Final History Report(Week 1)

History report

Hi my name is Sue and I’m going to talk about how Greeks were treated when they were sick, and their ancient superstitions

Aesculapius

One of the earliest doctors was Aesculapius. He was the son of a sun god; so many people think he didn’t exist. But what’s famous about him is his temple. What’s so cool abut that temple is that no one had died there even though it was a temple where they treated ill patients. Do you know why? Anyone, anyone at all? Well the answer is simple. They cheated.If someone was dying when they arrived, they were not allowed and if they start dying when they get inside, they were dumped in the nearby woods.

It is also said that doctors were very fond of money. The doctor priests warned the patients that if they didn’t pay the gods would make them much sicker than before. One of the doctors, for instance Menecrate blackmailed his patients that if he cures the patients they would become his slave. But not everyone was that mean there was this doctor called Hippocrates. He lived 460 to 377 B.C. He claimed that magical cures by gods were nonsense and untrue, He believed in only factual, and evidential studies about our human body. He also showed other doctors how they should behave; a doctor must be careful not to get too fat. Someone who can’t look over his sickness shouldn’t be looking over other peoples. Secondly, he should be clean, wear good clothes and use a sweet, but not too strong scent. This is pleasant when visiting the sick. He must not look to grim of cheerful. A grim man will worry the sick and on the other hand a cheerful man might seem like an idiot.

Even though the Greeks found out a lot about our human body, there was a disease that killed hundreds of citizens of Athens. The name of the disease is called a plague. The plague was very dangerous in those days because the Greek doctors couldn’t cure it. It is said that it probably came from Egypt, and about 90% of the victim had died from it. It starts with having headaches, and sore eyes that puff up so you could barely see anything. It makes you difficult to breathe so the victim’s throat swells up, and the infection usually go down to your stomach, it also caused the victim’s temperature to rise that they couldn’t even stand wearing clothes. Some people even tried to suicide. But if the victims do survive it, it is like to his or her memory

How dreadful. I wonder if you can cure plague with our new and improved technology…

Speaking about people dying the reeks believed oracles (messages that tell you parts of your future) like they were a huge problem, and it often makes people die. The Greek oracles were very strange indeed. Greeks believed in odd superstitions as well. Greeks thought that they had to have a explanation for almost anything, so they made superstitions and gods so they could control their citizens. If they were not any gods, or religions, the people might start rebellions and ask why there are rules they have to follow.

Greek Superstitions:

1.   Birds were messengers between the earth and heaven where gods live, and the moon was a resting place for spirits on their way to heaven.
2.   The Greeks even looked at the bird’s guts and they believed that you can see more accurate future.  I’m not really sure for that because I thought that birds were sacred and by killing it, you will make the gods angry.

3.   They also thought there were spirits called ‘daimons’ around.  Some were good and protected you, but some were evil and could lead you into wickedness. Even clever people like Socrates believed in daimons.  His own daimons warned him of trouble ahead, and it never let him down

4.   Sometimes the Greeks kept dead bodies in jars called pithos. But sometimes they said the spirits of the dead escaped from the pithos and began to bother the living with illnesses and diseases. The wicked spirits were called Keres. The best way to stop the Keres to come in to your house was to paint tar around your door frames. That way the Keres can get stuck to the tar and they won’t come in your house.

5.   The Greeks believed that if you dreamed about seeing your reflection in a mirror then you die soon after. But you would be born again soon after you die.  According to some Greeks, you could be separated in 3 parts. The body, soul and mind

1. When you die, then the body is separated from the other two bits and goes back to dust.

2. The soul and mind then go to the underworld where there is a second death, and they are separated.

3. The soul pops off to the moon and the mind to the sun

4. They are both reborn and join up again on the moon

5. They finally go back to Earth and pick up a new body.

This one, I think I heard of this before, and I bet that most of you have heard of it too. Last, but not least

7.   They believed that the left side is bad and the right side is good. Many try to force left –handed people to write with their right hand.