Page 42 - SYTYGIB: Ancient Greece
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Health and medicine
When you have a sniffle you probably think: “Oh dear, I have a sniffle.” Then, depending on how much you want the day off school, you proceed to wail and flop about, snotting the place up and annoying everyone until your mum and dad give in and let you stay home . . .
Of course, within half an hour you’ve “miraculously” recovered enough to play BloWing Random Stuff Up 3 on the XboX for the rest of the day. Which is why no one shows you any sympathy.
But if you think YoU’vE GoT iT BaD, at least you don’t believe your tiny sniffle is a punishment from god!
The ancient Greeks thought illness was caused by the chief god Zeus and his buddies being angry with them. To try to find a cure the sick would often visit the sanctuaries of Asklepios, the god of medicine. They believed he would give them treatments through his priests and would hope to be visited by him in their sleep. cReEpY!
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