Ancient Greece still rocks in the health and wellness world No matter where you go or what you do in Greece, within the first five minutes of your arrival someone is wishing you good health. Hello and goodbye is often "yeia sou" or "ante yeia," meaning good health to you or go in health. When you th…
Ancient Greece still rocks in the health and wellness world No matter where you go or what you do in Greece, within the first five minutes of your arrival someone is wishing you good health. Hello and goodbye is often "yeia sou" or "ante yeia," meaning good health to you or go in health. When you thank someone, your cabbie, a teacher, a vendor, your waiter, almost inevitably the response is "na se kala" or may you be well. When you clink glasses before a meal, the toast is always "yeia mas," to our health. No one says Happy Birthday or Happy Name Day, Merry Christmas or Happy Easter. Instead, it's almost always "chronia polla" usually with an added "me hygeia," meaning, many years with good health. If you sneeze, Greeks will say "yeitses" which is basically wishing someone "little healths." When someone has a baby or gets married, people say to the parents "na sas zeesoun," or may they live. When you cook a delicious meal, someone will bless your hands with health and when you say something agreeable, or truthful or profound, someone will bless what has come out of your mouth by wishing you good health. Even when someone dies, people will say to your family, "zoe se sas," or may the rest of you live.
I began to wonder about where this universal fixation with health and longevity comes from and why does it play such a primary role in modern Greek vernacular? As someone working in the health and wellness universe, I'm fascinated by the fact that Greeks get so much right, from ancient times to now. I've lived and worked in many other places and never have experienced this level of focus on good health. I find it both charming and curious. Why are Greeks more focused on health than any other culture? Yes, they have suffered extreme poverty, famine and misfortune in the past but so have a lot of other countries. What is different about Greece?
I first took my curiosity to the streets, conducting an informal survey of everyone I encountered. A food scientist said "because life in urban areas is so much more stressful. My grandfather lived to be 105 in the village. He ate better, breathed better air and had less anxiety." Relatives said, "because the health system is so inadequate that we feel like we need to look out for each other." Finally, more than one person quoted the ancients, reciting a phrase that essentially means, sound mind and sound body. A doctor of nutrition science told me that ancient Greeks understood centuries ago that maintaining one's health is dependent on the entire ecosystem.
Ancient Greece still rocks in the health and wellness world | eKathimerini.com
Doctors back then treated the whole person, not just an isolated malady and that centuries-old wisdom is today being recycled and repackaged as progressive and new. When The American College of Lifestyle Medicine announced it was taking a more holistic approach to health in 2004 it was considered unprecedented among health professionals. Doctors there offer a science-based curriculum based on what they call "The six pillars of health," which includes nutrition, exercise, sleep, stress resilience, positive social connections and avoidance of risky substances.
Having lived in Greece for a few years now, I have come to realize that none of this is new. If you travel to many of the remaining ruins of the asclepeia in Kos or Epidaurus or elsewhere throughout Greece, you quickly realize that the ancients understood all of this back in 500 BC. On a recent trip to Epidaurus, we toured the world renowned large and small theaters, the ruins of temples, the baths, the gymnasium and stadium, a huge restaurant complex, the abaton where patients were treated with herbs and prayers and put into a deep sleep to rest, recover and heal. Archaeologists continue to excavate more of these sites every year. As you walk through these ruins, you realize this was not a place people checked in and out of quickly. The guest housing was partitioned in segments to accommodate new arrivals as needed, and quarantine those who needed to be kept from others. These places were built to accommodate thousands of people for long periods of time. It was a modern-day wellness center, spa, hospital, retreat and religious pilgrimage center with music, theater, dance and physical fitness thrown in for a well-rounded experience. Even the arts were part of the healing process, considered as important as the more "traditional" treatments provided in the abaton or clinic.
Ancient Greece still rocks in the health and wellness world | eKathimerini.com
All around the preserved ruins, you see healing herbs growing wild, perhaps because of all the rain we had this year. Chamomile and plantain carpet the ground, oats and milk thistle, dandelions, poppies, elecampane, thyme, oregano, sage, queens lace and so many more. These were the medicines of the ancients who made teas and rubs, powders and essential oils with which to treat the pilgrims who sought relief there. At the ascleipeio in Kos there is a large display in the museum showing many of the dried herbs used from the days when Hippocrates himself practiced there. These healing centers were built near aquifers and mineral springs where visitors would bathe in clean spring water and be massaged with fragrant oils before going into the abaton for a deep restorative sleep. Ancient Greek scholars have told us about the attendants in the abaton, or ascleipeio, who would analyze the dreams of the patients and then come up with appropriate treatments. Patients who were cured would often present the temple with gifts. Engravings on the walls of the ruins describe the scenarios and what was pledged. Many of the more elaborate offerings are displayed in museums today.
Greek practices around hygiene and sanitation that may seem obvious today took westernized medicine thousands of years to learn. In writings attributed to Hippocrates, he cautioned that doctors hands should be cleaned beforehand and that "open wounds be treated only with water that has been boiled, or wine and an occasional use of astringent plant washes." Yet, in 1857 when the Austrian doctor Ignaz Semmelweis suggested that physicians wash their hands after doing autopsies and before delivering babies, to reduce the number of women dying in childbirth, he was laughed out of the profession. The poor man was committed to an asylum in Vienna and died there nine years later.
Physical activity, too, wasn't just about competition or vanity. Greeks believed it was their duty to stay physically fit, and that a strong body acts as a counterbalance to a sound mind. Today, modern scientific research validates those beliefs. The Centers for Disease Control cites studies showing that students with a higher body mass index don't perform as well on academic tests as those with better fitness levels. Articles are written daily about the benefits of exercise on mood, health, emotional and mental well-being.
Making strong social connections was equally important then and now. The theater in Epidaurus, a UNESCO World Heritage site, was built for perfectly balanced acoustics, a feat that is aspired to today in the modern construction of theater and concert venues. Greek audiences look forward to attending every season to enjoy world class art, theater, dance and music in a setting that the healers believed enriched both the heart and mind. Perhaps the constant validation of what they inherently knew made Greeks trust their instincts about healthy lifestyle practices.
Ancient Greece still rocks in the health and wellness world | eKathimerini.com
Friends and family who visit from abroad are always amazed by the stamina of Greeks who can stay out late into the night and go to work the next day. During the summer months little children are in town squares all over the islands playing well past midnight. That never happens in most other western countries. But what they don't understand is that socializing is every bit as good for you as rest. Also, seeing older Greeks walk up and down hills and stairs, slowly but with ease, many carrying groceries and packages put people years younger to shame. They are testament to the necessity of building strength and endurance through activity, some of it very challenging.
If you have ever climbed the steps at the Herod Atticus Theater to get to a higher row, you probably wondered how did the ancients manage these tall steps? Weren't they physically smaller than we are today? A modern Greek scholar told me that much of the archaic knowledge was lost during Byzantium and the Ottoman Empires. He said today Greeks simply borrow what is convenient from the ancients, which may be true. But the part about health and hygiene became so imbedded into the culture that even Greeks today don't fully realize where it comes from.
The so-called "pillars of health" are part of the Greek DNA, good healthy food (but not too much), making exercise a part of everyday life, spending time with friends and family, appreciating the arts, belief in a higher power, consuming only moderate amounts of alcohol and getting enough rest, although resting has been sacrificed in recent years to adapt to western commercial interests. The latest Eurostat data suggests Greeks are working longer hours than ever before. Greece used to offer a better work-life balance. Today, the wellness experts would consider going home midday for a nap "ahead of its time."
