1 Defining health
An ancient medical writer wrote: ‘A wise man should consider that health is the greatest of human blessings’. This course will give you a ‘from head to toe’ approach to the body, and think about how health in the past can be studied now.
You will begin your study by watching a video which introduces two ancient images of healthy bodies and then go on to look at how to define ‘health’.
Activity 1
Watch the following video which features two athletes wrestling and some female figures now known as the ‘bikini girls’. How can they be used as evidence for ancient health?
After watching the video note down your thoughts on what you – and the ancient Greeks and Romans – understand to be meant by ‘health’.
Table 1 What is health?
| My definition of health today | |
| How the ancient Greeks and Romans might define ‘health’ |
OpenLearn - Health and wellbeing in the ancient world
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