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In ancient Greece, many were divided over what they believed to be the cause of the illness that a patient faced. According to James Longrigg in his book Greek Medicine From the Heroic to the Hellenistic Age, [1] many believed that mental illness was a direct response from the angry gods. According to Longrigg, the only way to fight this ...
Mind and Madness in Ancient Greece : The Classical Roots of Modern Psychiatry. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press. ISBN 9780801408595. Thomas S. Szasz (1977). The manufacture of madness : a comparative study of the inquisition and the mental health movement. New York : Harper & Row, pp. 293–321. Michael H. Stone (1997).
[2] [3] Some of the first hospitals for curing mental illness were established during the 3rd century BCE. [4] During the 5th century BCE, mental disorders, especially those with psychotic traits, were considered supernatural in origin, [5] a view which existed throughout ancient Greece and Rome. [5]
Mental illnesses were well known in ancient Mesopotamia, [6] where diseases and mental disorders were believed to be caused by specific deities. [7] Because hands symbolized control over a person, mental illnesses were known as "hands" of certain deities. [7] One psychological illness was known as Qāt Ištar, meaning "Hand of Ishtar". [7]
The four temperaments clockwise from top left (sanguine; phlegmatic; melancholic; choleric) according to an ancient theory of mental states. In ancient Greece, disease was thought due to an imbalance in the four basic bodily fluids, or humors. Personality types were similarly thought to be determined by the dominant humor in a particular person.
Early on the ancient Greeks believed that illnesses were "divine punishments" and that healing was a "gift from the Gods". [1] As trials continued wherein theories were tested against symptoms and results, the pure spiritual beliefs regarding "punishments" and "gifts" were replaced with a foundation based in the physical, i.e., cause and effect.
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Apulian pottery depicting Lycrugus of Thrace, an ancient Greek king driven mad by Dionysus [1]. Mental illness in ancient Rome was recognized in law as an issue of mental competence, and was diagnosed and treated in terms of ancient medical knowledge and philosophy, primarily Greek in origin, while at the same time popularly thought to have been caused by divine punishment, demonic spirits, or ...