Egyptian Medicine

Egyptian Medicine

The Egyptians had many new ideas and their way of life was very

different to any that had gone before. Egypt was ruled over by a

powerful government headed by the Pharaoh, the Egyptian king. They

worshiped many Gods, and the Pharaoh was also seen as a God. They were

farmers and had many skilled craftsmen, including metal workers and

builders. They developed trade links to other countries and bought

many new plants and herbs. The Egyptians also developed a form of

writing, called Hieroglyphics.

The Egyptians had many new ideas, but a lot of their beliefs were used

by prehistoric people before them. Some of their beliefs about what

caused illness were the same, for example magic was still used as an

explanation for illness. The Egyptians believed that the Gods could

cause illness. They thought that to avoid becoming ill, you should try

to keep the Gods happy at all times. You could do this by praying. The

Gods could also cure you. The Goddess Sekhmet was the Egyptian Goddess

of War, but she could also cause or cure illness, depending on her

mood. The Priests of Sekhmet were thought of as doctors and you could

go to them if you were ill. There were also prayers you could say to a

particular God while taking a medicine, for example you had to ask Ra,

the Sun God to heal you while taking a cure for burns. People also

still used charms as protection from illness. The Eye of Horus was a

very common amulet, and the Scarab Beetle was also used a lot. They

also thought that another cause of disease was when the body’s

‘channels’ got clogged up with rotting food, or ‘wehedu’. They were no

further on in understanding causes of illness than their ancestors

were.

Herbs were another aspect of Medicine that stayed the same. In

Prehistoric times they were used for healing, and the Egyptians also

found that herbs were a good cure for some ailments. They would often

use herbs as a natural remedy to cure illness, but sometimes they were