Were the Founders of Ancient Hospitals Asclepions Aware of the Definition of Current Health?
Year: 2025
Type: article
Abstract: The ancient hospitals established in honor of Asclepius, the god of medicine and health in mythology, were called “Asclepion”, meaning “the house of Asclepius”. Throughout antiquity, approximately three hundred and twenty Asclepions were built, particularly in present-day Western Anatolia (Türkiye) and Greece. These institutions functioned from the 6th century BC until the 6th century AD. Today, health is defined not merely as the lack of disease or disability, but as a good in health for physical, mental, and social points. The aim of this study is to reveal the relationship between the therapeutic approaches and practices in ancient Asclepions and the current conception of health. An examination of patient care and treatment methods in these institutions demonstrates practices remarkably advanced for their time. Evidence indicates that centuries ago, patients in Asclepions were regarded as biopsychosocial beings, approached holistically in their physical, psychological, spiritual, mental, social, and environmental dimensions, with the provision of comprehensive health services aimed at achieving well-being. Moreover, Asclepions also served as centers of medical education, nurturing some of the most prominent physicians of the era, including Euryphon, Hippocrates, Galen, Herodicus, and others. In modern medicine, one of the greatest obstacles to achieving true health is the mechanistic approach that views patients solely as biological entities whose disorders need correction. As in the modern definition of “health,” the path to health requires considering the human being as a biopsychosocial whole. This holistic understanding was already implemented in its entirety in the ancient hospitals known as Asclepions. Keywords: Asclepions, Ancient hospital, Definition of health, Biopsychosocial, Holistic medicine.
Authors: Hayriye Dilek Akdoğan, Ali Çağlar Turgut, Ilgaz Akdoğan
Institutions: Bakırçay Üniversitesi, Adnan Menderes University
Language: English
Topic: History of Medicine Studies
Subfield: History
Field: Arts and Humanities
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: diamond
OpenAlex ID: W4416146545