Art and Medicine: The Influence of Religion on Perceptions of Medicine in Ancient Greece and Medieval Europe

This paper examines public perceptions of medical healing through a study of objects of art related to medicine. Medical knowledge and history are overwhelmingly studied through the text and instruments related to the practice and theory of medicine.  However, my research focuses on art such as marble sculptures votive offerings, and ornate religious reliquaries as another avenue that encapsulates, transmits, and creates medical knowledge, especially of those people whose voices were not recorded. Art provides a deeper insight into how the public perceives and interacts with medicine in theory and practice. Art also provides a window into cultural differences in how medicine was perceived. My research examines objects of art as containers and visual media of past medical knowledge. Through analyzing objects of art from ancient Greece as well as medieval Europe, I found two broad religious trends: first, the polytheistic religion in ancient Greece was transactional. Indeed, based on the kinds of objects related to medicine from antiquity, people seem to have believed that the religious practice of giving votive offerings to the gods would result in them receiving what they asked for from the god. Carefully sculpted marble body parts such as hands, eyes, and legs would be offered to the gods in hopes of that body part being healed. Second, Christians in medieval Europe held the belief that certain objects, particularly relics, had spiritual power. By touching these objects one would be granted what they prayed for. For example, the Christians of this time believed that the healing force of the relic of a saint is derived from that object being imbued with the power of the saint. Reliquaries of this period are also beautiful art, acting as examples of how art was relied upon by the public to help the sick and provide good health. The art demonstrates the two different perceptions of medicine based on the individual’s religious beliefs. I also show that religious beliefs were an important factor in how everyday people understood and imagined the theory and practice of medicine and healing.