The Weird and Wonderful History of Medicine

Some more gossipy tidbits from Doctor George Burden on how the ancients practiced medicine.

Herodotus was one of the most famous of ancient historians. Born between 490 and 480 B.C.E., he chronicled in The Histories much of what happened in and around ancient Greece of this time period. Among other topics, medicine and the medical profession did not escape his scrutiny.

One medical observation Herodotus made concerned his visit to the site of an old battlefield from a conflict between Persians and Egyptians. “…I noticed that the skulls of the Persians are so thin that the merest touch with a pebble will pierce them, but those of the Egyptians on the other hand [are] so tough that it is hardly possible to break them with a stone. I was told…that the reason was that the Egyptians shave their heads from childhood, so that the bone of the skull is indurated by the sun — this is why they hardly ever go bald…”

This sounds more like a recipe for sunburn and or heat stroke. Perhaps the Egyptians consumed a better diet, due to the fertility of the Nile Valley.

Sometimes Herodotus teased with tidbits such as: “The Scythians who robbed the temple of Ascalon were punished by the goddess with the infliction of what is called ‘the female disease’, and their descendants still suffer from it.” He told his readers that they could still go to their country and see what it was like, so the condition was evidently something a casual observer could detect. He added, “The Scythians call those who suffer from it ‘Enarees’.” What was this mysterious ailment?

Herodotus praised the Babylonians of the time who had no doctors but placed all their invalids out on the street. All passersby were required by law to ask what was the matter and offer advice on the ailment. I don’t know about Babylonian times but my patient’s family and friends have never had to have any inducement to offer free medical advice. In any event, this would surely save on health care costs. Herodotus added that the Babylonians bured their dead in honey, literally going to the sweet hereafter.

He described how the ancient Egyptians split the practice of medicine into separate parts, with each doctor being responsible for the treatment of only one disease. Egyptian doctors were considered to be the best in the ancient world of the time. One eye specialist in particular was to cause his countrymen a great deal of grief. It seems the King of Persia requested an ophthalmologist from Egyptian king, Amasis. In resentment for being torn away from his wife and family, the doctor devised a scheme for revenge. He convinced the Persian monarch, Cambyses, to ask for the hand of the daughter of Amasis in marriage. Knowing the pharaoh would never agree to this match, he speculated a war would break out. Amasis initially tricked Cambyses by sending the daughter of a previous pharaoh. When the deception was discovered, Persian troops conquered Egypt and the eye doctor had his revenge.

The most extensive medical story Herodotus related was that of the Greek physician, Democedes. The Persian King, Darius, dislocated his ankle as he dismounted from a horse. Certain Egyptian doctors of high repute attempted to treat the king, “But in their efforts to reduce the joint, they wrenched the foot so clumsily that they only made matters worse.”

Darius was in severe pain for one week, and on the eighth day one of his courtiers informed him of Democedes’ skill as a physician. He sent for the medic, who was a slave of a Persian named Oroetes. In chains and in a disheveled state Democedes appeared before Darius, but initially he denied being a doctor. The threat of whips and iron spikes convinced him to admit his qualifications and he soon cured the Persian king. The grateful monarch showered Democedes with wealth, gave him a home and insisted he dine at the royal table. Being rather peeved with his Egyptian doctors, Darius intended to impale them, a process in which a victim has a sharpened spike inserted through the anus. With a commendable display of professional courtesy, Democedes convinced Darius to let them go unharmed.

Shortly after these events, Atossa, the wife of Darius, developed a breast abscess which burst and began to spread. Shamed, she concealed it, but then became dangerously ill and sent for Democedes. He agreed to cure her but on the condition she would do him any service he might choose to ask. After effecting a cure he asked Atossa to influence Darius to send him on a Persian scouting party, ostensibly as a prelude to the conquest of Greece. His intention was to escape and make his way back to his home in Crotona.

Darius assented to his wife’s request. When the vessel the physician was aboard arrived in the Greek colony of Tarentum, Democedes induced the ruler to arrest the Persians as spies. They were later released, tracking the medic to Crotona, but the town’s people beat them with sticks when they attempted to recapture their beloved doctor. Herodotus writes, “Just before they left, Democedes told them to let Darius know that he was engaged to be married to the daughter of Milo the wrestler, whose name was held in high esteem in the Persian court.” This was apparently supposed to spite the Persian king in some way, though I think something is lost in the translation.

We tend to think of ancient Greek doctors as practicing quietly under plane trees on rustic islands. But it is evident that their lives could be every bit as exciting, dangerous and downright weird as in modern times. They even got involved in politics!

Photo Credit

“Herodotus” Library of Congress

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