Asclepius and Hippocrates’ focused medical practice on the natural approach and treatment of diseases, highlighting the importance of understanding the patient’s health, independent of mind.
Three main components of the Hippocratic philosophy were observed in the Hippocratic provision of care:
– health promotion
– interventions on trauma care
– mental care and art therapy interventions.
Component 1: Health Promotion
Health promotion included physical activity as an essential part of physical and mental health and emphasized the importance of nutrition to improve performance in the Olympic Games.
Component 2: Interventions on trauma care
These included surgical practices developed by Hippocrates, mainly due to the frequent wars in ancient Greece.
Component 3: Mental care and art therapy
These interventions were in accordance with the first classification of mental disorders which were proposed by Hippocrates. Music and drama were used as management tools in the treatment of illness and in the improvement of human behavior.
The focal point of Hippocratic medicine was the belief that medicine should be practiced as a scientific discipline based on the natural sciences, diagnosing and preventing diseases as well as treating them.
It emphasized environmental causes and natural treatments of diseases, the causes and therapeutic importance of psychological factors, nutrition and lifestyle, independence of mind, body and spirit, and the need for harmony between individuals, society, and the natural environment.
That was all from a study published in the Journal of Medical Ethics and History of Medicine designed to present the philosophy of care provision in ancient Greece and to highlight the influence of the Hippocratic ideal in modern health care practices.
The point of all this is to say that in Greek practice the idea of “medicine” INCLUDED PSYCHOLOGY, PHYSICAL HEALTH, and ENVIRONMENTAL FACTORS that contributed to a person’s health; both the natural environment (sky, air, water etc) and the societal environment (people, politics, social issues).
It was ALL part of what figured into the overall health of a person – body, mind, and spirit – and it all needed to be studied and factored in equally.
How very, very. very far the medical professional has strayed from the original foundation of the ACTUAL oath that doctors swear upon when they officially enter the medical profession.
It’s TRAGIC.