Claudius Galen’s approach reflects a gradual move toward systematic practice and observing; testing, and applying natural substances as remedies marks an early step towards what would we may call pharmacology.
These practices were closely connected to older healing traditions associated with Asklepios and his circle, including Hygieia and Telesphoros, where medicine and belief remained connected.
According to the myth, Asclepius‘s skill in healing angered Zeus, who struck him down to preserve the natural order. As the story goes, the healer’s final prescription papirus fell onto a wild herb, and rain carried its’ energy into the plant. That herb was later identified as garlic, believed to possess strong healing processes in the Incubation Rooms in Asclepieion of Pergamon. Even today, wild garlic continues to grow in the region, often noted as a connection between myth and practice.
In this way, Galen’s use of local herbs and organic materials prevents the poison and acts as an antitoxin; which does not stand apart from tradition but aligns with it. Blending old beliefs with the first steps of medical thinking.
Asclepius, dedicated to Asklepios, the god of medicine, was one of antiquity’s most
famous healing sanctuaries. Asklepios was worshipped with his daughter Hygieia, the
goddess of health and hygiene, and Telesphoros, the childlike figure of recovery. Together, a
trinity of healing that shaped medical thought from Greece to Rome.
According to an Anatolian myth, Asklepios’s compassion for humankind angered Zeus. The
god of thunder, fearing that mortals would conquer death itself, struck Asklepios down with a
bolt of lightning. As the divine healer fell, the medical prescription he was writing fluttered
onto a wild herb. When rain fell, the words of the prescription dissolved into the plant’s
leaves, infusing it with healing power. Thus, garlic, said to cure all ailments, was born.
- Ancient Pergamon city plan shown in this panel; located in modern day Bergama, Izmir and its province Türkiye.
- Archeological site of Pergamon; birthplace of Claudius Galen located on modern day Bergama, Izmir and its province Türkiye.
- Kybele. the most worshipped ancient God of Anatolian people; the Anatolian Goddess..
- Photos and page layout by Efe Erhan Küsmez (March 2026)
- Locate this item on Google Map
Sources
– Pergamon’s information panels and museum information displays at the archeological site and Archeological Museum of Bergama.