What was the theory of the 4 humours?

The Greeks believed that the body was made up of four main components or Four Humours. These Four Humours needed to remain balanced in order for people to remain healthy. The Four Humours were liquids within the body- blood, phlegm, yellow bile and black bile.

What are the 4 humors of the body?

Greek physician Hippocrates (ca. 460 BCE–370 BCE) is often credited with developing the theory of the four humors—blood, yellow bile, black bile, and phlegm—and their influence on the body and its emotions.

How do you balance the four humours?

Phlegmatic people are calm, cool, and unemotional. Classical medicine was all about balancing these humors by changing diet, lifestyle, occupation, climate, or by administering medicine. A cold and wet cucumber might help to redress the balance in a feverish individual, as might bloodletting.

How are the four humors related to each other?

Organized around the four elements of earth, water, air, and fire; the four qualities of cold, hot, moist, and dry; and the four humors, these physical qualities determined the behavior of all created things including the human body. Humor: Black Bile.

Who is the founder of the four humours?

It can be traced back to the 4th century BC Greek physician Hippocrates, who believed that human moods were affected by an excess of four bodily fluids (called humours): blood, yellow bile, black bile, and phlegm. In the 2nd century AD, another Greek physician, named Galen, took this idea and made it into a personality theory.

Why was the four humors theory of temperament discredited?

Later, the Four Humors theory of temperament was discredited, but was expanded upon by researcher and psychologist David Keirsey in his Temperament Sorter. There’s a certain thrill present in discovering what “type of person” we are. Understanding our personality types aides us in our journey of self-discovery.

Are there personality tests for the four humors?

If you’re a curious and inquisitive personality test enthusiast, or are even simply interested in discovering more about bile, phlegm and blood (I’ll explain later), and how the ancient Greeks and Romans attributed them to character, read on. Also, in the following weeks, Sol and I will be posting a variety of The Four Humors personality tests.