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| THE EMISSARIES OF DIVINE POWER
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MEDICAL INSTRUMENTS IN ANCIENT MEDICINE
Erdoğan Yalav, M.D., Prof. Collection may be visited from 29 March - 30 May 2008 at the American Hospital Art Gallery
MEDICINE IN ANTIQUITY
There is no doubt that mankind's instinct to survive in health has been consciously developed since his creation. The inevitability of co-existence, a consequence of the primitive man's fight for survival, has led to the birth of muntual assistance and transfer of knowledge. Information was relayed from one generation to the next initially by observation, narration and rote memory but an entirely new course was opened with the discovery of writing. However, because of the difference in the scripts used and manners of expression of diverse communities living in different environments and because knowledge became altered as it was handed down from one generation to another as well as the fact that many written text were destroyed by time, what we know of our history dating back thousandas of years has remained mostly a matter of conjecture.
To be able to live in health and well being man needed the assistance of the wise. Initially it was the sorcerers and later, priests who protected men from a multitude of fearsome things and disease. It is truly unfortunate that very little remains in the way of documents to tell us about those men who pioneered the science of medicine with their knowledge and the drugs they used.
The discovery of metals ushered in a new age. Men first shaped pure metals like gold and silver in unprocessed state to use them as needed. But once they learned how to purify metals such as copper, tin and zinc they were able to mix them into alloys and from that time onwards they were able to use metals in any from they desired. This allowed them to convey to succeeding generations, the artistic power they carved on these metals. Man was able to express that hands, that most valuable bionic mechanism nature has generously endowed him with, do not perform solely a mechanical function but by working the metals also demonstrate the truth that they are an extension of human intelligence.
We see that devices made from metals then obtained with great hardship, had functions related only to man's own physique. The astonishingly ergonomic structures of the instruments used in daily life as extensions of the hand such as tweezers, ear scoops, needles, knives, cutters and perforators were enhanced by elegant and delicate carvings of designs believed to possess remedial powers.
Medicine in antiquity was dominated by the impressive stature of Aesculepius, the god of medicine and healing. With the emergence of Hippocrates' teachings based on experiment and observation, Aesculepius the mortal was elevated to the rank of a deity. As medicine flourished thanks to Hippocrates, the helping powers of the protective god according to ancient beliefs were no less sought than reason and experience. Aesculepius, the god of healing, dispensed confidence and strength with his powerful physique, impressive beard and toga slung over his left shoulder. His symbol was the staff with an entwined serpent that he held in his left hand. The staff in antique times represented the wanderer who traveled much, therefore knew much and was also construed as third foot which gave the person a solid standing and security. The serpent represented the silent mystery of the underworld-death-and with the shedding and renewal of its skin each spring also symbolized the rebirth not only of the living but of the universe. Its entwining ascent on the staff meant an elevation to the domain of the gods.
Despite the assertion that medicine was denuded of the elements of faith and superstition with Hippocrates, we see that medical instruments used by Anatolian civilizations clearly preserve such features. A careful study of these instruments shows us that the admonition of the god of healing "not to go much further and avoid excess in what you do" was made substantial by means of an impediment cleverly installed on the instruments.
We must remember that until the advent of endoscopic surgical devices now made accessible by modern technology, classical medical instruments bore the figure of the serpent coiled along the wand that was Aesculepius’icon. And is not the maxim "perfection is not possible with imperfect tools" a throwback to this belief, which even today we pass on to our students, as our own teachers did to us.
Medical implements unearthed in legitimate as well as clandestine excavations in Anatolia are not as varied as those found in the West. The diversity in the West is evidence of a developed culture while Anatolia remained deprived of this opportunity because of the fierce waves of migration that swept across it.
The science of medicine originally took root in Egypt and Mesopotamia prior to antiquity and was introduced to Anatolia through commerce carried on wars waged with the Hittites, the very first settled population of Anatolia. However the greatest leap in medicine came with the establishment of schools of medicine on the Mediterranean Island of Kos and in Knidos (modern-day Datça). Physicians educated in these schools such as Herofilus of Khalkedon (Kadıköy) and Erasistratos of Knidos were invited to the foremost centers of learning of the times like Alexandria, Rome and Egypt.
When Julius Caesar appeared on the stage of world history, the changed political outlook caused the science, lifestyle and economic power, which thrived in Anatolia and the Aegean region to shift to Rome. Anatolia which always suffered an erosion of its cultures through unending migrations across its territory had always been the target as well as a conduit for Western armies coveting the mystery and wealth of the East. It is my conviction that the surgical instruments found in Anatolia should be assessed with this perspective in sight. Contrary to the rich diversity we encounter in the museums of the West, those instruments discovered on our lands can be dated to the same periods and have traveled through time without undergoing changes. This is valuable in that it can instruct us in the values of the antiquity.
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