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Wine within the Hippocratic Corpus
Wine was a pertinent element in Greek medicine; it was a cause of problems, social or individual and a source of possible disease, as well as, used as a prescription both for internal and external ailments. However, wine was not only restricted to medicinal purposes. References to wine can be found throughout Greek antiquity in both tragedy and medical texts. The Hippocratic texts describe wine as a powerful substance, that when consumed in excess can cause physical disorders, today known as, intoxication. Although the negative effects of wine on the human body are documented within the Hippocratic Corpus, the author/authors maintain an objective attitude towards wine altogether. During this time, for medical observation and purposes, those studying medicine were interested in the physical effects of wine, therefore no medical text condemns the use of wine in access. According to the Hippocratic text, the consumption of wine significantly effects two regions of the body: the head and the lower body cavity. Excessive drinking can cause heaviness of the head and pain in the head, in addition to, disturbances in thought. In the lower body cavity, excess wine ingestion can have a purging effect; it can be the source of stomach pain, diarrhea, and vomiting. There is an overall effect of wine that all Greek doctors of the time have observed and agree on which it’s warming property. Therefore, wine’s properties are described as “hot and dry.” As documented in the Hippocratic texts, extreme use of wine can result in death.

Physicians tried to study the human body with pure objectiveness to give the most accurate explanation for the effects of external substances that could be given for the time. During this period, physicians believed not all wines were equally potent in producing a range of perilous symptoms. According to the Hippocratic texts, physicians carefully categorized wine by properties such as color, taste, viscosity, smell, and age. According to Hippocrates, a more concentrated wine leads to a heavy head and difficulty thinking, and a soft wine inflames the spleen and liver and produces wind in the intestine. Other observations of the ingestion of wine included the varying levels of tolerance among those residents within the population being observed. This observation led to the belief that the size of your body and your environment had an influence on one’s ability to handle wine. Physician’s also hypothesized gender contributed to the effects of wine on the body. It was not common practice between physicians of the time to recommend the consumption of wine for children. Physician’s collectively believed that there was no purpose for children to drink wine. However, in rare circumstances, there are records of some doctors recommending wine for children, only if heavily diluted with water, to warm the child or to ease hunger pains. Mostly, doctors prohibited wine consumption for people under eighteen.

Greek physicians were very interested in observing and recording the effects of wine and intoxication, the excessive use of wine was well known to be harmful, however, it was also documented as a useful remedy. Several of the Hippocratic texts list the properties and use of foods consumed during fifth century BC. Wine was first defined as a food by all doctors. Directions for consumption varied based on gender, season, and other various occasions in daily life. Men were encouraged to consume dark, undiluted wine before copulation, not to the point of intoxication, however enough to provide power and guarantee strength to the fetus. Because of wines visual similarity to blood, physicians, at the time, had assumed a relationship between the two substances. For this reason, men suffering from cardiac illness, lack of strength, or pale complexion were encouraged to consume dark, undiluted wine. Multiple texts within the Hippocratic Corpus advice the use of wine in accordance with the seasons. During the winter, wine must be undiluted, as possible to counter the cold and wet, because wine’s properties are dry and hot. During fall and spring, wine should be moderately diluted, and during the summer, wine should be diluted as much as possible with water, because of the hot temperatures. The practice of mixing wine and diluting wine is also seen in prescription form; however, the dosage and quantities are left to the doctor. The prescription of wine as a treatment was prohibited with diseases that effected the head, brain, and those accompanied by a fever. Wine could also be used as an external remedy by mixing it with other substances such as honey, milk, water, or oil to make salves or soaks. Patients suffering from pneumonia like illnesses would soak in a wine mixture and breath in the vapors with the intent to expel the pus from their lungs. Wine was frequently prescribed as a topical remedy for sores because of it's drying effect.