Article ID: CBB001202412

Nothing New under the Sun: Post-Traumatic Stress Disorders in the Ancient World (2014)

unapi

Herodotus’ account of the Athenian spear carrier Epizelus’ psychogenic mutism following the Marathon Wars is usually cited as the first documented account of post-traumatic stress disorders in historical literature. This paper describes much earlier accounts of post combat disorders that were recorded as occurring in Mesopotamia (present day Iraq) during the Assyrian dynasty (1300–609 bc). The descriptions in this paper include many symptoms of what we would now identify in current diagnostic classification systems as post-traumatic stress disorders, including flashbacks, sleep disturbance and low mood. The Mesopotamians explain the disorder in terms of spirit affliction; the spirit of those enemies whom the patient had killed during battle causing the symptoms.

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Authors & Contributors
Steele, John M.
David Kieran
Gary Plank
P. Willey
Daker, Mauricio V.
Joanna Park
Concepts
Diagnosis
Medicine
Medicine and the military; medicine in war
Symptoms
Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)
Mental disorders and diseases
Time Periods
Ancient
21st century
20th century, early
19th century
Shang dynasty (China, ca. 1766-1027 B.C.)
Prehistory
Places
Mesopotamia
Assyria
Middle and Near East
Sumer
United States
Babylon (extinct city)
Institutions
United States. Army
Royal Edinburgh Asylum
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