do the job, so Arateus of Cappadocia, a celebrated physician, came up with the answer; he would first shave the patients head before burning the flesh, along the hairline, down to the bone.

I don’t know if anyone survived this barbaric method long enough to inform us about whether or not it did the trick.

 

4. A hole in the head:

Trepanning

 

 

Trepanning, also known as trepanation, was the practice of creating a hole in the head by drilling straight through the skull, leaving the brain exposed and was performed to treat pain and neurological conditions.

Evidence shows the ancient Greeks were not only practicing this as far back as 7000 BC but invented the very instruments used to do it.

There were four basic techniques:

1. Scraping with a rough or abrasive tool until the dura, a thick membrane that surrounds the brain and spinal cord, was exposed.

 2. Using a sharp, pointed stone to carve a circular piece of bone from the skull.

 3. Drilling multiple holes to create a circle and then cutting the space between the holes to remove of a disk of bone, this was a dangerous method and probably rarely practiced.

4. Making four cross cuts to remove a rectangular piece of bone.

The practice of trepanning was additionally used to free demons and evil spirits from the heads of possessed people, by giving them a way out, incredibly, this was done to healthy people with no trace of head injury or illness.

Miraculously, trepanning, resulted in fewer deaths than you might expect.

 

5. An electrifying experience:

Electric shock treatment – There’s something fishy about this!

 

 

Doctors in ancient Greece used a form of electrotherapy, through a living, electrical device; – wait for it – a fish called Narce, which is now known as the Torpedo fish, or Electric Ray!

The Torpedo fish was capable of producing an electric discharge, ranging from 8 to 220 volts, depending on species.

 This treatment became possible owing to the fact that Aristotle, philosopher, Thales of Miletus, Greek mathematician, astronomer and philosopher and Theophrastus, a student of Aristotle, passed on their rudimentary understanding of magnetism and electricity (which at that time remained unnamed).

 Hippocrates, amongst others, used the electric fish for various disorders, including arthritis, and headaches.

 

6. Smelly solutions:

Animal dung for healthy, youthful skin

 

 

We’ve all probably heard how beneficial olive oil is for the skin, keeping it looking bright and wrinkle-free and how a sea salt scrub produces smooth skin, both olive oil and sea salt were abundant in ancient Greece and were used extensively, by both men and women.

A large range of flowers and herbs were also used for producing beauty products and women of ancient Greece were known to go as far as plastering their faces with white lead or chalk to make their faces look paler, in an ancient Greece, a sign of aristocracy.

Did you know though, that in ancient Greece, animal dung, especially from crocodiles, was considered a beauty balm for skin?

Animal dung was collected and mixed to a smooth paste with water and used around the eyes to cure scars and similar skin conditions.

They were even known to take dung baths, which left them feeling truly rejuvenated.

You know what they say though; everything in moderation.

 Maybe poor Heraclitus, a philosopher, had not heard of this saying; troubled by an annoying skin condition, Heraclitus took dung therapy a step too far, he buried himself in dung, fell asleep in the sun, overheated and died!

For hair growth, or premature hair loss, things were just as bad, if not worse; Hippocrates recommended a mix of pigeon droppings, opium, horseradish, beet root, and spices,  while Aristotle, on the other hand, swore by goat urine as a treatment instead.

The price they paid for beauty!

 

7. It’s all about taste:

Earwax has the answer

 

 

On visiting the doctor in ancient Greece, it would not be unusual for him to take body samples, as it is not unusual today either, what is considered extremely unusual today, is how those samples were tested.

You will be astounded to hear; it was normal practice, back in those days, for the doctor to taste the patients’ urine and sample their pus and earwax; bitter earwax was a sign of good health but sweet earwax was a sign of illness.

Your poop would be scrutinized and sniffed and he may even lick your vomit to see how sweet it was!

Dietary habits were pondered upon; did the patient drink clean water, was it summer or winter, which direction did the patients house face and which way the wind was blowing?

When it came to investigating an illness, making a diagnosis and deciding upon a suitable treatment, no stone was left unturned.

To be a doctor in ancient Greece, you certainly had to be dedicated and have a strong stomach to boot!

 

8. Ancient Greek teeth:

Twigs, horsehair and disgusting mouthwash

 

 

Surviving records from ancient Greece, show us just how innovative the Greeks were when it came to taking care of their teeth.

In place of today’s toothbrushes and toothpicks, they made do with sticks and twigs, which were quite effective and would be used after every meal.

They were also known to occasionally floss their teeth using horse hair.

However, when it came to mouthwash and gargling, their habits were positively disgusting; they used urine, yes, you read that correctly, the ancient Greeks used urine as a mouthwash!

It was believed that the ammonia found in urine, acted as an antiseptic and helped keep teeth brilliantly white.

 

9. A woman’s assorted ailments:

Put a little poop in your wine

 

 

There are always exceptions but in general, the ancient Greeks had an extreme disgust for women.

Meandros or Menander, an ancient Greek dramatist stated; ‘A woman is silver-coated dirt’, Aristotle, the great philosopher, held that a woman was a ‘deformed’ or ‘mutilated’ male.

Hesiod, the ancient Greek poet, in his poem; Works and Days, took things a step further by declaring that Pandora, the first woman, created by Zeus,was ‘a plague to men who eat bread’ and how she and all women descended from her, are directly responsible for all the evils that have ever befallen humanity.

Consequently, when a woman became ill, they believed there was no better treatment than disgusting filth.

A woman suffering from a discharge was given a mix of roast mule excrement and wine and those suffering from a miscarriage had cow dung smeared all over them, in the belief that this would prevent the misfortune from happening again.

 

10. The curious case of the wandering womb:

Plan A: Alluring Aromas – Plan B: Obnoxious Odors

 

 

The word hysteria originated from hysterika – the Greek word for uterus.

There was a widespread belief, throughout ancient Greece, that if a woman remained celibate for too long and was not regularly “watered” by a man; her womb, which was regarded as a creature with a mind of its own, would roam freely all around her body.

If the womb went ‘walk about’, owing to its desperate need to bear children, this would cause the woman to act crazy.

This may just be the most ridiculous concept of the Ancient Greek medicine.

The womb, so thought Ancient Greek physicians, could move up, down, left, right and centre.

To move upwards caused lethargy, idleness and sloth, if it decided to wander downwards, apart from a “strong sense of choking, loss of speech and sensibility” and could actually cause sudden death!

 

 

Aretaeus, a trusted ancient Greek doctor, who followed the methods of Hippocrates proclaimed:

‘The womb delights in fragrant smells and advances towards them; it has an aversion to foetid smells, and flees from them.’

Consequently, to prevent the womb from wandering, doctors enticed it back into by place rubbing pleasant smelling lotions between a woman’s thighs.

If the womb had already escaped towards the upper body, a quick sniff of something foul would soon have it running back to where it belonged.

 

The Viagra of Ancient Greece

 

 

Another solution for a restless womb was for Women to marry young and produce as many children as possible.

 An ancient Greek remedy, designed to provide men with everlasting stimulation; a concoction of honey and pepper, the ancient Viagra, when applied to the appropriate place, helped immensely when it came to keeping a woman in a perpetual state of pregnancy.

 

11. Dubious birth control:

 Ageing olive oil and pomegranates and don’t forget to sneeze

 

 

Soranus, an ancient Greek physician, who swore by sneezing as a form of birth control, (he also thought birth control was the women’s responsibility, not much changed there then), after making love, women were told to; squat, sneeze and rinse; atchoo!

 If this was not successful, the next time they were advised to use plan B;

 Rub honey, cedar resin or aged olive oil, over your privates; what a sticky mess, enough to put anyone off, maybe plan B worked!

Believe it or not, the pomegranate, which in ancient Greece symbolized love, marriage, fertility, birth, rebirth, hope, prosperity and eternity, so the wise men of ancient Greece tell us, could prevent unwanted pregnancies: pick one, peel it and then grind the peel into a water solution and apply ‘down below’.

As an extra precaution, once the pomegranate solution has been applied, drink a cup of honey water.

To my way of thinking, after reading the above, the ancient Greeks should have considered abstinence as the best precaution!

 

12. Ancient Greek pregnancy test:

To be used after Dubious ancient Greek birth control

 

 

I think this weird ancient Greek pregnancy test, would have had more success as a method of birth control, the abstinence method that is, men would certainly have kept their distance.

Ancient Greeks used rather a smelly method to ascertain whether a woman was pregnant; a clove of garlic was to be inserted into the woman’s vagina, where it would remain all night.

The next morning, if the woman had a bad case of garlic breath, she was not pregnant; however if her breath was sweet smelling, then she was pregnant.

The theory behind this madness was that if there was no baby, the road was clear, there was nothing to obstruct the odor of garlic from reaching the mouth, on the other hand, if the whiff of garlic on her breath was enough to knock you out, she was expecting a little bundle of joy.

 

If in doubt: Do nothing!

 

 

Hippocrates did get it right more times than not (even if for the wrong reasons).

 For example; when it came to attempting to keep the natural temperature of the body in check, he knew to keep a person warm when they had a cold and to keep them dry and cool when they were running a temperature.

He understood, that by bleeding patients, the balance of the blood was maintained and that purging re-established the balance of bile and so prescribed laxatives or diuretics.

As for his humoralist system of medicine, well that endured among European physicians until at least 1543

The Greeks were also the first to recognize that music was beneficial for mental and physical illness and gave us ‘The Hippocratic Oath’, the earliest expression of medical ethics in the Western world.

 

 

 Swearing an amended version of the Hippocratic oath remains a requirement for medical graduates in many countries, violations of the oath may result in legal dealings.

Even after reading all of the above positive facts about ancient Greek medicine, with regard to the bizarre treatments of ancient Greece, I am with Hippocrates when he states:

 ‘To do nothing is also a good remedy’!

 

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