Large clear cup from the RHYTIA kit

The history of cupping around the world

Cupping is one of the oldest hands-on practices people have written about, and it turns up on almost every continent. Records and objects point to cups being used in Mesopotamia, Greece, Rome, China and the Islamic world, and in the Americas as well. Historians still disagree about where it began, so this guide sticks to what museums and reference sources can actually back up.

Where the story starts

Finland's national inventory of living heritage says the oldest known traces of cupping come from Mesopotamia, around 3300 BC. That is the earliest date we could find in a source we could open, and it is a date for traces, not for a full practice as we would recognise it.

Some popular histories also name Egypt. They point to the Ebers Papyrus, a text from about 1550 BCE. A 2024 paper on cupping in China and the Americas repeats that link, but the original reading is debated, so read Egypt as "possible" rather than proven.

Whoever got there first, the basic idea is simple. A cup is placed on the skin, the air inside is thinned out, and the skin is drawn gently into the cup. Every culture below found its own way of doing that.

Greece and Rome

Hippocrates, the Greek physician who lived around 460 to 370 BC, is said to have described both dry and wet cupping. Galen, who worked in the Roman world several centuries later, practised it too.

The objects survive better than the stories. The Science Museum Group in London holds a Roman glass vessel from about 1 to 150 CE catalogued as a cupping vessel. A bronze cup found at Pompeii, dated to the first century AD, is described by Florence's Museo Galileo as a cucurbitula, Latin for "little squash", after its rounded shape. The same entry notes that the device was already known in Greece in the first century BC, and that other examples were made of bone and, rarely, silver.

China

China Daily's history of the practice says the earliest records date to the Qin dynasty (221 to 206 BC), when horn cups were the tool of choice. Ge Hong, a Taoist alchemist and herbalist who lived from 281 to 341 AD, is the name most often given for the earliest Chinese writing about it.

Over the centuries the cup itself changed. Bamboo jars replaced animal horn in the Sui and Tang dynasties (581 to 907), pottery came in under the Qing, and glass is the common choice today. We cover this properly in cupping in China.

The Middle East and the Islamic world

In the Islamic world cupping is known as hijama. It appears in the hadith, the recorded sayings and habits of the Prophet Muhammad, and it has been widely practised across Muslim communities for centuries. One note: wet cupping, which breaks the skin, is a different practice done by trained practitioners and has nothing to do with a home massager.

Europe

A review in the Hektoen International journal says cupping surged in popularity in Europe in the 14th century and waned from the 17th, though it never disappeared. The Science Museum Group has several 19th-century London-made sets in wooden cases, including one by the surgical instrument maker S Maw and Son, dated 1860 to 1875.

By the early 1900s mainstream Western doctors had mostly put the cups away, according to a Science Museum blog post from 2016. But in kitchens and family homes the glass cups stayed. In Finland cupping became linked with the sauna, and in Russia small glass jars moved into ordinary households during the Soviet era. The details are in cupping in Europe.

The Americas

A 2024 journal paper comparing Chinese and Native American cupping says records show cups, called ventosas in Spanish, were used in pre-Hispanic Latin America. It notes the Maya reportedly used dried, hollow gourds as cups. Because the key texts were damaged or rewritten after the Spanish arrived, the authors are careful about how much can be known.

Cupping today

Most people outside Asia first noticed cupping because of the marks. In 2004 actress Gwyneth Paltrow appeared at a premiere with round marks on her back, and the photos went round the world. Twelve years later, at the 2016 Rio Olympics, swimmer Michael Phelps walked onto the pool deck with large circular marks on his shoulders and back, and cupping became a talking point overnight. The story is in cupping in the USA.

The same Science Museum blog notes that its own collection now includes an electric dry cupping machine, which tells you how far the cup has travelled from horn and bamboo.

That is where a modern device like the RHYTIA smart cupping massager sits. There is no flame and no hand pump. A small motor does the suction, you pick from 12 levels, and you can choose rhythmic cupping or continuous gliding with oil. Plenty of people just like the warm, quiet ten minutes it gives them in the evening. If you are new to the idea, what is a smart cupping massager is a good place to begin.

Try it at home

Thousands of years of cups, now in a USB-C rechargeable handheld you can use on the couch. Free shipping Australia-wide, 14-day refund.

Shop the RHYTIA massager

If you would like to try the modern version, the RHYTIA smart cupping massager comes with three cups, a remote and a travel pouch.

A quick timeline

  • About 3300 BC: earliest known traces of cupping, Mesopotamia.
  • About 1550 BCE: Ebers Papyrus, cited by some histories (debated).
  • 5th to 4th century BC: Hippocrates, Greece.
  • 1st century AD: bronze cupping vessel at Pompeii.
  • 221 to 206 BC: horn cups recorded in China under the Qin.
  • 281 to 341 AD: Ge Hong writes about cupping in China.
  • 14th century: cupping surges in Europe.
  • 2004 and 2016: Paltrow's premiere photos and the Rio Olympics.

Common questions

Where did cupping originate?

Nobody knows for certain. The oldest traces come from Mesopotamia around 3300 BC, and China, Egypt and Greece all have early records. Historians still debate the starting point.

Is cupping a Chinese invention?

China has a long written history of it, including horn cups recorded under the Qin dynasty. But cups also appear in Greek, Roman and Islamic sources, so it is better described as a practice many cultures developed.

What did old cupping sets look like?

They were glass, horn, bamboo, bronze or pottery cups, often warmed with a flame. The Science Museum Group has 19th-century London sets in fitted wooden cases that you can look up in its online catalogue.

How is a modern cupping massager different from old cups?

It uses a small electric pump instead of fire or a hand squeeze, so suction stays steady and adjustable. Read smart cupping vs traditional cupping sets for a side-by-side.

Is a home cupping massager safe for everyone?

No. If you are pregnant, have a pacemaker or another implanted device, have a health condition or take blood thinners, check with your GP first. Our safety guide lists who should skip it.

Further reading

RHYTIA is a massager for general relaxation and comfort. It is not a medical device and is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any condition.

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