Founders of healing: from ancient to the early medieval times

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Healing is an art, and no one knows it better than the healers themselves. A system of healing is in place, since the beginning of mankind, much before the advent of modern scientific discoveries and invention. Early healers were priests and philosophers. They were a link between mortals beings and the divine. Since healers also predicted outcomes, they were often astrologers and even astronomers in a limited sense. The words physician or a doctor appeared in 12th century, and their origin itself is from ‘healing’, ‘teaching’ or an ‘advisor’.

Who were the first healers ?

Prehistoric humans were mostly hunters and gatherers. They would have understood art of healing through trial and error. Someone amongst them would have wondered how wounds heal faster, how bones set, and how ominous signs of disease such as fever, cough or diarrhoea behave. Those who were witness to agony and ecstasy of countless childbirths, and frequent deaths must have thought about changing things. Believers in this change probably were the earliest healers.

When occurrence of life and health moments was difficult to explain, it must be natural for early healers to believe in the power of supernatural. Over the years many experiences passed on to subsequent generations. Understanding of these experiences led to practices, some of which exist till this date. While some beliefs in magic, faith-healing, and sorcery exist even today, but so does knowledge of numerous home-remedies and medicinal plants. Over the years we imbibed many such beliefs in our health system.

Ancient systems of Medicine

Various systems of medicine and healing developed across the world. These systems were independent of each other, and were in existence in ancient Egypt, India, and China. Many healers such as Hesy-Ra, Imhotep, Hammurabi, Dhanvantari, Charakha, Sushruta, were prominent in their respective civilisations. They started documenting their experiences. Healer was also a priest, a philosopher, and a confidante of the ruler. Sometimes healer would wield more power than the royalty.  Charakha and Sushruta Samhita from India, and Huangdi Nejing from China are some of the elaborate texts that are contemporary to, or even predate writings from Greek medicine. Each of these systems also had a divine “God of healing”. Such gods of healing or healing-deities exist in almost all cultures.

Greek Medicine

Modern Medicine has its origins in Greece. Greek healers were also philosophers, and their thoughts on healing, polity, life, and astronomy have all shaped modern thinking.  Asclepius, Podaleirius, Empedocles, and Hippocrates are some of the famous Greek Healers. Hippocrates established medicine as a profession, distinguishing it from philosophy and theology. Known as “Father of Medicine” he is most famous for Hippocratic oath. Hippocratic oath embodies concepts of responsibilities of a teacher, doing no harm, and privileged communication. Greeks also gave us the symbols of healing and medicine.

Branches from the Greek system

As political power of the Greeks declined, Romans took over. Galen (129-216 AD) was a prolific medical writer and philosopher in this period. He was a Greek, but worked in Rome. He drew inspiration from Hippocrates, and had strong views about Anatomy, physiology, healing and Medicine. Galen had a huge influence on practice of medicine, till 14th century, when many of his ideas were in for a major revision.

Greek medicine branched into two main systems. First, a roman-medieval system and second, unani or arabic system. Roman-Medieval system eventually became intricately associated with the Church. Various influential saint-physicians such as Galen, Soranus, St Cosmas and St Domain, St Anthony and St Roch shaped its character. As Christianity became more popular, it pushed Greek-Roman system of medicine to its fringes. With little scientific developments in Europe between 1000-1400 AD, we know this period as the dark ages.

Unani is an Arabic name for Greek. Pushed from Europe, Greek medicine spread to the middle-east. Popular healers in this system have a dual Greek and Arabic names, such as Albucasis (Abu-al-Qasim), Avisenna (Ibn-Sina), and Rhazes (Al-Razi).

Unani (or Greek) medicine, became a bridge between the European and Indian systems, and further flourished between 5th and 12th centuries. Ibn-Sina (or Avisenna) lived between 980-1037 AD. His works are in Persian and Arabic, and he lived in modern day Iraq, Iran and Uzbekistan.  He wrote a five volume medical text (The Canon of Medicine or Al-Qanun fi’t-Tibb). This was a standard medical textbook in the Islamic world and Europe up to the 18th century.

Medicine in Early Medieval period

We know 8th to 13th Century AD as Islamic Golden Age. During this time, seat of power, philosophy and medicine had shifted to the Middle East and the Mediterranean.

Maimonides (1135-1204) was a Jew scholar, who lived in present day Morocco, Spain and Egypt. He was knowledgeable about both Greek and Arabic medicine. During the same period, Abu al-Qasim al-Zahrawi (Abulcasis) wrote a 30-volume encyclopedia on medicine and Surgery. (The Method of Medicine or Al Tasrif)

Reason and awakening

Renascence or a period of awakening in the 15th century, was a period of rediscovery. We rediscovered ancient texts, and started adding new Knowledge. (See a blog on this period and related philately here). We translated and rediscovered many ancient Indian, Egyptian and Chinese texts only in the 18th century.Despite advent of modern medicine in a big way, we often seek these traditional systems for a holistic healing experience.