Education and Medical Practice in Ancient Greece, the Alexandrian Period and the Western Roman Empire

Abstract

Ancient Greece was a deeply religious, anthropomorphic and polytheistic civilization. Greek medical education and practice were impacted by supernatural and religious ideas during the pre-Hippocratic period.  With Hippocrates of Cos, the doctor transitioned from religious healer to naturalist, as he explored sickness as an objective natural phenomenon for the first time. Medical schools were formed on a model of disciple education, with strong ethical content, but no study plans or formal titles.  Later, the School of Alexandria, where the first chair of anatomy in history was created, came to hold the dominant position in medical education.   In the cities of Cos, Cnido, and Alexandria medicine was taught with an educational model that persisted until the first part of the Middle Ages, based on: freedom (teacher and student defined their own goals), disciple learning (started from observation: “see how I do it so you can do it later”): teaching-learning process based on the experience over the texts; strong ethical content (do good and do no harm). During the Roman Empire, the hand of Claudius Galenus conserved and strengthened Greek knowledge, and progress was made in the creation of the first hospitals, an assortment of instruments, and medical specialization. Both the Greek and Roman periods were free of religious influences, which encouraged physical activity and rational medical instruction.  With a few exceptions, there was not any place for women.