Pergamon Asklepion (pre-Loved)

Under the Light of Ancient Medicine

Author:  Nilgun Ustrura

pre-Loved (Second hand): relatively good condition, slight warping.

From the beginning, humans have been plagued by illness. Consequentially, over the eons, humanity has been on a constant search for healing. Sometimes some illnesses were positively affected by natural remedies and mankind’s slowly growing understanding of his world. Far more often, controlling or healing disease appeared beyond human ability. Out of man’s hands, perhaps the only hope was the supernatural. In the ancient polytheistic Mediterranean world a god was understood to control healing and the instruction and function of the healing arts. The Etruscan’s had the healing god Vediovis, the Egyptians had Isis ( or Imhotep); for the Greek world it was Apollo’s son, Asklepios. All over the ancient Greek world, sacred temples and grounds were founded in the name of Asklepios which today might be considered health centers. The treatment methods applied at these centers were to release and apply the miraculous healing power that was believed to flow from gods. This book addresses the foundation of the Asklepion in Pergamon, its historical development, its architectural features and the beliefs, thought processes and treatment methods used to address illness in this ancient ‘hospital’.  63 pages