Abstract

This paper analyses the cause of disease as perceived in Classical and Hellenistic Greece, and in particular in the iamata of Epidauros, cure inscriptions collected and set up in the sanctuary of Asklepios at Epidauros in 350 BC, some of which date back to c. 450 BC. It is concluded that the iamata reflect a plurality of explanations of disease that co-existed in ancient Greece and complemented each other.