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Myths of Ancient Greek Healing Gods and Ancient Greek Medicine

Class
Spyridon (Spiros) Loumakis
Average rating:4.9Number of reviews:(739)
In this one-time class learners will be introduced to two major healers (and sons of Apollo), Asklepios and Amphiaraos, in comparison with the work of pioneer physicians, and physicians-philosophers, fighting ancient diseases and plagues

Class experience

The students will learn about the use of dreams and oracles in healing process, and about a series of gods and heroes of the ancient Greek pantheon who cared about the medical problems of humans, such as Asklepios and Amphiaraos. These are the two most important examples of a longer list of gods and heroes who could heal people in the ancient times, like Zeus, Athena, Aphrodite, Apollo, Hercules, and Hygieia (from where the English "hygiene"). 

Students we learn how to dive into the much-neglected mythical origins of pre-modern medical art, the human behavior in times of ancient pandemics, and the struggle of professional doctors to develop scientific methods and skills in the past. They will be introduced to the work of two pioneers and founding fathers of modern medical thinking, Hippocrates and Galen. They will familiarize themselves with the social status of ancient physicians and the reception of their sophisticated medical treatises. 

The class will help students put ancient medicine in its own social and cultural perspective, contextualize the ideas of priests-physicians, judge the role of gods and magic, and critically assess the ancient medical morals. They will learn how to observe and discuss archaeological sites related to healing techniques developed by priests to cure people inside temples, as well as ancient artifacts and medical tools used as offerings and thanksgivings to healing shrines. 
Every now and then we hear about the so-called Hippocratic oath that still doctors take when they graduate in modern Universities around the world. But, Hippocrates lived in Athens in the 5th century BC. We often use hard-to-pronounce Greek words such as anatomy, epidemiology, pharmacology, gynecology, and so on, and we equally often hear hard-to-understand Greek names such as asthma, bronchitis, diarrhea, dermatitis, hemorrhage, osteoarthritis, or pneumonia, to name but a few. Yes, it is true that ancient Greek doctors did lay the foundations of all the above medical specialties, as well as they, indeed, observed, described, categorized and tried to cure most of the above diseases. Therefore, studying ancient Greek medicine, is relevant to ourselves, speaks to our reality and somehow describes our contemporary lives. It is not one more eclectic, elitist, and irrelevant undertaking of historians. 

I am offering this class to show to students that ancient Greek medicine is more than just a piece in the history of medical science. In their medical thinking ancient Greeks embedded their cultural norms and values. They constructed this specialized medical knowledge according to their fears, their needs, their hopes, their prejudices and their tremendous intellectual skills. Nature challenged them through premature deaths, great infant mortality, endemic diseases and recurrent breaks of pandemics and, yet, they accepted this challenge to create what we know now today as Medicine.  

Studying ancient worlds in general, and comparing them with our own modern world, opens our horizons and feeds our own imagination, since we will travel into the sanctuaries of Asklepios and Amphiaraos, both in southern Greece, to explore their myths, cults and rituals. 

I have studied the subject covered in this class at a postgraduate level, both as an M.A. and a PhD student. I have participated in University classes, scientific conferences and scholarly publications on this subject matter the past few years. And I am still intrigued as scholar and teacher by the fascinating effort of ancient people to restlessly perfect their skills in performing the medical art. 
Students will NOT need to purchase materials. There will be no extra cost for this course. 
Learners will not need to use any apps or websites beyond the standard Outschool tools.
In the ancient Greek arts gods are depicted often (but not always) naked. The Greek word for a naked man is "gymnos" and that is why in English today we say "gymnastics" or "gym" although our children and athletes wear uniforms. This being said, any artistic reproduction in ancient art should be expected to show nude gods. I try to use as less as possible, but it is not always within my hands since this is the nature of the ancient Greek art itself. Since, it is an art that comes from an era where there were no photographs, or videos, the art is found only on painted vases, wall paintings and sculpture. Nudity was never meant to provoke, but to tell to the ancient viewer that gods are not mortal humans and, thus, they do not need clothes. As you may very well understand, I cannot change the history of art, nor my preference as teacher of mythology to show students the original art from ancient times.
Average rating:4.9Number of reviews:(739)
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As a father of two young kids, I put a lot of effort so as to entertain them in a productive, and educational way, making sure I feed their natural curiosity and encourage them to keep asking questions. Undoubtedly, television and video games are... 
Group Class

$14

per class
Meets once
60 min

Completed by 104 learners
Live video meetings
Ages 11-16
3-7 learners per class

This class is no longer offered
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