And sinks, a heavy lump of earth, below.
Thus are their figures never at a stand,
But changed by Nature’s innovating hand.”[371]
Greek Theories of Disease.
As the Greeks believed that all diseases were the consequences of the anger of the gods, it was in their temples that cures were most likely to take place. Faith was the sine quâ non in the patient, and everything about the temple and its ceremonies was calculated to excite religious awe and to stimulate faith. Preliminary purifications, fasting, massage, and fomentations with herbs, were necessary parts of the initiatory ceremonies, and the imagination was excited by everything that the sufferer saw around him. He heard the stories of the marvellous cures which had taken place at the sacred fane. Tablets round the walls, placed there by grateful worshippers who had been cured in the past,[372] served to fill the mind with hope, when, as was the practice, the patient lay down in the holy place by the image of the healing god, that in the incubatory sleep the remedies which were to cure him might be revealed. Sometimes no such revelation was vouchsafed, then sacrifices and prayers were offered; if these failed, the priests themselves would appear in the mask and the dress of the healing god, and in the darkness and mystery of the night reveal the necessary prescriptions. To interpret the dreams was the task of the priests at all times, just as it was in the temples of ancient Egypt. Divination, magic, and astrology largely assisted in the work of discovering the requisite remedies. If all failed, it was due not to any defect on the part of the divinity or his servants, but simply to the want of faith on the part of the patient. The festivals of Æsculapius were called Asclepia, and the presiding priests of the healing god were named Asclepiades. The schools of the Asclepiades were a sort of medical guild, and their doctrines were divided into exoteric and esoteric. They naturally became possessed of a great body of medical teaching, which was preserved as a precious secret and handed down from generation to generation. The Asclepiadæ thus became the hereditary physicians of Greece. Medicine at this period was not a science to be taught to all comers, but was a mystery to be orally transmitted. These men pretended to be descendants of Æsculapius, just as now the imitators of medicines, perfumes, etc., which have become celebrated, give out that they belong to the family of the inventor, and thus know the secrets of the preparation.[373]
This professional class was quite distinct from the priests of the Æsculapian temples, though many writers have confused them. Probably the truth is this:—Certain students from reading the votive tablets in the temples, and examining the persons who came to be cured, gave their attention to the art of medicine, and established themselves as physicians in the neighbourhood of the temples; for it does not appear that the priests themselves pretended to medical skill. They were the instruments of the divine revelation, the mediums of the healing power of the god; they suggested remedies, but did not attempt their application or the treatment of cases. In process of time the pilgrims to the temples would require human aid to supplement the often disappointing divine assistance, and this the Asclepiadæ were appointed to supply. Hypnotism was probably practised; music, and such drugs as hemlock were also employed which soothe the nervous system and relieve pain. The Asclepiadæ took careful notes of the symptoms and progress of each case, and were particular to observe the effect of the treatment prescribed; they became, in consequence, exceedingly skilful in prognosis. Galen says that little attention was paid to dietetics by the Asclepiads; but Strabo speaks of the knowledge which Hippocrates derived from the documents in the Asclepion of Cos.[374] Exercise, especially on horseback, was one of the measures used by the Asclepiads for restoring the health.[375]
Schools of the Asclepiades.
The three most famous schools of the Asclepiades were those of Rhodes, Cos, and Cnidos. There were also that of Crotona, in Lower Italy, established by Pythagoras, and the school of Cyrene, in the North of Africa. Famous temples of Æsculapius existed at Titanæ, Epidaurus, Orope, Cyllene, Tithorea, Tricca, Megalopolis, Pergamus, Corinth, Smyrna, and at many other places.[376]
A spirit of healthy emulation existed in these different schools, which was most advantageous for the progress of medical science. The tone existing at this early period amongst the different medical societies at these institutions is shown in the famous oath which the pupils of the Asclepiadæ were compelled to subscribe on completing their course of instruction in medicine. It is the oldest written monument of the Greek art of healing.[377]