Chaniotis A
Clio Med. 1995;28:323-44.
The propitiatory inscriptions of Lydia and Phrygia (of the second and third centuries AD) manifest the belief that illness is a divine punishment for a sin (usually for a religious offence); cure can thus be achieved through expiation. Although scientific medicine was not unknown, the high costs of doctors, the belief in the omnipotence of gods, and the attribution of illness to divine intervention led the villagers to the local sanctuaries, where they received instructions by means of dreams and oracles. Some priests had medical experience, but they usually practised a 'religious healing' (incantations, purifications, sacrifices, the ritual transfer of the sin and the illness to animals).
吕底亚和弗里吉亚（公元2至3世纪）的赎罪铭文表明，人们相信疾病是对罪恶（通常是宗教冒犯）的神圣惩罚；因此，通过赎罪可以治愈疾病。尽管科学医学并非不为人知，但医生的高昂费用、对神无所不能的信仰以及将疾病归因于神的干预，导致村民们前往当地的圣地，在那里他们通过梦境和神谕获得指示。一些牧师有医疗经验，但他们通常进行“宗教治疗”（咒语、净化、献祭、将罪恶和疾病仪式性地转移到动物身上）。
