Anorexia in Antiquity?

J

Jacquelyn

New member
It is well known that anorexia is a psychological disease and not completely a desire to lose weight. I'm curious, I know that anorexia has been greatly recorded since the middle ages, but is there a possibility that this psychological disease existed in antiquity? Is it possible that some ancient romans, greeks, egyptians, ect. reduce their eating to next to nothing due to a psychological problem? Has this condition of warped body image been around forever, but its just not been recorded and studied as well as today?
 
People starved to death all the time. Everyday. Life was struggle and people thanked the gods for their food. Thin was not fashionable.

However there have always been people who enjoyed self-denial and pain. They found creative outlets in some wild religious practices. This is recorded throughout various ancient religions.
For example, Jesus fasted in the desert for 40 days and nights. This did not seem unusal to the people of the time. These self-denying religious practices have a good historic record.
 
People starved to death all the time. Everyday. Life was struggle and people thanked the gods for their food. Thin was not fashionable.

However there have always been people who enjoyed self-denial and pain. They found creative outlets in some wild religious practices. This is recorded throughout various ancient religions.
For example, Jesus fasted in the desert for 40 days and nights. This did not seem unusal to the people of the time. These self-denying religious practices have a good historic record.
 
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