Apart from war, politics etc medicine and hygiene were also a part of the life of ancients.
So, reading Pressfield (absolutely aware of all mistakes he made, some of them very painfull) I became interested how true were his lines about first aid equipment among ancient Greek hoplites and their servants..Plants used, metal jaws used etc...Army on campagin certainly needed it as much as spear or helmet.
What does archeology or literary evidence says about this...Are there known tools for battlefield medicine, is there some known practice of battlefield first aid. Preferably before the time of Alexander.
Also, how did ancient Greeks clip finger and toe nails? Once I was in a place where I could not clip nails for 15 days, it was just horrific...
Hello,
Even if maybe it is not pertinent with the section "Greek Military H & A" I insert some images of the "Surgeon's Domus" of Rimini, the great archaeological complex discovered in 1989 and dated 2nd century BCE.
Among the many objects found inside the domus, there were approximately 150 surgical iron tools, that represents the richest surgical collection for its completeness and number of objects.
The particularity of the surgical equipment recovered from the domus, is the absence of gynecological tools (like in the House of the Surgeon at Pompei); major part of the instruments were used for bones traumas purposes, and among the others, was an unique piece “the spoon of Diocle", used to extract the arrowheads from the flesh. It seems believable to be a professional developed in the military ambient. http://www.domusrimini.com/ http://www.comune.rimini.it/servizi/citt...ina33.html
and this link, from the Health Sciences Library of the University of Virginia, shows a series of reproductions made during WWII from original surgical tools excavated from the House of the Surgeon at Pompeii. These are “Roman tools”, but with relatively little innovation from the 5th – 2nd century BCE. http://www.hsl.virginia.edu/historical/a..._surgical/
There is a link to download at the bottom of every chapter. I have read most of these and they really help my basic knowledge of what was going on. I did my report on "On Airs, Waters and Places" for my massage therapy class. I got an A
Craig Bellofatto
Going to college for Massage Therapy. So reading alot of Latin Terminology
It is like a finger pointing to the moon. DON\'T concentrate on the finger or you miss all the heavenly glory before you!-Bruce Lee
Train easy; the fight is hard. Train hard; the fight is easy.- Thai Proverb
This is the copy of an artificial leg (the original was made of bronze) dating from c. 300BCE. The artifact, part of the expo “Brought to Life” at the Science Museum in London, was excavated from a grave in Capua, found with the skeleton and probably attached to the body using a waist band of sheet metal. The “Leg of Capua” was kept at the Royal College of Surgeons in London until it was destroyed in an air raid during the Second World War.
Best.
S.M.
[attachment=3686]s.museum1.jpg[/attachment] Credits: Science Museum, London
Just received "Physician's Desk Reference for Herbal Medicines" today. If you have a period herb that needs explaining I can at lest give a modern interpretation of uses and areas where it grows and such.
Craig Bellofatto
Going to college for Massage Therapy. So reading alot of Latin Terminology
It is like a finger pointing to the moon. DON\'T concentrate on the finger or you miss all the heavenly glory before you!-Bruce Lee
Train easy; the fight is hard. Train hard; the fight is easy.- Thai Proverb
hi
If you put the latin name om the herbs, maybe i can look in to the plants history in Danmark and come up whith some wery old fasniel yse for the herb.
Okay..so..I have been doing some research on injuries and causes of death in ancient battlefield, corpses etc...gruesome stuff indeed, but is nice to know for all those who have some romanticized picture of ancient battlefield.
So now, I am dealing with survivors...I am most interested in ancient herbs used for anesthetics in ancient Greece. Are there some known..? Of course presumably there is good enough evidence for their use in the first place :roll: Before Dioscorides that is...Does Hypocrates mention it? I have to admit I have to take a break from Hypocrates and all ancient authors for that matter..so I ask to save some time
I also read somewhere that honey was used for some post traumatic treatment, presumably blood pressure regulation after blood loss or such...So do you know anything about it?
Quote:I also read somewhere that honey was used for some post traumatic treatment, presumably blood pressure regulation after blood loss or such...So do you know anything about it?
As well as being an antiseptic, honey can also bind wounds and be soaked into bandages to improve their effect.
Tab Vindol 591 might suggest honey was used in bandages at the 1stC AD Roman fort of Vindolanda in northern Britain.
Not Greek, but the Romans - whose medicine was heavily influenced by the Greeks since they gave up on Cato the Elder's conspiracy theories[1] - used opium and mandrake root as painkillers; I believe it's Pliny the Elder who mentions this in most detail. Of course, the morphine found in opium is still used in some medication. Mandrake can be dangerous, leading to hallucinations. I would assume that opium at least would be rather expensive, so many people will simply have had to bear the pain: Celsus states that Roman surgeons were chosen, amongst other things, for their faculty of ignoring the patient's cries and shouts, which would indicate that in many cases anesthesia was either not used or not very effective. As for honey, it is mentioned a few times in Celsus with regards to treatment of wounds.
[1] Cato the Censor believed that the Greek doctors who began treating Romans during his day were a conspiracy to kill the Romans while being paid by them as well.
M. Caecilius M.f. Maxentius - Max C.
Qui vincit non est victor nisi victus fatetur
- Q. Ennius, Annales, Frag. XXXI, 493
