What Was the Ancient Name of the Minoans?
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Ancient Greek thinkers believed the full moon could disturb the human mind and lead it to madness, especially those already prone to instability. In ancient Greece, the full moon was a source of both wonder and fear. This belief did not arise from myth alone but was woven into the foundations of early medical theory and practice.
Hippocrates, often called the father of modern medicine, saw the moon as an influential force on human physiology. He identified the brain as the seat of cold and clammy humors in the body and linked its moisture content to the ebb and flow of the moon, much like the tides. According to Hippocrates, this made the brain particularly sensitive to lunar changes.
He theorized that the full moon could destabilize the brain’s balance of fluids, which could, in turn, lead to anxiety, disorientation, or even seizures. Hippocratic medicine emphasized natural causes for illness, yet it left room for celestial influence. The moon’s power was not divine but physical. It was an environmental factor that physicians had to consider.
Several centuries later, Galen further expanded these ideas. A leading physician in the Roman Empire, he integrated lunar influence into his theory of the four humors: blood, phlegm, black bile, and yellow bile. Galen taught that health depended on the balance of these fluids. The moon, in his view, could disrupt the balance, especially in individuals with an already unstable temperament.
Galen emphasized that mental disturbances were rooted in physical causes. A full moon could aggravate humoral imbalances, leading to mania or melancholy. He advised caution during full moons, especially in treating patients with mental disorders. His recommendations included dietary restrictions, bloodletting, and avoiding major surgical procedures during certain lunar phases.
Ancient physicians often used lunar calendars in their daily work. They chose specific moon phases for surgery, bloodletting, or other interventions. These choices reflected a belief that the body’s receptivity to treatment changed depending on moon phases. Patients with chronic mental conditions were sometimes observed more closely during full moons, for instance.
Rituals also played a role. Although Greek medicine leaned toward natural explanations, it did not discard the symbolic power of night and moonlight. Physicians and healers occasionally conducted night-time rituals or prescribed quiet indoor stays during full moons. These practices aimed to protect vulnerable individuals from the moon’s perceived mental influence.
The English word lunatic provides a linguistic window into the persistence of ancient beliefs. Its root lies in the Latin lunaticus, meaning “moonstruck” or “of the moon.” Roman physicians and legal scholars adopted the term from earlier Greek ideas, which connected phases of the moon with episodes of irrational or erratic behavior.
Lunaticus originally referred not only to the mentally ill but more specifically to those whose condition seemed to worsen under the full moon. The term appears in Roman legal codes such as the Digest, which describes individuals whose criminal liability might be reduced during periods of madness—particularly if the madness was thought to be cyclic or periodic, as with lunar phases.
In medieval Europe, lunaticus continued to appear in both medical and religious texts. It became a catch-all term for a wide range of mental disturbances—from epilepsy and melancholy to psychosis. The assumption was that the moon had the power to “trigger” dormant conditions in susceptible individuals. While the term was used in Latin, it carried with it the intellectual weight of earlier Greek theories—especially those of Hippocrates’ and Galen’s models of bodily fluids and environmental influence.
When the word lunatic entered English in the Middle Ages, it retained its original meaning, referring to a person who is mentally affected by the moon. This belief had practical implications. Lunatics could be institutionalized, legally excused, or subjected to specific forms of care, depending on the time of the lunar cycle. In English common law, for instance, courts sometimes drew a distinction between those who were lunatics (intermittently insane) and those who were idiots (permanently so).
Even to this day, the term lingers in public consciousness, having survived in cultural references, horror films, and folklore and often reappearing when full moons coincide with inexplicable human behavior.
The endurance of this word across centuries reveals more than mere superstition. It reflects a historical attempt to find meaning in patterns—particularly the natural rhythms that seem to coincide with inner turmoil. For the Greeks and Romans, the moon was not simply a poetic symbol. It was a biological force, capable of agitating the mind and altering judgment. The language we use today still carries echoes of that ancient worldview.
The Greek perception that the moon affects the mind endured through the Roman period and into medieval Europe. The Latin term lunaticus—derived from luna, or moon—entered legal and medical language. Even nowadays, modern hospitals and police departments report anecdotal spikes in incidents during full moons, although scientific studies remain inconclusive.
Despite modern skepticism, ancient Greek physicians laid the groundwork for linking the mind to natural rhythms. Their efforts were not mystical but empirical for their time. They observed, theorized, and treated within a framework that connected the cosmos to the clinic.
Ancient Greek medicine did not view the moon as merely symbolic. For Hippocrates, Galen, and their contemporaries, lunar influence was part of the natural world’s impact on human health. They believed the full moon could disturb the balance of the brain and trigger madness. This belief shaped both their diagnoses and treatments. Though many of their methods are outdated, their core insight—that the mind is not sealed off from nature—remains a powerful legacy.
