Ricerc@Sapienza

The practice of body manipulation with therapeutic aims has been used in the Western world since
the origins of Hippocratic medicine. By retracing the therapeutic use of massage as a therapeutic, preventive
and educational practice, the authors attempt to highlight the concepts, techniques and methods of massage
and the manipulation of the body in order to offer a valuable and useful historical reconstruction concerning
ancient medicine. The study on the relationship between culture, diseases and medicine constitute a significant

Anatomical ex-votos of feet have always been interpreted as representing the unhealthy part of the body for which patients were asking healing. However, according to the archaeological data and literary sources, another interpretation is also possible: the purpose of this article is to focus on the strong relationship between feet and fertility in the ancient world by cross-referencing the available archaeological evidence with the scientific data relating to this topic. That shed light on an important aspect of the Healing Temples in Greek and Roman medicine.