Asklepios, Medicine, and the Politics of Healing in Fifth-Century Greece

Asklepios, Medicine, and the Politics of Healing in Fifth-Century Greece

Author: Bronwen L. Wickkiser

Publisher: JHU Press

Published: 2008

Total Pages: 193

ISBN-13: 0801889782

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Delving deeply into ancient medical history, Bronwen L. Wickkiser explores the early development and later spread of the cult of Asklepios, one of the most popular healing gods in the ancient Mediterranean. Though Asklepios had been known as a healer since the time of Homer, evidence suggests that large numbers of people began to flock to the cult during the fifth century BCE, just as practitioners of Hippocratic medicine were gaining dominance. Drawing on close readings of period medical texts, literary sources, archaeological evidence, and earlier studies, Wickkiser finds two primary causes for the cult’s ascendance: it filled a gap in the market created by the refusal of Hippocratic physicians to treat difficult chronic ailments and it abetted Athenian political needs. Wickkiser supports these challenging theories with side-by-side examinations of the medical practices at Asklepios' sanctuaries and those espoused in Hippocratic medical treatises. She also explores how Athens' aspirations to empire influenced its decision to open the city to the healer-god's cult. In focusing on the fifth century and by considering the medical, political, and religious dimensions of the cult of Asklepios, Wickkiser presents a complex, nuanced picture of Asklepios' rise in popularity, Athenian society, and ancient Mediterranean culture. The intriguing and sometimes surprising information she presents will be valued by historians of medicine and classicists alike.


Book Synopsis Asklepios, Medicine, and the Politics of Healing in Fifth-Century Greece by : Bronwen L. Wickkiser

Download or read book Asklepios, Medicine, and the Politics of Healing in Fifth-Century Greece written by Bronwen L. Wickkiser and published by JHU Press. This book was released on 2008 with total page 193 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Delving deeply into ancient medical history, Bronwen L. Wickkiser explores the early development and later spread of the cult of Asklepios, one of the most popular healing gods in the ancient Mediterranean. Though Asklepios had been known as a healer since the time of Homer, evidence suggests that large numbers of people began to flock to the cult during the fifth century BCE, just as practitioners of Hippocratic medicine were gaining dominance. Drawing on close readings of period medical texts, literary sources, archaeological evidence, and earlier studies, Wickkiser finds two primary causes for the cult’s ascendance: it filled a gap in the market created by the refusal of Hippocratic physicians to treat difficult chronic ailments and it abetted Athenian political needs. Wickkiser supports these challenging theories with side-by-side examinations of the medical practices at Asklepios' sanctuaries and those espoused in Hippocratic medical treatises. She also explores how Athens' aspirations to empire influenced its decision to open the city to the healer-god's cult. In focusing on the fifth century and by considering the medical, political, and religious dimensions of the cult of Asklepios, Wickkiser presents a complex, nuanced picture of Asklepios' rise in popularity, Athenian society, and ancient Mediterranean culture. The intriguing and sometimes surprising information she presents will be valued by historians of medicine and classicists alike.

The Impact of the Roman Empire on the Cult of Asclepius

The Impact of the Roman Empire on the Cult of Asclepius

Author: Ghislaine van der Ploeg

Publisher: BRILL

Published: 2018-07-03

Total Pages: 337

ISBN-13: 9004372776

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In The Impact of the Roman Empire on The Cult of Asclepius Ghislaine van der Ploeg offers an analysis of the cult of Asclepius during the Roman imperial period and how worship was adapted and disseminated at this time.


Book Synopsis The Impact of the Roman Empire on the Cult of Asclepius by : Ghislaine van der Ploeg

Download or read book The Impact of the Roman Empire on the Cult of Asclepius written by Ghislaine van der Ploeg and published by BRILL. This book was released on 2018-07-03 with total page 337 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In The Impact of the Roman Empire on The Cult of Asclepius Ghislaine van der Ploeg offers an analysis of the cult of Asclepius during the Roman imperial period and how worship was adapted and disseminated at this time.

The Cult of Asklepios

The Cult of Asklepios

Author: Alice Walton

Publisher: Hansebooks

Published: 2023-11

Total Pages: 0

ISBN-13: 9783348108492

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The Cult of Asklepios is an unchanged, high-quality reprint of the original edition of 1894. Hansebooks is editor of the literature on different topic areas such as research and science, travel and expeditions, cooking and nutrition, medicine, and other genres. As a publisher we focus on the preservation of historical literature. Many works of historical writers and scientists are available today as antiques only. Hansebooks newly publishes these books and contributes to the preservation of literature which has become rare and historical knowledge for the future.


Book Synopsis The Cult of Asklepios by : Alice Walton

Download or read book The Cult of Asklepios written by Alice Walton and published by Hansebooks. This book was released on 2023-11 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Cult of Asklepios is an unchanged, high-quality reprint of the original edition of 1894. Hansebooks is editor of the literature on different topic areas such as research and science, travel and expeditions, cooking and nutrition, medicine, and other genres. As a publisher we focus on the preservation of historical literature. Many works of historical writers and scientists are available today as antiques only. Hansebooks newly publishes these books and contributes to the preservation of literature which has become rare and historical knowledge for the future.

The Cult of Asklepios

The Cult of Asklepios

Author: Alice Walton

Publisher: Boston : Published for the University by Ginn

Published: 1894

Total Pages: 170

ISBN-13:

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Book Synopsis The Cult of Asklepios by : Alice Walton

Download or read book The Cult of Asklepios written by Alice Walton and published by Boston : Published for the University by Ginn. This book was released on 1894 with total page 170 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Healing, Disease and Placebo in Graeco-Roman Asclepius Temples

Healing, Disease and Placebo in Graeco-Roman Asclepius Temples

Author: Olympia Panagiotidou

Publisher: Advances in the Cognitive Science of Religion

Published: 2022

Total Pages: 228

ISBN-13: 9781800501416

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This book follows the evidence for Asclepius' supplicants from the moment in which they realized that they were sick until the healing experiences, which they might have had at the asclepieia. From a historical perspective, the main features of the Asclepius cult, as they were shaped mainly in the Hellenistic and Roman periods, are examined. The cult is situated in the wider political, social, cultural, and intellectual contexts of the Graeco-Roman era, in which Asclepius' reputation as a divine physician spread. Social interactions and multiple neurocognitive processes are examined, which would have influenced supplicants' perceptions, choices, and reasoning about health and sickness, and attracted thousands of visitors to the Asclepius temples. The influence of the cult environment on the minds and bodies of supplicants is investigated in order to show how the cult context would have prepared supplicants for the incubation ritual. Modern theories on placebo effects are taken into consideration in order to investigate the possibility of healing at the asclepieia as a result of supplicants' self-healing mechanisms. Finally, the ways in which supplicants might have interpreted their personal experiences during incubation are examined.


Book Synopsis Healing, Disease and Placebo in Graeco-Roman Asclepius Temples by : Olympia Panagiotidou

Download or read book Healing, Disease and Placebo in Graeco-Roman Asclepius Temples written by Olympia Panagiotidou and published by Advances in the Cognitive Science of Religion. This book was released on 2022 with total page 228 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book follows the evidence for Asclepius' supplicants from the moment in which they realized that they were sick until the healing experiences, which they might have had at the asclepieia. From a historical perspective, the main features of the Asclepius cult, as they were shaped mainly in the Hellenistic and Roman periods, are examined. The cult is situated in the wider political, social, cultural, and intellectual contexts of the Graeco-Roman era, in which Asclepius' reputation as a divine physician spread. Social interactions and multiple neurocognitive processes are examined, which would have influenced supplicants' perceptions, choices, and reasoning about health and sickness, and attracted thousands of visitors to the Asclepius temples. The influence of the cult environment on the minds and bodies of supplicants is investigated in order to show how the cult context would have prepared supplicants for the incubation ritual. Modern theories on placebo effects are taken into consideration in order to investigate the possibility of healing at the asclepieia as a result of supplicants' self-healing mechanisms. Finally, the ways in which supplicants might have interpreted their personal experiences during incubation are examined.

Asclepius

Asclepius

Author: Emma J. Edelstein

Publisher: JHU Press

Published: 1998

Total Pages: 796

ISBN-13: 9780801857690

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Legendary ancient Greek physician and healer god Asclepius was considered the foremost antagonist of Christ. Providing an overview of all facets of the Asclepius phenomenon, this work, first published in two volumes in 1945, comprises a unique collection of the literary references and inscriptions in ancient texts to Asclepius, his life, his deeds, cult, temples--with extended analysis thereof.


Book Synopsis Asclepius by : Emma J. Edelstein

Download or read book Asclepius written by Emma J. Edelstein and published by JHU Press. This book was released on 1998 with total page 796 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Legendary ancient Greek physician and healer god Asclepius was considered the foremost antagonist of Christ. Providing an overview of all facets of the Asclepius phenomenon, this work, first published in two volumes in 1945, comprises a unique collection of the literary references and inscriptions in ancient texts to Asclepius, his life, his deeds, cult, temples--with extended analysis thereof.

Plague and the Athenian Imagination

Plague and the Athenian Imagination

Author: Robin Mitchell-Boyask

Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Published: 2007-12-13

Total Pages: 192

ISBN-13: 1139468235

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The great plague of Athens that began in 430 BCE had an enormous effect on the imagination of its literary artists and on the social imagination of the city as a whole. In this book, Professor Mitchell-Boyask studies the impact of the plague on Athenian tragedy early in the 420s and argues for a significant relationship between drama and the development of the cult of the healing god Asclepius in the next decade, during a period of war and increasing civic strife. The Athenian decision to locate their temple for Asclepius adjacent to the Theater of Dionysus arose from deeper associations between drama, healing and the polis that were engaged actively by the crisis of the plague. The book also considers the representation of the plague in Thucydides' History as well as the metaphors generated by that representation which recur later in the same work.


Book Synopsis Plague and the Athenian Imagination by : Robin Mitchell-Boyask

Download or read book Plague and the Athenian Imagination written by Robin Mitchell-Boyask and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 2007-12-13 with total page 192 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The great plague of Athens that began in 430 BCE had an enormous effect on the imagination of its literary artists and on the social imagination of the city as a whole. In this book, Professor Mitchell-Boyask studies the impact of the plague on Athenian tragedy early in the 420s and argues for a significant relationship between drama and the development of the cult of the healing god Asclepius in the next decade, during a period of war and increasing civic strife. The Athenian decision to locate their temple for Asclepius adjacent to the Theater of Dionysus arose from deeper associations between drama, healing and the polis that were engaged actively by the crisis of the plague. The book also considers the representation of the plague in Thucydides' History as well as the metaphors generated by that representation which recur later in the same work.

The Cult of Asklepios

The Cult of Asklepios

Author: Alice Walton

Publisher:

Published: 1965

Total Pages: 136

ISBN-13: 9780384656604

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Book Synopsis The Cult of Asklepios by : Alice Walton

Download or read book The Cult of Asklepios written by Alice Walton and published by . This book was released on 1965 with total page 136 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Corinth in Context

Corinth in Context

Author: Steve Friesen

Publisher: BRILL

Published: 2010-06-14

Total Pages: 529

ISBN-13: 9004181970

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In this book, archaeologists, classicists, and specialists in Christian origins examine the social and religious life of ancient Corinth. The interdisciplinary contributions present new materials and findings on the themes of Greek and Roman identities, social stratification, and local religion.


Book Synopsis Corinth in Context by : Steve Friesen

Download or read book Corinth in Context written by Steve Friesen and published by BRILL. This book was released on 2010-06-14 with total page 529 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In this book, archaeologists, classicists, and specialists in Christian origins examine the social and religious life of ancient Corinth. The interdisciplinary contributions present new materials and findings on the themes of Greek and Roman identities, social stratification, and local religion.

Where Dreams May Come (2 vol. set)

Where Dreams May Come (2 vol. set)

Author: Gil Renberg

Publisher: BRILL

Published: 2017-06-01

Total Pages: 1130

ISBN-13: 9004330232

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In this book, Gil H. Renberg analyzes in detail the vast range of sources for “incubation,” dream-divination at a divinity’s sanctuary or shrine, beginning in Sumerian times but primarily focussing on the Greeks and Greco-Roman Egypt.


Book Synopsis Where Dreams May Come (2 vol. set) by : Gil Renberg

Download or read book Where Dreams May Come (2 vol. set) written by Gil Renberg and published by BRILL. This book was released on 2017-06-01 with total page 1130 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In this book, Gil H. Renberg analyzes in detail the vast range of sources for “incubation,” dream-divination at a divinity’s sanctuary or shrine, beginning in Sumerian times but primarily focussing on the Greeks and Greco-Roman Egypt.