How important was nutrition and body-care in ancient Greece? How did they address the issue of public health? What would happen to an athlete in case of injury 2.500 years ago? Were there any surgical instruments? How did they use opium and other drugs and herbs?
Maintaining health, understanding the causes of diseases and finding ways to overcome them, are issues that have always preoccupied man. But what changes were seen in human thought and medical methods through the ages?
The report on Iasis, presented at the Museum of Cycladic Art from 19.11.2014 to 31.05.2015, shows the evolution of ancient therapeutic practices, examining the transition from magico-religious treatment in rational, scientific medicine. It includes nearly 300 artifacts from 41 museums in Greece and abroad. Among them, there are objects traveled from the British Museum, the Louvre and the Capitoline Museums in Rome. The report is divided into three sections: Health, Disease, Treatment, and covers the period from around 1200 BC to the 3rd century AD
The earliest written records regarding the Greek therapeutic derive from the Homeric epics, which show that diseases were considered signs of divine anger and resentment. To appease the gods, people resorted to prayers, purifications and sacrifices. However, since the late 6th century BC, philosophy began to exert a considerable influence on the development of medicine. The ancient Greeks were the first to be absolved from medical magic and religious elements, realizing that maintaining health and fighting disease depend on natural causes.
http://www.cycladic.gr/frontoffice/portal.asp?cpage=RESOURCE&cresrc=3437&cnode=74&clang=0