Some historical facts on garlic:
Ancient Egyptians ate garlic and it is said that the great tombs of the Egyptian pharaohs could not have been built but for the strength the builders gained from their daily ration of garlic and onion.
The Greeks and the Romans also knew this magical herb and used it as a health protector and aphrodisiac.
The Ebers Papyrus, 1500 BC, one of the earliest herbal pharmacological documents we know, mentions garlic used in external applications for wounds.
Homer mentions garlic in his famous Odyssey. The deity Mercury, or Hermes, gave garlic to Odysseus as a protection against the goddess Circe's evil sorcery, in which she turned men to swine.
The athletes of the original Olympic games in ancient Greece traditionally chewed a clove of garlic before participating in the games.
Galen, an early Greek doctor, spoke of garlic as panacea of the common man.
Hippocrates prescribed eating of garlic for uterine tumors.
The Vikings and the Phoenicians always carried garlic on their ocean voyages.
The Prophet Mohammed (P.B.U.H.) in the 7th century A.D. recommended to apply garlic externally on the sting of the scorpion or the bite of the viper.
The crusaders brought garlic to France and since that time its popularity as a wonder-herb has been growing. A French herbalist, Messegue, born in Gascony, France, states that all the children born in that province were baptized with a clove of garlic on the lips.
The emperor of Frank Charlemagne (8th century A.D.), generally considered the first Holy Roman Emperor, recommended that his subjects cultivate garlic.
France's garlic-loving King Henry IV was baptized in water containing garlic with a clove of garlic on his lips to protect him from evil spirits – witches and demons, because garlic was known as a witch repellant since the times of the ancient Greeks. According to other sources it was his grandfather who insisted to rub his lips with garlic and baptize him in a garlic water to protect him from the virus of plague as it was raging at that time in Pau, where he was born (1553).
Although Henry IV was the most popular king of France, he was also reputed to eat so much garlic that his breath could fell an ox at twenty paces. He was said to have chewed a clove of raw garlic every morning upon arising; besides he liked food reach in garlic. However, he was still very popular with the ladies as they cared more about his manpower (strengthened by garlic) than of garlic smell.
In the XVII century the plague raged not only in France but in Europe and England as well. History describes streets full of dead corpses and people who helped in burring them were infected with plague too… But history rarely mentions the fact that people who ate garlic were protected and were not infected. The knowledgeable doctors carried cloves of garlic in their pockets besides eating it in a good quantity. It is also said that French priests could safely minister to the dying but the English priests fell ill, because French priests ate garlic.
One of the most intrigue stories about those times is about four thieves from Marseilles, France. Those thieves remained healthy although made their living by robbing dead or dying plague victims. When finally captured they were forced to tell how they managed to avoid the plague. Their secret was a concoction of wine vinegar, garlic and herbs. They wore cotton masks that were soaked in this mixture and they also rubbed the liquid in their bodies.
In Ayurvedic and Siddha medicine garlic juice has been used to alleviate sinus problems.
In Unani medicine, an extract is prepared from the dried bulb which is inhaled to promote abortion or taken to regulate menstruation. Unani physicians also use garlic to treat paralysis, forgetfulness, tremor, colic pains, internal ulcers and fevers.
«The physiological effects of garlic
»Scientific research on garlic
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