e very early, according to
the sacred books, the Vedas. Notwithstanding this, demonology played a
large part in the production of disease according to their theories,
and religious observances were helpful in the cures.

Among the oldest documents which we possess relative to the practice
of medicine, are the various treatises contained in the collection
which bears the name of Hippocrates (460-375 B. C.). He was the first
physician to relieve medicine from the trammels of superstition and
the delusions of philosophy.

The Greeks undoubtedly believed in demons, but, different from the
nations around them, considered the demons to be well-intentioned.
Homer (c. 1000 B. C.) speaks frequently of demons, and in one instance
in the Odyssey tells of a sick man pining away, "one upon whom a
hateful demon had gazed." Empedocles (c. 490-430 B. C.) taught that
demons "were of a mixed and inconstant nature, and are subjected to a
purgatorial process which may finally end in their ascension to higher
abodes." Yet he attributed to them nearly all the calamities,
vexations, and plagues incident to mankind. Plato (427-347 B. C.)
writes of demons good and bad, and Aristotle (384-322 B. C.), the son
of a physician, speaks directly of "demons influencing and inspiring
the possessed." Socrates (470-399 B. C.) claimed to have continually
with him a demon--a guardian spirit.

In Greece, in early days, physicians were looked upon as gods. Even
after the siege of Troy, the sons of the gods and the heroes were
alone supposed to understand the secrets of medicine and surgery. At a
late period AEsculapius, the son of Apollo, was worshipped as a deity.
When we speak of the art of healing in Greece, one naturally thinks of
the apparent monopoly of the AEsclepiades, who ministered unto the
Grecian sick for centuries.

The original seat of the worship of AEsculapius was at Epidaurus, where
there was a splendid temple, adorned with a gold and ivory statue of
the god, who was represented sitting, one hand holding a staff, the
other resting on the head of a serpent, the emblem of sagacity and
longevity; a dog crouched at his feet. The temple was frequented by
harmless serpents, in the form of which the god was supposed to
manifest himself. According to Homer, his sons, Machaon and
Podalirius, who were great warriors, treated wounds and external
diseases only; and it is probable that their father practised in the
same manner, as he is said to have