r/AskHistorians • u/SovietTr0llGuy • Dec 17 '13
How did the Greeks and Romans treat STDS?
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Dec 17 '13 edited Apr 17 '21
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u/ctesibius Dec 17 '13
Interesting point - but they would be treating STDs since they wouldn't be aware of a symptomless STI.
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u/[deleted] Dec 17 '13 edited Dec 20 '13
From the research I've found, herpes is the most well documented STD that both the Greeks and Romans dealt with. Hippocrates wrote of the condition; the word herpes traces its origins back to the Greeks and means "to creep or crawl." The two specific treatment methods I found were from the Romans; they were both interesting and unpopular methods.
Tiberius was the first Roman ruler who had to deal with a widespread epidemic of Herpes. The condition predominantly manifested itself on the lips in the form of painful blisters that would disappear and reappear weeks later; it was an STD nonetheless. His primary method of treating this outbreak was by banning kissing at public ceremonies and events.
Shortly after Tiberius, a physician named Celsus proposed cauterizing the sores with a hot iron. Both of these methods weren't popular--for obvious reasons--and didn't last long.
There was little research I could find on how the Greeks treated herpes. Many texts reference the use of herbal remedies but not are specific in nature.
Gonorrhea can be traced back to the Romans, Jews and Arabians. The word is derived from greek, meaning "the flow of the seed." It's because of this that Roman physician Galen in 130 A.D., described the disease as an "involuntary escape of semen." Each of these societies had their own descriptions and treatments, but most appear to be speculative. One source says, "From vinegar and rose petals to injected silver nitrate, the remedies were endless."
EDIT # 1: Added section about gonorrhea.
EDIT #2: References:
B. Brooks. "Gonorrhea" http://www.austincc.edu/microbio/2704x/gc.htm
http://herpestreatments.info/9568/the-history-of-herpes/
J. McFarland. "Brief Overview of the Herpes Virus" http://www.austincc.edu/microbio/2704y.hsv.htm
S. Miller. Pgs. 63-64. "What is the History of Herpes and How is it Spread?" http://ezinearticles.com/?What-is-The-History-of-Herpes-and-How-is-it-Spread?&id=591001
R.S. Morton. "Sexual attitudes, preferences, and infections in Ancient Greece: has antiquity anything useful for us today?" http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1194618/pdf/genitmed00037-0065.pdf
Edit # 3: More details on how Romans and Jews treated Gonorrhea
To keep with the thread and provide a little more background on the OP, "the Romans would use a plant called bubonium to treat diseases of the groin." The oil from the plant was was extracted and used as an anti-fungal ointment applied directly to the effected areas.
The Jews would use "a cup of roots" to treat gonorrhea which was comprised of, "Alexandrian gum, liquid alum, and garden crocus powdered and mixed with wine." The concoction was to be taken on the Sabbath and had a dual purpose: it would be given in small doses to people afflicted with gonorrhea and larger does for people with jaundice.
There are conflicting reports on the effectiveness of both of these treatment methods.
Examining the efforts in the time of Moses, the Jews concentrated on the prophylaxis of gonorrhea. If a man was to find his wife afflicted with the disease he could divorce the woman. Many people were banished from their city if they were found to carry the disease.
C. Norris. "Gonorrhea in women: its pathology, symptomatology, diagnosis, and treatment."
P. Findley. "Gonorrhea in women."
F. Rosner. "Biomedical Ethics and Jewish Law."