The famous Hippocratic Code (picture) contains more than 60 pharmaceutical applications of olive oil, providing a fine documentation of the perception ancient Greeks had regarding the healing properties of Homer’s liquid gold. Skin diseases, headaches, gynaecological problems and mild body pains were the most common cases tackled by olive oil. Hot olive oil would be applied to the body of a pregnant who had just had an abortion, while in cases of a metrorrhagia a special concoction made of boiled in vinegar olive leaves was administered to the patient. In addition, deafness, chronic fevers, minor wounds, abscesses, inflamed gums, stomach ulcers and cases of mild poisoning were treated with olive oil.
Nowadays, progress in modern medicine leaves very little, if any, room for the use of alternative curing methods. Still, the use of olive oil for purely therapeutic reasons is not totally extinct. Olive oil is rich in vitamin E which is important for the health of our skin. Thus, several dermatologic treatments require or greatly encourage the massage of the problematic area with some pure olive oil. Furthermore, massage with olive oil is used to relieve a painful abdomen as well as to relax overworked muscles.
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