Health in Antiquity

Using a multidisciplined approach, the contributors assess the issues surrounding health in the Greco-Roman world from prehistory to Christian late antiquity.Sources range from palaeodemography to patristic and from archaeology to architecture and using these, this book considers what health meant, how it was thought to be achieved, and addresses how the ancient world can be perceived as an ideal in subsequent periods of history.In the context of current medical and legal debates about access to health and the relationship between health and disease, archaeologists, classicists and ancient historians investigate ideas of health in antiquity.Is health the absence of disease, or a more positive state of happiness and well-being? How healthy were people in ancient Greece and Rome, and how did they think about maintaining and restoring their health? Answers to these and many previously untouched questions are dealt with by renowned ancient historians, classical scholars, and archaeologists. Using a multi-disciplined approach, the contributors assess the issues surrounding health in the Greco-Roman world from prehistory to Christian late antiquity.Health and perception of health in ancient Mediterranean societies are brought together in a multidisciplinary approach by renowned ancient historians, classical scholars and archaeologists."The contributors to this book, who include ancient historians, classical scholars and archaeologists, assess the health status of the people of the Greco Roman world from prehistory to Christian late antiquity. Their sources range from palaeodemography to patristics, and from archaeology to architecture. They consider what health meant and how it was thought to be achieved, and address how the ancient world has been perceived as an ideal in subsequent periods of history."--BOOK JACKET. Title Summary field provided by Blackwell North America, Inc. All Rights Reserved