ABSTRACT
In view of the belief that the Universe is one harmonious living being and that music resounds throughout the celestial spheres, it is not surprising that music found a place in the sublunary world of earthlings. Music was quickly tied to the four elements, qualities, humors, and temperaments and, as a consequence, was linked to health and healing. The association of music and medicine has its roots in prehistory and evidence of its antiquity is with us today in the healing rituals of contemporary primitive peoples. 2 The beat of drums to heal the sick is still heard around the world. In Greek antiquity Apollo, who was the god of both arts, symbolized the bond between music and medicine. 3 Asclepius, his son and personification of the medical role of Apollo, was a later mythological development that emphasized the affiliation of music and medicine. The Hippocratic Oath begins: I swear by Apollo, Physician, by Asclepius, By Health, by Panacea and by all the gods and goddesses. 4 Some evidence for a music-medicine bond has been presented above. In this section, specific aspects of music will be covered to more fully define this association.
