TY  - JOUR
PY  - 2016//
TI  - A war psychiatry approach to warfare in the Middle Byzantine period
JO  - History of psychiatry
A1  - Ntafoulis, Pavlos
SP  - 458
EP  - 471
VL  - 27
IS  - 4
N2  - Combat stress cases were traced in historical texts and military manuals on warfare from the Middle Byzantine period; they were mainly labelled as cowardice. Soldiers suffered from nostalgia or exhaustion; officers looked stunned, or could not speak during the battle. Cruel punishments were often enforced. Suicide and alcohol abuse were rarely mentioned. The Byzantines' evacuation system for battle casualties was well organized. Psychological operations were conducted and prisoners-of-war were usually part of them. The Byzantine army had 'parakletores', officers assigned to encourage soldiers before combat. The leaders dealt with combat stress by using their rhetoric skills and emphasizing religious faith in eternal life. The treatment of the 'cowards' was rather similar to modern war psychiatry principles of treatment. No description of PTSD was found.<br><br>© The Author(s) 2016.<p />  <p>Language: en</p>
LA  - en
SN  - 0957-154X
UR  - http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/0957154X16663148
ID  - ref1
ER  -