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 . Sources range from palaeodemography to patristics 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. For anyone studying Classics, The History of Medicine this book provides a fascinating insight into the health and perceptions of health in antiquity. A study aid must.