Ancient Roman Medicine - Greek Influences On Roman Medicine

Greek Influences On Roman Medicine

Many Greek medical ideas were adopted by the Romans and Greek medicine had a huge influence on Roman medicine. The first doctors to appear in Rome were Greek, captured as prisoners of war. Greek doctors would later move to Rome because they could make a good living there, or a better one than in the Greek cities.

The Romans also conquered the city of Alexandria, with its libraries and its universities. In Ancient times, Alexandria was an important centre for learning and its Great Library held countless volumes of information, many of which would have been on medicine. Here, doctors were allowed to carry out dissections which led to the discovery of many important medical advances, such as the discovery that the brain sends messages to the body.

Greek Medicine revolved heavily around the theory of the Four Humours and texts by Hippocrates and his followers (Hippocratic Writings), who were all Greek. These ideas and writings were also used in Roman medicine.

Roman Medicine also encompassed the spiritual beliefs of the Greeks (see below).