The Greek philosopher Plutarch of Chaeronea (1st-2nd century AD) noted that our lives are divided between rest and labor.
For example, sometimes we are working and sometimes we are on vacation. He said rest is important: rest gives flavor to labour.
In antiquity Greece And Rome, many people also recognized that vacationing was an opportunity to restore health of body and mind.
However, not everyone was convinced that vacations were healthy or even a good idea.
take a vacation It will do you good
In the ancient world, people sometimes went on vacation to try to improve their mental and physical condition. This usually means moving from one climate to another, hope this helps.
In one of his letters, the Roman author and jurist Pliny the Younger (1st-2nd century AD) writes about how he tried to cure a man named Zosimus of blood-spitting disease.
Pliny sent him on vacation to Egypt. Zosimus returned after a long vacation “with his health restored.”
However, Zosimus fell ill again. So Pliny sent him on another vacation, this time to Gallia Narbonensis (in modern-day southern France). Pliny tells us in his letter: The air there is healthy and the milk is excellent for the treatment of this kind of (disease).
But watch where you go and how you get there
People also sought out or avoided specific places, depending Any places Considered healthy or not.
The physician Galen (circa 129-216 AD) states that the water at Mytilene on the Greek island of Lesbos has healing properties for various ailments, including hydrops, a fluid accumulation that causes inflammation: this water is suitable for both. For those with dropsy and other swellings, becoming severely dry. In the same way, it is also suitable for those who are fat, and especially when someone forces them to swim quickly in it, and after several baths, do not immediately drink or eat (…).
Doctors also advised people to avoid or avoid specific modes of travel.
For example, when treating headaches, the doctor Caius Aurelius wrote about the benefits of sea voyages: sea voyages inexplicably and gently open the bodily pores, giving rise to a burning effect due to the salinity of the sea, and by working changes. , improve physical condition. We should try to arrange trips to places where the climate is mild and the northerly winds blow, the opposite conditions where the disease can grow.
But he advises against traveling in fresh water: journeys in rivers, creeks, and lakes are considered unsuitable, because they cool and cool the head due to the exhalation from the earth.
It’s easy to overdo it on vacation
Not everyone in antiquity considered festivals to be healthy. Some thought that holidays could be harmful, because we sometimes drank too much or ate too much.
For example, the physician Galen complained how people made their health worse instead of better on vacation.
In his work on hygiene, Galen saw that people who became unhealthy due to their arduous work routines, such as slaves, needed an opportunity to restore their health by taking a vacation.
But Galen noted that these people did not always use vacations to restore their health because they used them vacations Excessive eating and drinking: When freed from the service of slaves, they may arrange for themselves on any public festival. But due to lack of control, they do not only correct the things that harm the body, they also fill up with these things by eating badly.
The Greek writer Athenaeus (2nd-3rd century AD) mentions how “everyone eagerly waits (…) for festivals”, because during festive holidays the tables are filled with drink and food. Apparently, it was easy to eat and drink too much.
Vacations are a waste of time and are only for lazy people
In the ancient world, people sometimes complained that holidays were a waste of precious time.
Philosopher Seneca (1st century BC-1st century AD) said that the religious practice of taking each Sunday off from work meant that people wasted “a seventh part of their lives”.
Similarly, the writer Claudius Aelian (2nd-3rd century AD) said that holidays were created as an excuse to be lazy: Look at you men – endless excuses and excuses for being lazy! How do you like to spend your time?
While many of us will use our holidays to rest and recover, others will need to work or choose to during this festive season.
The ancients said that holidays present new possibilities not only for our health but for other things as well. For example, Pliny the Younger sometimes used holidays to study Greek. Hard to disagree with that. (conversation)
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