Depression has been known for well over 2,000 years. The famed ancient Greek physician, Hippocrates, called it melancholia. This name comes from the Greek words μελας χωλη, or “black bile;” the Greeks thought an overabundance of black bile, a fluid formed by the liver, made one melancholy (a word which has come to mean “depressed”). In a similar fashion, the Greeks attributed mania to an overabundance of yellow bile, another liver compound.

The ancients knew mental illness, having many different terms for aspects of mental illness which we now consider to be related. They had many different theories as to why they happened, but quite noteworthy is that the ancient Greek philosophers and physicians — for the most part — looked for physiological causes (at least, as far as their understanding of physiology allowed). It was only in later times-much later, as in, after the Middle Ages — that mental illness was attributed to “demonic infestation” or what-have-you.

Also, in many ways, the ancients were (oddly enough) more tolerant of mental illness, than we are. (So much for our having become “enlightened” over the centuries!) Quite simply, they accepted that some people appeared to have some eccentricities or even moments of madness. Ancient and medieval literature is full of characters who, when confronted with some terrible situation, fall into episodes of absolute madness, from which they (usually) recovered, and moved on. Socrates and Plato advocated setting up colonies for the mentally ill, complete with scribes to take down their utterances, which they thought might be divinely-inspired. Ancient and medieval history has many figures who had odd habits, and who now would probably have been diagnosed with some mental illness.

The first-century Roman philosopher Seneca once said, “There’s no great spirit which is not somehow touched by madness.” Others echoed this sentiment, down through the centuries. That some very learned or creative people were affected by mental illness, was accepted as a “given,” and in fact, it was even expected!

Recently, experts have gone over the biographies of historical people, and generated lists of those who’re suspected of having had a mood disorder. These lists are extensive, numbering in the thousands; but even if some of the individuals are debatable, the fact remains, that many of the most influential people of the last 2,000 years or more, must have had mood disorders.

I cannot help but wonder, though, why mood disorders were accepted, among the ancients and even in medieval times, whereas more recently, these disorders (and the folks with them) are shunned? How can this be? Around the same time that slavery was abolished in the western world, the western world suddenly decided that the mentally ill were “dangerous” and needed to be secluded, shut out, forgotten. Along with this came a presumption of “guilt” on the part of the mentally ill … e.g. that mental illness is of the patient’s own making, the result of laziness, eccentricity, personal weakness, etc.

This leads us to a great deal of current thinking about mood disorders (held of course by those who’ve never experienced them!) that patients need to “pick themselves up by their own bootstraps,” just eat better, “get right with God,” or whatever. The ancient Greeks certainly had a much healthier view of mental illness, even if they did not really have the means to treat it effectively.

Why is that, do you think?

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