History of water and health from ancient civilizations to modern times

Vuorinen, Heikki S.; Juuti, Petri; Katko, Tapio S.

doi:10.2166/ws.2007.006

Cited by 44 publications

(27 citation statements)

References 5 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Unclassified

Order By: Relevance

“…The significance of water was also recognized in religious ceremonies by ancient Hellenic civilizations. In addition, Classical Greeks were the first known philosophical thinkers and medical writers which recognized the importance of water for the human health and hygiene [2] (Vuorinen et al 2007).…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

History of Hygiene Focusing on the Crucial Role of Water in the Hellenic Asclepieia (i.e., Ancient Hospitals)

Angelakιs

Antoniou

Yapijakis

et al. 2020

Water

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Prehistoric Hellenic civilizations like many other civilizations believed in gods and thought they had influence on the everyday life of the people. During the Bronze Ages the explanations of illness and health problems were based on mythological, divine, or religious (i.e., theocratic) reasoning or explanations. However, during the Classical and the Hellenistic periods, the Greeks clearly differentiated their thinking from all other civilizations by inventing philosophy and empirical science. Drains/sewers, baths and toilets and other sanitary installations reflect the high cultural and technological level of the period; they are also associated with hygienic and medical studies and practical applications. At that time, medicine was mainly based on clinical observations and scientific investigations. Prior to that time, in the Bronze Age, medicine was entirely confined to religious rituals and beliefs. In ancient Greece, medicine was practiced in Asclepieia (or Asklepieia), which were healing sanctuaries which also functioned as medical schools and hospitals. In the Classical Greece period, more than 400 Asclepieia were operating offering their medical services. The basic elements of each Asclepieia included a clean source of water and related infrastructure. At that time Hippocrates, the father of medicine, and his successors wrote a large number of medical texts in which the crucial role of water and sanitation is documented. They also identified numerous medical terms, many of which remain in use today. The Hippocratic treatises also contributed to the scientific evolution which occurred in later centuries, because they sought to explain the causes of observed natural phenomena in a deterministic way rather than on theocratic explanations in use at the time. In this paper, the evolution of hygiene, focusing on water use in ancient Greece is examined.

show abstract

mentioning

confidence: 99%

History of Hygiene Focusing on the Crucial Role of Water in the Hellenic Asclepieia (i.e., Ancient Hospitals)

Angelakιs

Antoniou

Yapijakis

et al. 2020

Water

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…The log-periodic, power law growth model (equation (4)) aligns with commonly held anecdotes regarding historical population growth, technological advances, and water resources development at the global scale (Vuorinen et al, 2007). Five periods of alternating water resources innovation and crisis were identified in the model-data-history synthesis illustrated in Figure 7: (1) Local Agricultural Revolution to the Roman Empire (3000 BCE to 450 CE), (2) Expansion of urban areas and regional water distribution systems (450 to 1500 CE), (3) Industrial Revolution (1500 to 1870 CE), (4) Global Agricultural (or "Green") Revolution (1870 to 2010 CE), and 5) Rapid global industrial expansion (2010 CE to the present).…”

Section: A Historical Perspective On Global Scale Water Crisis and Inmentioning

confidence: 75%

Power Law Growth and Delayed Feedbacks in Socio‐Hydrological Systems

Parolari

Manoli

2019

Earth's Future

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Water infrastructure dynamics result from coupled social and physical hydrological processes embedded in “socio‐hydrological systems” (SHSs). Freshwater fuels socioeconomic activity, which in turn exerts pressure on water resources through increased water demand and water quality degradation. Many factors emphasize the need for quantitative tools to predict the future of these systems, including SHS failures due to growing water scarcity from population growth and climate change. However, unfolding the interactions between social and hydrological factors continues to resist theoretical treatment, impeding progress toward a predictive framework. To resolve this issue, we propose and evaluate time delays as surrogates for the social dynamics in SHS models. This approach permits the development of models that describe SHS dynamics in terms of observable, physical, hydrological state variables. We apply this approach to two case studies: (a) reservoir storage capacity growth in the world and the U.S. Water Resources Regions and (b) global water withdrawals. Substantial variability was identified in empirical estimates of growth rates and time delays. Reservoir construction typically follows a saturating, logistic curve with periodic, punctuated equilibria, separated by delays ranging from 5 to 20 years both globally and regionally. In contrast, global water withdrawal data display faster‐than‐exponential growth, characteristic of a positive feedback through which water use drives further water development. Historical analysis suggests that growth trends in water resources systems are superimposed by recurring periods of innovation and inactivity which are indicative of slow memory dissipation and delayed effects of past water use on current water infrastructure decisions.

show abstract

“…Aristotle, who mentions the difference between drinking water and that which was used for all other daily needs in his Politics (1330b), believed in the importance of water in the human body and underlined that water causes more diseases than food, since food contains water (Problems I, 13, 14, 861a) ( [1], p. 51). Hippocrates and Vitruvius make extensive reports to diseases which were caused by poorquality water.…”

Section: Archaic Till Hellenistic Times 41 Water Quality and Human Hmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…People of Minoan Crete seem to have realized since the third millennium BC that various health problems could be eliminated by well-organized water supply systems and operated sanitation infrastructures. The first known Hellenic philosophical and medical writers, like Thales and Empedocles, also recognized the importance of water for the hygiene and health of people [1].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Hygiene Technologies, Water, and Health in the Hellenic World

Yannopoulos¹,

Kaiafa-Saropoulou²

2019

Healthcare Access - Regional Overviews [Working Title]

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The relation between human health, water, and hygiene facilities has been realized since during the Bronze Age, the explanations of illness and health problems were based on theocratic elements. However, the Greeks during the Classical and mainly the Hellenistic period clearly differentiated their thinking from all other civilizations by inventing philosophy and empirical science. Drains/sewers, baths and toilets, and other sanitary installations are reflecting high cultural and technological level, while they also are associated with observations and ideas about hygiene and medicine. The aim of this paper is to examine the knowledges about the influence of water on human health throughout antiquity. In other words, it focuses on the views that Greeks and Romans had on water quality and its impact on the human body.

show abstract

History of water and health from ancient civilizations to modern times

Cited by 44 publications

References 5 publications

History of Hygiene Focusing on the Crucial Role of Water in the Hellenic Asclepieia (i.e., Ancient Hospitals)

History of Hygiene Focusing on the Crucial Role of Water in the Hellenic Asclepieia (i.e., Ancient Hospitals)

Power Law Growth and Delayed Feedbacks in Socio‐Hydrological Systems

Hygiene Technologies, Water, and Health in the Hellenic World

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About