Egyptian, Greek, Roman and Islamic Herbal Traditions – by Jessica Lane  
To my knowledge, the oldest recorded herbal knowledge comes from several cultures. The great book of healing, Pen Tsao, written by the Chinese, is about 4500 years old; in Sumeria, herbal work was coupled with astrology and records from Egypt show that 2500 years ago the Great Pharaoh Thosthmes III had an intense interest in herbal knowledge, sending scholars and herbalists to Syria in order to bring back their science, which was considered advanced at the time. Another of the oldest surviving medical records, the Ebers Papyrus, was discovered during excavations at Luxor, near the Valley of the Tombs, in 1874. Named for Georg Ebers, a German Egyptologist, the Papyrus was written in 1500 BC and records 65 pages of over a thousand years of medical knowledge. There are 876 herbal remedies derived from over 500 different plants, and of these, fully one third are still used today. The use of mouldy bread bandaged over wounds to prevent infection demonstrates early knowledge of antibiotics. We now know that various antibiotics are present in a variety of moulds, many naturally growing on plants.

Onions and garlic were used by the Egyptians for preventing disease and strengthening the body systems. Greek historian Herodotus frequently referred to the Egyptians as “the stinking ones”, no doubt due to the body aroma caused by heavy consumption of these two plants. Garlic was considered so important by the Egyptians that it was buried with them inside their tombs. Egypt reached the pinnacle of herbal tradition in approx. 500 BC and her major works were so respected that Egyptian healers were invited to the courts of mighty Babylon and Rome. Many healers from these countries studied in Egypt and among them was Galen (131-199 BC), court physician to Marcus Aurelius of Rome. In this way the medicine of Egypt exerted profound and dominant influence on Western medical traditions.

The Greek god of medicine, Aesculapius represents the mystical in healing. The modern day symbol for pharmacology, the caduceus, is taken from ancient depictions of the god as a bearded man, dressed in a coat and leaning on a staff around which is curled a snake. The worship of Aesculapius signifies medicine is not just a science, healing relies on faith and the response of inner powers as much as on the treatment itself.

The founding father of medicine, Hippocrates (460-377 BC) is revered for his method of coupling genuine care and detailed observation of his patients with scientific thinking and high ethical standards. He gained extensive, intimate knowledge of healing plants observing growing conditions, areas and weather, collecting and personally testing the plants for effectiveness. He systematically categorized about 400 herbs and foods into medicinal categories according to four basic qualities so that they could be better understood: hot – such as mustard, watercress and grapes; cold – soured wine, vinegar, flax seeds; damp – hemp, mint; and dry – sage, etc. Hippocrates then related these qualities to the four body fluids of phlegm, blood, yellow bile and black bile. He believed that good health was achieved by keeping the system in balance and by getting plenty of fresh air and exercise. Like the Chinese, he firmly believed that the body will cure itself when balance is restored. His theories were later expanded and extensively developed by the Roman physician Galenus (Galen).

Greek medical theories reached Rome about 100 BC and most Roman herbology is founded on ideas taken from Greece. About 70 AD Pedanius Dioscorides (thought to be physician to Anthony and Cleopatra), wrote the influential five volume treatise De Material Medica, which became a classic. Dioscorides was a Greek born in Turkey who chose to serve the Roman Empire and achieved considerable fame for his work which retained its enormous influence for over 1500 years; it was one of the first books printed when the printing press was invented. All medieval European herbology goes back to Dioscorides and his writings described 600 medicinal plants, grouped by character, such as “pungent”, “aromatic”, and by appearance, or part, such as “roots” or “herbs”.

His collection instructions outdid those of Hippocrates, describing in detail when to collect blossoms, leaves, stems and roots, and when to prepare herbal remedies such as plant juices. Of his plant repertoire, 90 are still in use today. Over time, Roman healing theory became mechanistic with the view that the body was a machine to be repaired rather than an organism that when balanced was capable of healing itself. Galen opposed this view and reworked many of Hippocrates theories and formalized the principle of humors. His writings soon became the standard for all physicians, just as the writings of Dioscorides became the standard texts for pharmacists. Galen’s theories survived more than a century, not only with Rome, but also with Arab and medieval European physicians. In East Indian Unani medicine and Galenic pharmacy, Galen’s teachings are preserved today. “Galenic preparation” is an expression that means pure preparation and is derived from his name.

During the fifth century, Rome fell and the center of classical learning moved east to Arabia, where the Arab countries absorbed the massive body of Rome’s accumulated knowledge. The center of learning was now Constantinople and Galenic medicine was well received being adopted and merged with both folk medicine and Egyptian traditions. Traders and invading armies then took this mixture of practices back to Europe. By this time alchemy had been interwoven into the whole. The most famous of Arab physicians was Ibn Sina, who was also known by the name Avicenna. Especially knowledgeable in tropical medicinal herbs, his influential work Kitah al-Qanum (Canon of Medicine) was firmly based on Galen’s principles. In the twelfth century the book had been translated into Latin and brought back to the West, where it became one of the leading text books in the early medical schools.

In the next issue I will cover European Herbalism followed up with a discussion on North American Herbalism. In the future issues of Herbal Horse I will be introducing individual medicinal herbs and how to use them with your horse.

Until next month, health and happiness to you and your precious animal companions.  Jessica Lane

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