Health is the subject of a major archaeological exhibition at the Museum of Cycladic Art in Athens (Hygieia: Health, Illness and Treatment).

The exhibition is open until the end of May and is dedicated to the goddess Hygieia, the personification of health and sanitation. Through this exhibition, we learn exactly how thorough the knowledge of the ancient world was in matters of healing and recuperation, in a time period covering 1,500 years, from Homer to Galen (Greek pioneer physician, surgeon and philosopher in the Roman Empire).

The exhibition boasts 300 items, gathered from 41 museums around Greece and abroad, including the Louvre and the British Museum. The visitor is greeted by three statues, placed at the entrance of the exhibition: Hippocrates, Asclepius and his daughter Hygieia. The message conveyed is that the ancient world took a holistic approach to health. It is not by coincidence that when the Greeks referred to diet, they did not only mean nutrition but a way of life by which one ought to abide.

Furthermore, body fluids (blood, gall etc) must be in perfect balance, otherwise illnesses occur.

Healers used sophisticated instruments, the shape of which resembles a lot modern day equipment.

Remarkably, the ancient world was familiar with dental braces and urinals for the bedridden, not to mention delicate surgeries such as brain surgery, phlebotomy, and hysteroscopy.

From about 300BC onwards, the cult of Asclepius grew very popular and pilgrims flocked to his 300 healing temples, also known as Asclepieia, something like modern day clinics.

It is fascinating to observe that standard procedure involved what is also followed by modern practitioners; the patient gave his medical record and he was submitted to anesthesia (probably with doses of opium).

Moreover, there was a whole drug industry, protected by a system of patents (actual labels with the name of the producer) to avoid generic drugs.

Drama therapy was extensively used during ancient times, because it was believed that the soul and mind exercise mutual influence. The famous theatre of Epidaurus is part of one of Asclepius' Ancient Healing Sanctuaries.

The same applies to another famous theatre; the Odeon of Herodes Atticus, the stone theatre on the slope of the Acropolis, which is in close proximity to the Athens Asclepius sanctuary.

See also: Exhibition "Beyond-Death and Afterlife in Ancient Greece"