By Michio Kushi and Alex Jack"The roots of macrobiotics stretch back in time. In ancient Greece, Hippocrates coined the term makrobios to refer to longevity and health. To understand why he was known as the Father of Medicine, we have to go back and look at the worldview that prevailed in that era. People commonly believed that health and sickness, life and death, fortune and misfortune, were governed by the gods. The gods and goddesses including Zeus, Hera, Aphrodite, Hermes, Apollo, and many other, were believed to live on Mount Olympus in northern Greece. The common view was that if you went to temple, prayed, and sacrificed, the gods would bestow upon you long life (makrobios), health, wealth, prosperity, many children, and all the blessings of life. Conversely, if you didn't go to church, light incense, burn candles, or carry out the rituals of that time, the gods would send you short life (mikrobios), sickness, accident, plague, sterility, misfortune, and disaster. Throughout the ancient world, people believed that what little influence, if any, we had on health and sickness, life and destiny, was through religious faith and practice.
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