Greeks
The ancient Greeks valued the benefits of massage very highly, using it in most avenues of daily life. Techniques were developed to help athletes to keep their bodies in the best condition for competitions. They also used massage for relaxation. Herodotus, a historian who lived from 484 to 425 BC, recorded the fact that certain herbs had a sedative action whilst others were more refreshing. Physicians of the time such as Hippocrates (460 to 377 BC) ‘the father of medicine’, used these herbs with oils and massage techniques to treat many medical conditions. He stated that "anyone wishing to study medicine must master the art of massage." Greek women also recognized the value of massage with aromatic oils, using them as a beauty treatment for the skin and face. Homer in his work Odyssey describes massage as "welcome relief to exhausted war heroes." By 326 BC elements of Ayurvedic medicine had become an integral part of Greek medicine.