Health Literacy in Ancient Iran: A Medical Glance at the Masterpieces of the Poet Physician of the Ancient Iran; Khaghani Shervani

The rich Persian literature is the reflection of thoughts, customs, traditions, culture, anthropology and natural science in Iran. Poets and writers of this country, respected as intellectuals and philosophers, had the knowledge of different aspects of science such as astronomy, medicine, botany, etc. which has been portrayed in their writings and masterpieces. The available medical texts mainly include classic medical sources that are developed during the rapid expansion of science in the past three centuries in the West. Recently, interest in scientific resources of traditional medicine has dramatically increased in Iran. In addition to the traditional books in medicine, Persian literature also contain a treasure trove of medical sciences, which at the specialized level may represent the unexplored parts of traditional Persian medicine; and moreover, the panoramic mirror of medical and “health literacy” of their own time. In this paper, the artistic use of literature for public health educationby Khaghani–Shervani, who was the greatest Iranian poet familiar with medicine, was investigated. Because of application of his deep medical knowledge in the poems, Khaghani’s poetry was difficult to understand by lay people. It is hoped that by the attention of Iranian experts and physicians, the icons of Persian medical history become more introduced to the next generation of medical community, so that it will be possible to strengthen the philosophy of being a physician and expand the link between medical sciences and general public to augment health literacy.