The effect of religion on the treatment of diseases and epidemics in the ancient Roman civilization

Abstract

The ancients viewed disease in all its forms as aresult of the intervention of superpowers that made its existence possible, whether these powers were gods, or demonic powers that have the ability to harm a person and inflict the greatest harm on him, and even as a result of the intervention of human forces that can harm the individual through Controlling the powers of magic. It is from this logic that we will try to understand the forms of the pathogen from the point of view of the ancient Roman society.

The concept of disease was associated in many parts of the ancient world with the gods, and there are extensive examples that can provide a suitable proof for this perception. In many great civilizations, diseases were either the embodiment of some gods or sometimes they simply represented a punishment from the gods to humans.

Therefore, the Romans sought help from the gods to help them heal or to gain their consent to get rid of plagues and incurable diseases. In the research, we tried to address the most important deities that played an important role in healing, in addition to the role that Greek doctors played in introducing the medical sciences to the Romans, and the role of magic in healing and healing in Roman civilization was also addressed. We have relied on a number of Arabic, foreign and translated sources and references, the most important of which are the writings of the Roman historian Pliny and the poet Ovid.