Hippocrates Biography: Let Thy Food be Thy Medicine Hippocrates Bio Written by Tel Asiado. Throughout his life Hippocrates traveled widely throughout Greece and Asia Minor teaching or practicing medicine. He presumably taught at the medical school at Cos quite frequently. Undoubtedly, Hippocrates was an historical figure, and a great physician who exercised a permanent influence on the development of medicine and on the ideals and ethics of a physician. Quotation "Let thy food be thy medicine and thy medicine be thy food." - Hippocrates "It is necessary for a physician to know about nature, and be very eager to know, if he is going to perform any of his duties... what man is in relation to what he eats and drinks, and in relation to his habits generally, and what will be the effect of each upon each individual." - Hippocrates, On where the two worlds meet: a holistic approach to medicine. Early Life Little is known about the early life of Hippocrates. Historians tend to agree that he was born around the year 460 BC, on the Greek island of Cos (or Kos).

Soranus of Ephesus, a second-century Greek gynecologist, and considered to be Hippocrates’ first biographer, wrote about his life but the contents of this biography and later lives were either traditional or imaginative. From the biographical accounting of Soranus: Hippocrates' father was Heraclides, a physician, and his mother was Praxitela, daughter of Tizane. He learned medicine from his father and grandfather, and studied other subjects with Democritus and Gorgias. He was probably trained at the asklepieion of Kos, and also studied from the Thracian physician Herodicus of Selymbria. Other information can be found in the writings of Aristotle which date from the 4th century BC. Plato also mentions Hippocrates in two of his dialogues: Potagonas, where Plato describes Hippocrates as "Hippocrates of Kos, the Asclepiad," and Phaedrus, where Plato suggests that "Hippocrates the Asclepiad" thought that a complete knowledge of the nature of the body was necessary for medicine.

Major accomplishments Considered to be the "Father of Medicine" and famous for "Hippocratic Oath," Hippocrates revolutionized the practice of medicine by shifting western medicine from the religious to the “rational.” He believes doctors should analyze symptoms on a case-by-case basis, instead of having blanket causes and/or cures for each disease. He developed the practice of clinical observation in four stages: diagnosis, prognosis, observation and treatment. He taught and practiced medicine. Hippocrates was so revered that his teachings were greatly taken, with no significant advancements of his methods for a long time. He and his followers were first to describe many diseases and medical conditions. Hippocrates began the scientific study of medicine, and numerous medical writings have survived that bear his name, although most of which suspected not written by him. It is difficult to separate the facts or myths from later tales to assess his accomplishments in medicine. As time went on, reverence for the past had to contend with new developments of scientific method and discoveries. General knowledge of his medical writings might have faded, but Hippocrates continues to represent the humane and ethical aspects of the medical profession.

He categorized illnesses as acute, chronic, endemic and epidemic, and use terms such as, "exacerbation, relapse, resolution, crisis, paroxysm, peak, and convalescence." He described symptomatology, physical findings, surgical treatment and prognosis of thoracic empyema, relating to the chest cavity lining. His teachings remain relevant to present-day students of pulmonary medicine and surgery. He first documented chest surgeon and his findings and techniques, while crude, such as the use of lead pipes to drain chest wall abscess, are still valid. The Hippocratic School of Medicine described well the ailments of the human rectum and its treatment, despite the school's poor theory of medicine at the time. Hemorrhoids, though believed to be caused by an excess of bile and phlegm, were treated by Hippocratic physicians in a relatively advanced ways. Cautery and excision are described in the Hippocratic Corpus, in addition to the preferred methods of ligating the hemorrhoids and drying them with a hot iron. Some fundamental concepts of proctoscopy outlined in the Corpus are still in use. For example, the uses of the rectal speculum, a common medical device, are discussed.

This constitutes the earliest recorded reference to endoscopy. The Hippocratic Corpus, a collection of around seventy early medical works (containing textbooks, lectures, notes and philosophical essays on various subjects in medicine), is written in Ionic Greek that bears Hippocrates' name. The question whether Hippocrates was the author of the corpus has not been conclusively answered, but the volumes were probably produced by his students and followers due to the variety of subjects, writing styles and apparent date of construction. Notable among the treatises of the Corpus are The Hippocratic Oath (the most famous); The Book of Prognostics; On Regimen in Acute Diseases; Aphorisms; On Airs, Waters and Places; Instruments of Reduction; and On The Sacred Disease. Timeline (Little is known about his actual timeline except his birth and death, which are also approximate dates.) 460 BC - Hippocrates was born on the island of Cos, Greece. 370 BC - Hippocrates died in Larissa, Thessaly. Death Hippocrates' actual date of death is not known. It is believed that he passed away anywhere between 83 and 90 years of age in Larissa, Thessaly.

Some say he lived to be well over 100. About the Author Tel Asiado is a writer, author, content producer, and business consultant. She owns various niche websites. Her articles reflect her passions in writing & reading, biographies & histories, inventions & discoveries, to classical music, art & literature and small business. Tel has produced non-fictions, e-books and anthologies, and has written numerous articles on varied subjects online and in print. Her education is MBA, BScience in Chemistry, and Diploma in Small Business & Internet Mktg. Her main websites are: Inventions and Discoveries and Inspired Pen Writing . Basic Search Greek Medicine: Hippocrates Father of Medicine Medical historians generally look to Hippocrates as the founder of medicine as a rational science. It was Hippocrates who finally freed medicine fromthe shackles of magic, superstition, and the supernatural. Hippocrates collected data and conducted experiments to show that disease was a natural process; that the signs and symptoms of a disease were caused by the natural reactions of the body to the disease process; and that the chief role of the physician was to aid the natural resistance of the body to overcome the metabolic imbalance and restore health and harmony to the organism.

Hippocrates was born on the island of Cos, off the southwest coast of Asia Minor, or present-day Turkey, around 460 B.C. His father was a physician-priest in the Asclepion at Cos, and his family could trace its lineage back to the legendary Asclepius. Hippocrates lived a very long life and died at a ripe old age in the town of Larissa in Thessaly. The Hippocratic Revolution When Hippocrates began to practicemedicine, the established school of medicine was the Cnidian school. But this school's approach to medicine had several serious flaws, whichwere already becoming apparent and starting to cause a general dissatisfaction with the art of medicine. The Cnidian school considered the body to be merely a collection of isolated parts, and saw diseases manifesting in a particular organ or body part as affecting that part only, which alone was treated. Their system of diagnosis was also faulty, relying exclusively on the subjective symptoms related by the patient, while totally ignoring the objective signs of the disease.

Hippocrates radically disagreed with the Cnidian school, countering that the human body functioned as one unified organism, or physis, and must be treated, in health and disease, as one coherent, integrated whole. In diagnosis, not only the patient's subjective symptoms, but the objective signs of the disease must also be considered to arrive at an accurate assessment of what was going on. As his main unifying theory for the holistic understanding of the human organism and how it functions in health and disease, Hippocrates used the concept of the Four Humors. Although the groundwork of humoral physiology and pathology had already been laid by his predecessors, Hippocrates finally brought the thory of the Four Humors into its classical form. Health is a harmonious balance of the Four Humors. Disease results from their disharmony and imbalance. The physician's job is to restore health by correcting the imbalance and restoring harmony to the humors. To quote Hippocrates: "The body of man has in itself blood, phlegm, yellow bile, and black bile; these make up the nature of the body, and through these he feels pain or enjoys health.

Now, he enjoys the most perfect health when these elements are duly proportioned to one another in respect to compounding, power and bulk, and when they are perfectly mingled. Pain is felt when one of these elements is in defect or excess, or is isolated in the body without being compounded with all the others." - The Nature of Man Hippocrates took his band of renegade physicians with him to the island of Cos. There, they set about to revolutionize the art of medicine and put its theory and practice on a truer, sounder footing. Hippocratic Medicine Physiology and pathology in Hippocratic medicine was based on the Four Humors. A united confluence and sympathy between all four humors working together was necessary for good health. Pneuma - the Breath or Vital Force, and the Innate Heat, which were suffused into the blood from the lungs via the heart, gave the blood the power to sustain life. Hippocrates saw pepsis, or an orderly, balanced, harmonious digestion and metabolism of the Four Humors as being essential to all good health. In disorders of pepsis Hippocrates saw the origin of most disease.

Hippocrates' anatomical knowledge was rather scant, but this is compensated for by his profound insights into human physiology and the soundness of his reasoning. But even so, his surgical techniques for dislocations of the hip and jaw were unsurpassed until the nineteenth century. In therapeutics, Hippocrates saw the physician as the servant and facilitator of Nature. All medical treatment was aimed at enabling the natural resistance of the organism to prevail and overcome the disease, to bring about recovery. In the treatments he prescribed, Hippocrates was very sensible, pragmatic and flexible in his approach, favoring conservatism and moderation over radical or extreme measures. Bloodletting, which was much abused at other times in medicine's history, was used only rarely by Hippocrates, and even then, only applied conservatively. Hippocrates placed great emphasis on strengthening and building up the body's inherent resistance to disease. For this, he prescribed diet, gymnastics, exercise, massage, hydrotherapy and sea bathing. Hippocrates was a great believer in dietary measures in the treatment of disease. He prescribed a very slender, light diet during the crisis stage of an acute illness, and a liquid diet during the treatment of fevers and wounds.

Hippocratic medicine was constitutionally based, so its approach to diagnosis and treatment was quite flexible. As a holistic healing system, Hippocratic medicine treated the patient, and not just the disease. Hippocrates was the first physician to systematically classify diseases based on points of similarity and contrast between them. He virtually originated the disciplines of etiology and pathology. By systematically classifying diseases, Hippocrates placed their diagnosis and treatment on a sounder footing. The Hippocratic Corpus The Hippocratic Corpus is a collection of over 60 works. Although all of them are attributed to Hippocrates, the Corpus is of a heterogenous character, and many, if not most, of its works may actually have been written by his students. Still, we can be fairly certain that Hippocrates actually did author many books in the Corpus, including many original, groundbreaking works. These include: Airs, Waters and Places - the first major work on medical meteorology, climatology, geography and anthropology. Aphorisms - a collection of wise, pithy sayings giving advice on practical matters of diet, prognosis and therapeutics. Ancient Medicine - a defense of the empirical study of medicine against one biased by preliminary axioms and assumptions. Also deals with the Four Humors.

The Legacy of Hippocrates Hippocrates was the personification of the ideal physician - wise, caring, compassionate and honest. He is most remembered today for his famous Oath, which set high ethical standards for the practice of medicine. His exemplary life has been a constant and enduring source of inspiration for doctors and healers down through the ages. Hippocrates Biography - life, family, death, history, school, son, information, born, time Hippocrates Biography Larissa, Greece Greek physician The ancient Greek physician Hippocrates is called the father of medicine. He changed the course of Greek medicine with his certainty that disease was not caused by gods or spirits but was the result of natural action. Early life Hippocrates was born on the Aegean island of Cos, just off the Ionian coast near Halicarnassus (island of Greece) during the end of the fifth century B.C.E. He is called Hippocrates Asclepiades, "descendant of (the doctor-god) Asclepios," but it is uncertain whether this descent was by family or merely by his becoming attached to the medical profession. Legend likewise places him in the family line of the hero Hercules.

Son of Heracleides and Praxithea, Hippocrates's family's wealth permitted him to have a good educational beginning as a child. After nine years of physical education, reading, writing, spelling, music, singing, and poetry, he went to a secondary school, where he spent two years and had very thorough athletic training. It is likely that he went on to study medicine under his father in a form of apprenticeship (arrangement to learn a trade through work experience). This involved following his father and another doctor, Herodicos, from patient to patient and observing their treatment. It is believed that his training included traveling to the Greek mainland and possibly to Egypt and Libya to study medical practices. Adult talents Hippocrates is credited with healing many, including the king of Macedonia whom he examined and helped to recover from tuberculosis (disease of the lungs). His commitment to healing was put to the test when he battled the plague (a bacteria-caused disease that spreads quickly and can cause death) for three years in Athens (430–427 B.C.E. ). It is also clear that the height of his career was during the Peloponnesian War (431–404 B.C.E. ).

His teaching was as well-remembered as his healing. A symbol of the many students he encouraged is the "Tree of Hippocrates," which shows students sitting under a tree listening to him. In time he apprenticed his own sons, Thessalus and Draco, in the practice of medicine. The teacher and doctor role combined well in 400 B.C.E. , when he founded a school of medicine in Cos. Hippocratic Corpus The body of writing attributed to Hippocrates, the Hippocratic Corpus, is a collection of roughly seventy works—the oldest surviving complete medical books. In ancient times some works in the Hippocratic Corpus, the first known edition of which are from the time of the emperor Hadrian (reigned C.E. 117–138), were recognized as having been written by persons other than Hippocrates. Modern scholars have no knowledge of his writing style to prove which of the works Hippocrates wrote. Nowhere in the Hippocratic Corpus is the entire Hippocratic set of guidelines found. Each subject was written with a particular reader in mind.

Some books are directed toward the physician, some for the pharmacist, some for the professional physician, and some are directed more at the layman (person who is not an expert in the field). In Hippocrates's time doctors wrote treatises (written arguments) for the educated public, who in turn discussed medical problems with their doctors. The aim of these books was to teach the layman how to judge a physician—not to advise on self-treatment or even first aid in order to avoid seeing a doctor. These medical treatises made up the Hippocratic Corpus. Modern readers can see that experimentation played its role in the Hippocratic view of medicine, because the individual approach to disease is nothing more than experimentation. It is obvious, too, that firsthand experience played a part, since throughout the Corpus the plant ingredients of remedies are described by taste and odor. There are also instances of very basic laboratory-type experiments. The Sacred Disease, one treatise of the Hippocratic Corpus, describes dissections (the act of being separated into pieces) of animals, the results of which permitted comparisons to the human body to be drawn. Further, in their attempts to describe the body, the Hippocratics made use of external (outside) observation only.

In On Ancient Medicine the internal organs are described as they can be seen or felt externally. It is most unlikely that dissection of the human body was practiced in the fifth century B.C.E. Hippocrates favored the use of diet and exercise as cures but realized that some people, unable to follow such directions, would need medicine. His writings teach that physical handling could cure some physical troubles, like a dislocated hip, by the doctor moving it back into place. In A Short History of Medicine E. A. Ackerknecht summed it up: "For better or worse Hippocrates observed sick people, not diseases." This attitude is a timely solution to those who formerly insisted on the coldly scientific approach of the Hippocratic physician, who seemed to be so callous toward his patient. Little is known of Hippocrates's death other than a range of date possibilities. Different sources give dates of either 374 B.C.E. , the earliest date, or 350 B.C.E. , the latest date. What lives on in modern medicine is his commitment to the treatment of disease.

For More Information Hippocrates (c.-460 - c.-370) - Genealogy Hippocrates Share your family tree and photos with the people you know and love Build your family tree online Share photos and videos mother About Hippocrates Hippocrates of Cos or Hippokrates of Kos (ca. 460 BC – ca. 370 BC) - Greek: Ἱπποκράτης; Hippokrátēs was an ancient Greek physician of the Age of Pericles (Classical Athens), and is considered one of the most outstanding figures in the history of medicine. He is referred to as the father of Western medicine in recognition of his lasting contributions to the field as the founder of the Hippocratic School of medicine. This intellectual school revolutionized medicine in ancient Greece, establishing it as a discipline distinct from other fields that it had traditionally been associated with (notably theurgy and philosophy), thus establishing medicine as a profession. However, the achievements of the writers of the Corpus, the practitioners of Hippocratic medicine, and the actions of Hippocrates himself are often commingled; thus very little is known about what Hippocrates actually thought, wrote, and did.

There are also claims that point to Imhotep of ancient Egypt as history's first physician. Nevertheless, Hippocrates is commonly portrayed as the paragon of the ancient physician. In particular, he is credited with greatly advancing the systematic study of clinical medicine, summing up the medical knowledge of previous schools, and prescribing practices for physicians through the Hippocratic Oath, Corpus and other works. Biography Historians agree that Hippocrates was born around the year 460 BC on the Greek island of Kos (Cos), and became a famous ambassador for medicine against the strong opposing infrastructure of Greece. For this opposition he endured a twenty year prison sentence where he wrote very well known medical publications such as 'The Complicated Body' encompassing many of the things we know to be true today. Other biographical information, however, is likely to be untrue (see Legends). Soranus of Ephesus, a 2nd-century Greek gynecologist, was Hippocrates' first biographer and is the source of most information on Hippocrates' person.

Information about Hippocrates can also be found in the writings of Aristotle, which date from the 4th century BC, in the Suda of the 10th century AD, and in the works of John Tzetzes, which date from the 12th century AD. Soranus wrote that Hippocrates' father was Heraclides, a physician; his mother was Praxitela, daughter of Tizane. The two sons of Hippocrates, Thessalus and Draco, and his son-in-law, Polybus, were his students. According to Galen, a later physician, Polybus was Hippocrates' true successor, while Thessalus and Draco each had a son named Hippocrates. Soranus said that Hippocrates learned medicine from his father and grandfather, and studied other subjects with Democritus and Gorgias. Hippocrates was probably trained at the asklepieion of Kos, and took lessons from the Thracian physician Herodicus of Selymbria. The only contemporaneous mention of Hippocrates is in Plato's dialogue Protagoras, where Plato describes Hippocrates as "Hippocrates of Kos, the Asclepiad".

Hippocrates taught and practiced medicine throughout his life, traveling at least as far as Thessaly, Thrace, and the Sea of Marmara. He probably died in Larissa at the age of 83 or 90, though some accounts say he lived to be well over 100; several different accounts of his death exist. Hippocratic theory "It is thus with regard divine nor more sacred than other diseases, but has a natural cause from the originates like other affections. Men regard its nature and cause as divine from ignorance and wonder..." Hippocrates is credited with being the first person to believe that diseases were caused naturally and not as a result of superstition, and Gods. Hippocrates was credited by the disciples of Pythagoras of allying philosophy and medicine. He separated the discipline of medicine from religion, believing and arguing that disease was not a punishment inflicted by the gods but rather the product of environmental factors, diet, and living habits. Indeed there is not a single mention of a mystical illness in the entirety of the Hippocratic Corpus. However, Hippocrates did work with many convictions that were based on what is now known to be incorrect anatomy and physiology, such as Humorism.

Ancient Greek schools of medicine were split (into the Knidian and Koan) on how to deal with disease. The Knidian school of medicine focused on diagnosis. Medicine at the time of Hippocrates knew almost nothing of human anatomy and physiology because of the Greek taboo forbidding the dissection of humans. The Knidian school consequently failed to distinguish when one disease caused many possible series of symptoms. The Hippocratic school or Koan school achieved greater success by applying general diagnoses and passive treatments. Its focus was on patient care and prognosis, not diagnosis. It could effectively treat diseases and allowed for a great development in clinical practice. Hippocratic medicine and its philosophy are far removed from that of modern medicine. Now, the physician focuses on specific diagnosis and specialized treatment, both of which were espoused by the Knidian school. This shift in medical thought since Hippocrates' day has caused serious criticism over the past two millennia, with the passivity of Hippocratic treatment being the subject of particularly strong denunciations; for example, the French doctor M. S. Houdart called the Hippocratic treatment a "meditation upon death".

Humorism and crisis Another important concept in Hippocratic medicine was that of a crisis, a point in the progression of disease at which either the illness would begin to triumph and the patient would succumb to death, or the opposite would occur and natural processes would make the patient recover. After a crisis, a relapse might follow, and then another deciding crisis. According to this doctrine, crises tend to occur on critical days, which were supposed to be a fixed time after the contraction of a disease. If a crisis occurred on a day far from a critical day, a relapse might be expected. Galen believed that this idea originated with Hippocrates, though it is possible that it predated him. Hippocratic medicine was humble and passive. The therapeutic approach was based on "the healing power of nature" ("vis medicatrix naturae" in Latin). According to this doctrine, the body contains within itself the power to re-balance the four humours and heal itself (physis). Hippocratic therapy focused on simply easing this natural process. To this end, Hippocrates believed "rest and immobilization [were] of capital importance".

In general, the Hippocratic medicine was very kind to the patient; treatment was gentle, and emphasized keeping the patient clean and sterile. For example, only clean water or wine were ever used on wounds, though "dry" treatment was preferable. Soothing balms were sometimes employed. Hippocrates was reluctant to administer drugs and engage in specialized treatment that might prove to be wrongly chosen; generalized therapy followed a generalized diagnosis. However, potent drugs were used on certain occasions. This passive approach was very successful in treating relatively simple ailments such as broken bones which required traction to stretch the skeletal system and relieve pressure on the injured area. The Hippocratic bench and other devices were used to this end. One of the strengths of Hippocratic medicine was its emphasis on prognosis. At Hippocrates' time, medicinal therapy was quite immature, and often the best thing that physicians could do was to evaluate an illness and induce its likely progression based upon data collected in detailed case histories. Professionalism Hippocratic medicine was notable for its strict professionalism, discipline, and rigorous practice. The Hippocratic work On the Physician recommends that physicians always be well-kempt, honest, calm, understanding, and serious.

The Hippocratic physician paid careful attention to all aspects of his practice: he followed detailed specifications for, "lighting, personnel, instruments, positioning of the patient, and techniques of bandaging and splinting" in the ancient operating room. He even kept his fingernails to a precise length. The Hippocratic School gave importance to the clinical doctrines of observation and documentation. These doctrines dictate that physicians record their findings and their medicinal methods in a very clear and objective manner, so that these records may be passed down and employed by other physicians. Hippocrates made careful, regular note of many symptoms including complexion, pulse, fever, pains, movement, and excretions. He is said to have measured a patient's pulse when taking a case history to know if the patient lied. Hippocrates extended clinical observations into family history and environment. "To him medicine owes the art of clinical inspection and observation". For this reason, he may more properly be termed as the "Father of Clinical Medicine". Direct contributions to medicine Hippocrates and his followers were first to describe many diseases and medical conditions. He is given credit for the first description of clubbing of the fingers, an important diagnostic sign in chronic suppurative lung disease, lung cancer and cyanotic heart disease.

For this reason, clubbed fingers are sometimes referred to as "Hippocratic fingers". Hippocrates was also the first physician to describe Hippocratic face in Prognosis. Shakespeare famously alludes to this description when writing of Falstaff's death in Act II, Scene iii. of Henry V. Hippocrates began to categorize illnesses as acute, chronic, endemic and epidemic, and use terms such as, "exacerbation, relapse, resolution, crisis, paroxysm, peak, and convalescence." Another of Hippocrates' major contributions may be found in his descriptions of the symptomatology, physical findings, surgical treatment and prognosis of thoracic empyema, i.e. suppuration of the lining of the chest cavity. His teachings remain relevant to present-day students of pulmonary medicine and surgery. Hippocrates was the first documented chest surgeon and his findings are still valid. The Hippocratic school of medicine described well the ailments of the human rectum and the treatment thereof, despite the school's poor theory of medicine. Hemorrhoids, for instance, though believed to be caused by an excess of bile and phlegm, were treated by Hippocratic physicians in relatively advanced ways.

Cautery and excision are described in the Hippocratic Corpus, in addition to the preferred methods: ligating the hemorrhoids and drying them with a hot iron. Other treatments such as applying various salves are suggested as well. Today, "treatment [for hemorrhoids] still includes burning, strangling, and excising". Also, some of the fundamental concepts of proctoscopy outlined in the Corpus are still in use. For example, the uses of the rectal speculum, a common medical device, are discussed in the Hippocratic Corpus. This constitutes the earliest recorded reference to endoscopy. Hippocratic Corpus The Hippocratic Corpus (Latin: Corpus Hippocraticum) is a collection of around seventy early medical works from ancient Greece, written in Ionic Greek. The question of whether Hippocrates himself was the author of the corpus has not been conclusively answered, but the volumes were probably produced by his students and followers. Because of the variety of subjects, writing styles and apparent date of construction, scholars believe Hippocratic Corpus could not have been written by one person (Ermerins numbers the authors at nineteen).

The corpus was attributed to Hippocrates in antiquity, and its teaching generally followed principles of his; thus it came to be known by his name. It might be the remains of a library of Kos, or a collection compiled in the 3rd century BC in Alexandria. The Hippocratic Corpus contains textbooks, lectures, research, notes and philosophical essays on various subjects in medicine, in no particular order. These works were written for different audiences, both specialists and laymen, and were sometimes written from opposing view points; significant contradictions can be found between works in the Corpus. Notable among the treatises of the Corpus are The Hippocratic Oath; The Book of Prognostics; On Regimen in Acute Diseases; Aphorisms; On Airs, Waters and Places; Instruments of Reduction; On The Sacred Disease; etc. Hippocratic Oath The Hippocratic Oath, a seminal document on the ethics of medical practice, was attributed to Hippocrates in antiquity although new information shows it may have been written after his death. This is probably the most famous document of the Hippocratic Corpus. Recently the authenticity of the document's author has come under scrutiny.

While the Oath is rarely used in its original form today, it serves as a foundation for other, similar oaths and laws that define good medical practice and morals. Such derivatives are regularly taken today by medical graduates about to enter medical practice. Legacy Hippocrates is widely considered to be the "Father of Medicine". His contributions revolutionized the practice of medicine; but after his death the advancement stalled. So revered was Hippocrates that his teachings were largely taken as too great to be improved upon and no significant advancements of his methods were made for a long time. The centuries after Hippocrates' death were marked as much by retrograde movement as by further advancement. For instance, "after the Hippocratic period, the practice of taking clinical case-histories died out...", according to Fielding Garrison. After Hippocrates, the next significant physician was Galen, a Greek who lived from AD. 129 to AD. 200. Galen perpetuated Hippocratic medicine, moving both forward and backward. In the Middle Ages, Arabs adopted Hippocratic methods.[58] After the European Renaissance, Hippocratic methods were revived in Europe and even further expanded in the 19th century.

Notable among those who employed Hippocrates' rigorous clinical techniques were Sydenham, Heberden, Charcot and Osler. Henri Huchard, a French physician, said that these revivals make up "the whole history of internal medicine". Medical Journey of Hippocrates from Kos Medical Journey of Hippocrates from Kos Hippocrates from the Greek island of Kos (Cos) is known for his medical knowledge and is considered as the founder of the medicine and the father of Western medicine. He was one of first who understood that illness is not caused by some Gods or superstition but as results of external natural factors. He was born in Kos in 460 BC. You can see photos from todays Cos bellow. His work resulted in the Hippocratic Corpus which contains around 70 medical works. And never forget what Hippocrates said: “Let food be thy medicine and medicine be thy food”.

Hippocrates of Kos, the Father of Clinical Medicine, and Asclepiades of Bithynia, the Father of Molecular Medicine Next Section Abstract Hippocrates of Kos (460-377 Before Common Era, BCE) is universally recognized as the father of modern medicine, which is based on observation of clinical signs and rational conclusions, and does not rely on religious or magical beliefs. Hippocratic medicine was influenced by the Pythagorean theory that Nature was made of four elements (water, earth, wind and fire), and therefore, in an analogous way, the body consisted of four fluids or ‘humors’ (black bile, yellow bile, phlegm and blood). The physician had to reinstate the healthy balance of these humors by facilitating the healing work of ‘benevolent Nature’. The Hippocratic Oath contains the Pythagorean duties of justice, secrecy, respect for teachers and solidarity with peers. The clinical and ethical basics of medical practice as well as most clinical terms used even today have their origins in Hippocrates. His contribution in clinical medicine is immense. Asclepiades of Bithynia (124-40 BCE) was the first physician who established Greek medicine in Rome.

Influenced by the Epicurean philosophy, he adhered to atomic theory, chance and evolution, and did not accept the theory of a ‘benevolent Nature’. He suggested that the human body is composed of molecules and void spaces, and that diseases are caused by alteration of form or position of a patient's molecules. Asclepiades favored naturalistic therapeutic methods such as a healthy diet, massage and physical exercise. Above all, he introduced the friendly, sympathetic, pleasing and painless treatment of patients into medical practice, influenced by the teachings of Epicurus on pleasure and friendship. He was the first who made the highly important division of diseases into acute and chronic ones and to perform an elective non-emergency tracheotomy. As the founder of the Methodic School, Asclepiades was the first known physician who spoke about what is known today as molecular medicine. Hippocrates of Kos (460-377 BCE) The Life and Medical Philosophy of Hippocrates Hippocrates of Kos is universally recognized as the father of modern medicine, which is based on observation of clinical signs and rational conclusions ( 1 , 2 , 5 , 6 ).

Before him, therapeutic attempts were based on religious or magical beliefs and were commonly practiced by priests, spiritual healers and witch-doctors ( 1 , 2 ). Hippocrates was born in Kos, a Greek island of the southeastern Aegean ( 7 , 8 ). He was the son of Heraklides and belonged to a family of physicians who claimed their ancestry from Asclepius, the god of medicine ( 7 , 8 ). Hippocrates worked mainly in Kos and the nearby coast of Asia Minor (corresponding to present-day Turkey), but he also traveled extensively visiting other Greek regions including Athens, Thessaly and Thrace ( 5 - 8 ). His contribution to medical practice is characterized by ethical rules of conduct, close observation of clinical symptoms, an open mind for any ideas, and willingness to explain the cause of diseases. Hippocrates based medicine on the philosophical idea that Nature was made of four elements, namely water, earth, wind and fire, according to the Pythagorean philosopher Empedocles (493-433 BCE) ( 1 , 9 - 11 ).

The Pythagoreans were an elite philosophical group who believed that benevolent Nature was divinely created by musically harmonious and numerically defined laws ( 1 , 9 , 10 ). They believed that through a series of reincarnations human souls were destined to be immortal ethereal stars ( 9 , 10 ). The founder of this philosophical sect, the legendary Pythagoras, had claimed that he was able to remember his past lives ( 9 , 10 ). Pythagoreans respected hierarchy and observed an oath of secrecy, since they believed that sacred knowledge was meant to be shared by the select few ( 9 , 10 ). They believed that justice should be involved in all human relations, just like divine law governs all natural phenomena ( 9 , 10 ). In a way analogous to the concept of the four elements, Hippocrates believed that the body consisted of four fluids or ‘humors’ (black bile, yellow bile, phlegm and blood) and four elemental conditions (cold, hot, dry and moist) ( 1 , 2 , 5 , 6 , 11 , 12 ).

Therefore, the state of health existed when these humors and qualities were in balance ( 1 , 2 , 5 , 6 , 11 , 12 ). In a case of disease, the physician had to disclose the imbalance of humors and facilitate the healing work of benevolent Nature by use of bleeding, emetics, purgatives, or even surgery ( 1 , 2 , 5 , 6 , 12 ). According to Hippocrates, the physician had to examine a patient, observe symptoms carefully, make a diagnosis and then treat the patient ( 1 , 2 , 5 , 6 , 12 ). Therefore, Hippocrates established the basics of clinical medicine as it is practiced even today ( 1 , 2 , 5 ). He introduced numerous medical terms universally used by physicians, including symptoma, diagnosis, therapy, trauma and sepsis ( 12 ). In addition, he described the presentation of a great number of diseases without superstition. Their names are still used in modern medicine including diabetes, gastritis, enteritis, arthritis, cancer, eclampsia, coma, paralysis, mania, panic, hysteria, epilepsia and many others ( 12 ).

The latter disease was called ‘divine’ before Hippocrates, and a passage attributed to him underlines his rational way of thinking: “Epilepsy is not more divine a disease than any other disease. People call it divine because they do not understand it. But if we call divine all things we do not understand, then divine things will be endless” ( 1 , 12 ). Hippocrates lived in an era of great epidemics. There are several reports that he was invited by Persians and Illyrians to visit their countries and treat people with plague, but he declined the offers preferring to fight the epidemic in Thessaly ( 7 , 8 , 12 ). This was the same plague of 429-426 BCE that decimated about one fourth of the population of classical Athens, including its charismatic leader Pericles, and precipitated the decline of the Athenian empire, as the historian Thucydides vividly described ( 13 ). The epidemic was probably typhoid fever, as recent molecular evidence has indicated ( 14 ).

Genomic sequences of the agent of typhoid fever Salmonella enterica Typhi were identified in skeletal remains of a mass burial pit found in the Kerameikos ancient cemetery of Athens and dated to the era of the plague ( 14 ). It has been proposed that the severity of the epidemic was possibly due to an ancient strain of high virulence based both on Thucydides' narration and on detected DNA variations of the ancient versus modern sequences of S. enterica Typhi ( 13 - 15 ). Interestingly, typhoid fever was well known to Hippocrates because he described the symptoms of that disease in great detail and named it ‘typhos’, possibly because of its typhoon-like impetuous character ( 12 ). There are even ancient reports that place Hippocrates in Athens during the period of the plague, allegedly trying to confine the epidemic by purification of the air with fires ( 2 , 6 , 12 ). Nevertheless, most modern scholars have dismissed this information as fictitious because the physician was rather young and unknown at that time, while the eyewitness Thucydides did not mention Hippocrates and reported that all attempts of physicians to cure the epidemic had failed ( 12 , 13 ).

Hippocrates and his followers wrote many works, which are now included in the Hippocratic Corpus, a collection of texts regarding medical theory and practice ( 12 ). Some of them contain anachronistic language styles and dissident philosophical views, indicating that they were clearly composed several centuries after the father of clinical medicine ( 1 , 12 ). The famous Hippocratic Oath was probably written down at least two centuries after Hippocrates, although he most certainly had established orally a sacred vow of similar ethical rules regarding proper medical conduct ( 2 , 12 ). This notion is supported by the fact that the Oath has clearly a Pythagorean influence ( 2 , 12 ). The pledging physician promises wherever he goes to assist the sick, refrain from injustice and sexual mischief, and keep secrets. The Pythagorean duties of justice, respect for teachers, solidarity with peers and secrecy are the most important requirements ( 2 , 12 ). That the exclusive purpose of the physician should be to provide help to his patient is a command that seems obvious.

View larger version: Asclepiades of Bithynia (124-40 BCE) The Life and Medical Philosophy of Asclepiades Asclepiades of Bithynia is recognized as the first physician who established Hellenic Medicine in Rome ( 2 , 3 ). Nevertheless, he is surprisingly unknown given the important fact that he was the first physician who created a health and disease theory with apparent similarities to what is known today as molecular medicine. Asclepiades was born in Prousias (also called Cius), a Greek seaside port in Bithynia, the northwest region of Asia Minor ( 18 ). His father Andreas was also a physician. There are reports that as a young practitioner Asclepiades visited Pergamon and Parium in Asia Minor ( 18 ). He was further educated in medicine at the famous Medical School of the Museum in Alexandria and in philosophy at the Epicurean School in Athens, called ‘Keepos’ (K πος meaning garden). Asclepiades refused the enticing offer to serve as official physician of Mithridates Eupator, the king of Pontus who was interested in medicine and natural science in general ( 18 ).

Instead, he moved to Rome at the age of around 30 years, where he first taught philosophy and later on practiced medicine ( 18 ). Asclepiades must have been proficient both in philosophy and in medicine as his contemporaries Antiochus of Ascalon and Cicero, a Greek Platonic philosopher and a Roman Stoic philosopher respectively, attest admirably ( 18 ). The dual competence of Asclepiades has puzzled many modern scholars, but it is easily explained by the fact that he was influenced by the teachings of the Epicurean philosopher Zeno of Sidon (in present-day Lebanon), who was then the leader of the Athenian Keepos ( 19 , 20 ). We know from surviving works of the Epicurean philosopher Philodemus of Gadara (in present-day Jordan or Syria), another disciple of Zeno's, that the Sidonian was teaching philosophy as medicine for the soul ( 20 ). In his lectures, he emphasized recognition of behavior signs and use of empirical records for the treatment of vices and passions of the Epicurean community members ( 20 , 21 ).

Zeno used a combination of friendly approach and frank criticism in a practical way, much like modern day behavior analysis and group psychology ( 20 ). Philodemus used the same approach in philosophical lessons he gave to outstanding Romans such as Lucretius, Horace and Virgil in Herculaneum, a town near Naples ( 20 - 22 ). Like Asclepiades, Philodemus was another Greek of the eastern Mediterranean who was educated both in Alexandria and Athens and then moved west to Italy to teach Epicurean philosophy ( 20 , 22 ). The founder of this philosophy was the Athenian Epicurus (341-270 BCE) who combined the atomic physics of Democritus and the naturalistic ethics of Aristotle in order to form a humanistic philosophy that spread in the Hellenistic and Roman worlds influencing many people ( 19 , 22 ). Epicurus thought that eternal Nature consisted of atoms and void space, as well as that the sum of all matter was conserved, but atoms were perpetually used by necessity and chance in an endless process of construction and decay of material objects ( 22 , 23 ).

He considered the sun and stars as spheres of fire, the earth as a spherical planet, and suggested the existence of an infinite number of other planets like or unlike earth, with some of them supporting life ( 22 , 23 ). As Lucretius attests, Epicurus spoke about evolution of living organisms based on survival of the fittest in a Darwinian manner ( 22 - 24 ). He maintained that the best way to understand nature was through our senses, since we developed them during evolution and we are adapted to live in this world ( 22 , 23 ). His contemporary Strato of Lampsacus, the third leader of Lyceum after Aristotle and Theophrastus, was the first man who conducted actual experiments in order to test Epicurus' ideas about atoms and void ( 1 ). As a result, Strato agreed with Epicurus renouncing Aristotle's teleological theories ( 1 ). Epicurus observed that we are naturally inclined towards pleasure, which is measured by the absence of pain ( 22 , 23 ). He defined happiness as a condition in which the body does not feel pain and the soul is not anxious ( 22 , 23 ).

Epicurus taught that the right philosophy, which is based on scientific knowledge, cures the anxieties of the soul in a similar manner that the right medicine cures the pains of the body ( 20 , 22 - 24 ). He tried to free people from superstition and unsubstantiated fears of the unknown ( 20 , 22 - 24 ). Death destroys our soul and senses; therefore we will never experience it ( 23 ). There is no destiny, thus the existence of chance atomic movements permits free will in people ( 23 ). Gods do exist but they are not concerned with people or the celestial bodies, which is why the world is so imperfect ( 23 ). We should not be afraid of gods but rather use them as examples of perfect happiness ( 23 ). The message of Epicurus was that all people (including poor men, women, even slaves) may achieve happiness if their way of living is based on prudence, virtue, justice, friendship and objective knowledge ( 22 , 23 ).

Influenced by the Epicurean philosophy, Asclepiades rejected the Hippocratic doctrines of four elements and humors as well as the benevolent Nature axiom ( 2 , 18 ). He adhered to atomic theory, chance and evolution, insisting that “Nature does not look after living organisms” ( 18 , 19 ). He warned that in most cases if proper care is not provided by a physician the condition of a patient will deteriorate ( 18 ). He suggested that the human body is composed of a) molecules (μέρη, ‘meree’ or ‘corpuscula’) that are made of atoms (ἄναρμοι ὄγκοι, ‘anarmoi ongoi’), and b) void spaces (πóροι, ‘poroi’) ( 18 ). According to Asclepiades, diseases are caused by alteration of form, position or free flow of a patient's molecules; thus, he introduced molecular stereopathology ( 18 ).

In order to restore health status, he favored mild therapeutic methods such as a healthy diet, exposure to light, hydrotherapy, massage, physical exercise, although he also employed herbal remedies and surgery if judged appropriate ( 18 ). He was named Philosophicus because of his knowledge of philosophy and Pharmacion because of his knowledge of medicinal herbs, such as his favorite chamomile ( 18 ). Another characteristic of Asclepiades was the friendly support of patients ( 18 ). His sympathetic consideration for the feelings and comfort of his patients was in great contrast with the infamous callousness of physicians of his era. His motto was “treat the patient swiftly, harmlessly and pleasantly” ( 18 ). In order to offer treatment as painless and pleasing as possible to his patients he even recommended the use of wine in some cases ( 18 ). He maintained that “a physician who respects his profession has a few patients because he attends them very closely” ( 1 , 18 ). He advocated the equal treatment of women because most diseases are common to both genders ( 7 , 8 , 18 ). Asclepiades was a pioneer in the humane treatment of patients with mental disorders ( 2 , 18 ).

He freed insane persons from confinement in the dark and treated them using labor and music therapy, in addition to healthy diet and massages ( 2 , 18 ). He was the first physician who introduced the highly important division of diseases in acute and chronic ones ( 2 , 18 ). Freed by the misconception of a benevolent Nature and influenced by one of the principal sayings of Epicurus regarding pains (“those that are acute are more intense, while those that are lasting are milder”), Asclepiades recognized that some diseases have a short duration, while others are incurable ( 23 ). He realized that the physician has to act swiftly in order to have an opportunity to cure the acute diseases, while the best thing to do in incurable chronic diseases is to comfort the patients. Asclepiades, who charged Hippocratic physicians preceding him with having being “concerned with death instead of life”, was the first to study chronic diseases systematically ( 18 ). It was only after him that the cure of chronic diseases rather than the cure of acute ones became the outstanding accomplishment of doctors ( 2 ).

The humane and naturalistic approach of the Bithynian physician, as well as his medical skills gave him a great reputation in Rome ( 2 , 3 , 18 ). He wrote many medical works but none remains and his views are known by other writers. Interestingly, the book ‘Precepts’ (Παραγγελίαι), which is oddly included in the Hippocratic Corpus, contains so many of Asclepiades' ideas that either he or one of his early students is probably the author ( 12 ). It contains references to acute and chronic diseases, proper medical practice with sympathy, caring and friendliness toward patients ( 12 ). The book begins with the dictum that “healing is a matter of time, but sometimes also is a matter of opportunity” ( 12 ). It bases medical practice “not on theories but on experience combined with reason” underlining Zeno the Sidonian's pragmatic approach based on observation and inference by means of signs ( 12 , 20 ).

It includes several Epicurean terms and views, including the concept of sense-perception, the consideration of patients' pleasure, and the avoidance of physicians' flamboyant pretense ( 12 , 18 , 23 ). Most importantly, it contains the Epicurean motive of ‘philia’ (φιλία, friendship or friendly love) for compassion to patients: “For where there is love of human, there is also love of the art” (Ἤν γάρ παρ φιλανθρωπίη πάρεστι καί φιλοτεχνίη). Last but not least, the Greek text contains latinisms, indicating that the author spoke Latin and lived in Roman era ( 12 ). Scattered information, recorded by various writers, reveals that Asclepiades was an extraordinary man. He was the first physician who performed an elective non-emergency tracheotomy, according to Galen and Aretaeus ( 18 ).

Once, according to Pliny the Elder, in a passing funeral procession Asclepiades noticed that the presumed dead person was not really deceased and he ‘revived’ him (saved him) to the amazement of everybody around ( 18 ). Probably his is the impressive theory that in stagnant waters there are “invisible tiny animals” (microbes!), which if inhaled may cause disease, recorded by his contemporary Roman Marcus Terentius Varro ( 11 ). Asclepiades might have conceived this hypothesis using the Epicurean inference of invisible things by analogy to evident ones, in order to explain the observation that people who drank stagnant water, even diluted in fresh water, usually became sick. Varro had ideas with many Epicurean influences, ranging from the nature of gods to the perception of language ( 25 ). Another contemporary Roman, the Epicurean poet Lucretius, evidently shared Asclepiades' way of thinking by referring to molecules (‘corpora’) as clusters of atoms attached to each other (‘primordia’), as well as the void that facilitates their movement in material bodies ( 24 ).

Lucretius incorporated much of the language and imagery of medical practice and epicurean psychotherapy throughout his poem De Rerum Natura (‘On the Nature of Things’) and the climax is the final episode regarding the Plague of Athens ( 24 , 26 ). The Legacy of Asclepiades Asclepiades died in Rome at an advanced age according to Pliny the Elder ( 18 ). His influence lasted for about half a millennium through the Methodic School of Medicine, which was established by his students ( 2 ). The name of the School is derived from Greek ‘methodos’ (μέθοδος), which implies a systematic line of scientific investigation ( 2 , 3 ). Accordingly, Methodic Medicine was based on atomic theory and was free of metaphysical ideas. Among many famous Methodic physicians are Asclepiades' Greek students Themison (c.100-20 BCE) and Titus Aufidius of Sicily (c.90-10 BCE) ( 1 , 2 ).

The latter wrote a book, which was later translated into Latin by the Roman Cornelius Celsus under the title ‘De Re Medica’ and became one of the most popular medical texts until the 19th century ( 1 , 2 , 16 ). The Greek physician Antonius Musa notably cured the emperor Augustus of typhoid fever with cold baths ( 2 ). A probable explanation of the successful treatment is that by decelerating the reproduction of the microbial agent in a cold environment, the Methodic physician gave the opportunity to his patient's immune system to combat the disease. Other famous followers of Asclepiadian medicine include Thessalus of Tralles, the official physician of emperor Nero (1st century CE), Soranus of Ephesus, who is considered the father of Gynecology, Obstetrics and Neonatology (early 2nd century CE) and Caelius Aurelianus of Numedia (early 5th century CE) ( 2 , 7 , 8 , 16 , 27 - 29 ). It is worth mentioning that in his surviving Greek texts, Soranus refers several times to Asclepiades and other Methodic physicians ( 7 , 8 ).

Most importantly, he also once mentions Zeno the Epicurean together with the philosopher Aristotle and once, elsewhere, Phaedrus together with the philosopher Empedocles ( 7 , 8 ). Phaedrus, probably a close friend of his contemporary Asclepiades, was another famous Epicurean who taught philosophy in Rome for many years according to Cicero and returned to Athens after 86 BCE ( 22 ). It is tempting to assume that Soranus knew the views of Epicureans Zeno of Sidon and Phaedrus from references in the works of Asclepiades. After all, the Bithynian physician was greatly influenced by his teacher Zeno in treating his patients with sympathy and kindness. Asclepiades' ideas of molecules and void were heavily attacked by Neoplatonic physicians such as Galen and philosophers such as Apuleius in the 2nd century CE and subsequently by Christians and Muslims who favored Hippocratic medicine ( 1 - 3 , 6 , 16 ). Most of the contributions of the Bithynian physician were forgotten for about 15 centuries, except very few such as the division of diseases into acute and chronic ones.

Then, some of the basic ideas of Asclepiades were rediscovered by modern Science. In the 19th century, Dalton proved that the atomic theory was indeed true and Pasteur showed that microbes may cause disease. In the 20th century, it became apparent that all diseases have a molecular basis ( 3 , 4 ). The structure of DNA provided a biochemical model of life at its first level of organization initiating the era of molecular biology ( 4 ). Medicine entered its molecular phase, too, in the past decades ( 3 , 4 , 17 ). No self-respecting physician or life scientist believes in the incorporeal healing powers of a benevolent Nature any-more. Psychological support of patients is currently considered a necessary component of medical conduct ( 3 , 17 ). Patients with mental disorders are now respected and treated with music and labor therapy, in addition to appropriate drugs ( 3 , 30 ). There are even recent reports that massage may have a beneficial effect in reducing physical symptoms of pain and anxiety in patients of cancer ( 31 ). And yet, Asclepiades of Bithynia still remains widely unknown.

Recent Debate about Asclepiades It is worth mentioning that in the last three decades some scholars advanced certain curious assumptions regarding Asclepiades, possibly in an attempt to obscure either his direct contribution to Methodic medicine or the Epicurean origin of his corpuscular theory. Rawson postulated that Asclepiades died before 91 BCE, taking literally a past tense meaning “he was a physician and a friend of ours” in a text Cicero wrote at that time ( 32 ). But Cicero does not actually mention that Asclepiades was dead at the time in this or any other text, while several other reliable authors such as Pliny, Cornelius Celsus (Titus Aufidius), Galen and Sextus place the Bithynian physician well in the 1st century BCE ( 18 ). Nevertheless, Polito considered Rawson's hypothesis as proven and he went further to suggest that Asclepiades was born in the late 3nd century BCE and his physician father Andreas had been the student and successor of Herophilus in Alexandria, therefore Asclepiades must have been a Herophilean ( 33 ).

To agree with Polito one has not only to disregard all reliable ancient authors but also one has to believe that Asclepiades lived about 100 years or more (!) and that he spent his childhood (or even he was born) in Alexandria and not in Bithynia ( 33 ). Obviously, it is rather difficult to accept the hypotheses of either Rawson or Polito. Furthermore, Vallance wrote a book aiming to support his opinion that Asclepiades' corpuscular theory was not influenced by Epicurus but rather by the platonic philosopher Heraclides of Pontus ( 34 ). The arguments of Vallance are purely philological: for example he stresses the fact that Galen never calls atoms the ‘anarmoi ongoi’ of Asclepiades ( 34 ). At the same time, he easily dismisses as a misunderstanding the compelling testimony of Galen that Asclepiades was a follower of Epicurus ( 18 , 34 ).

Furthermore, Vallance chooses to disregard the testimony of two other Methodic physicians: Soranus who writes in Greek and uses the term ‘ongoi’ and Caelius Aurelianus who translates Soranus' texts in Latin using the term ‘atomi’ ( 7 , 8 , 29 , 34 ). As Vallance himself acknowledges on page 25 of his book, there are “no cases of atomi being applied specifically to non-Abderite (i.e. Democritean) or Epicurean particles” ( 34 ). Apparently, most other historians and philologists disagree with his interpretation of texts ( 2 , 18 , 35 , 36 ). The exception was once again Polito, who recently attempted to sustain Vallance's obscure position stating that Caelius Aurelianus “appears to identify these fragments with atomi, but the question is controversial” ( 37 ).

A number of reasons support beyond any reasonable doubt the thesis that Asclepiades was influenced by Epicurean philosophy and not by the Platonic philosopher Heraclides of Pontus: Asclepiades accepted the notion that the soul was made of atoms like any other part of the body and therefore dissolved after death. This was an Epicurean and not a Platonic doctrine ( 10 , 18 , 23 ). If belief in afterlife is denied, it follows that life and health of body and soul becomes the most precious possessions of mortal man. Describing the practice of previous physicians as a ‘preparation for death’, Asclepiades thought that the Methodic physician had to assist people to achieve physical and mental health as well as to subsequently let them hope that they would keep this pleasant state of life for long. The consideration of patient's pleasure is an integral component in Asclepiades' medical practice ( 18 ). Pleasure was for Epicurus the primary good and the most familiar to human nature, while for Plato it was the last of the minor goods ( 10 , 23 ). Both philosophers and physicians were divided two ways according to their attitudes toward pleasure and pain.

The Cynic philosopher Antisthenes, who like Plato had also been a student of Socrates, said that he lashed out his pupils savagely because physicians of his time did the same with their patients. The same Antisthenes maintained that pain was a good thing and that he would rather go mad than feel pleasure ( 10 ). The vast majority of Greek physicians admitted that divine dream-healings and mantic dreams were real and effective ( 2 ). Hippocratic physicians including Galen, as well as Herophilus and the Empiricists all believed in them ( 2 ). The Methodic physicians were the only ones that apparently did not believe in divine dreams and they never mention them ( 2 ). This exception parallels the fact that almost all Greek philosophers believed in mantic dreams except Epicurus ( 10 , 23 ). He alone objects to such a theory and it must be on account of Epicurean influence that Asclepiades and his followers are the only physicians to disapprove of the value of dream-healings.

Heraclides of Pontus indeed proposed a corpuscular theory using the term ‘ongoi’, but his works were also loaded with supernatural narrations and imaginary miracles ( 10 , 36 ). He was famous for his egocentric attitude, vain personality, extravagant appearance and flamboyant pretense. He even bribed the envoys of his city to the Oracle of Delphi in order to falsely proclaim him a divine hero. Heraclides does not fit at all the personality model for a science-oriented, decent and compassionate physician like Asclepiades. On the contrary, the Bithynian shares many qualities of Epicurus, who was famous for his naturalistic thinking, modesty, kindness and friendliness. On page 41 of his book Vallance claims that “there is no evidence for an ‘Epicurean’ school of medicine” ( 34 ). On the contrary, there is mounting evidence for the existence of Epicurean physicians. In Rhodiapolis, a city of Asia Minor, there is a 2nd century CE inscription honoring the physician and philosopher Heraclitus, who was affiliated with the Epicureans of Athens ( 22 ).

In the Italian city of Rimini, a 2nd century CE house was recently unearthed that belonged to a Greek surgeon named Eytyches, who was apparently an Epicurean, as archeological findings attest ( 38 ). As mentioned before, ‘Precepts’ is an astonishing text that combines ideas of Epicurus and Asclepiades ( 12 ). Its existence suggests that this early Methodic text survived only because it was incorporated in the Hippocratic Corpus. Previous Section Next Section Conclusion The great Hippocrates of Kos laid the basic foundations of medical practice and ethics. The brilliant Asclepiades of Bithynia offered a more realistic and humane refinement of the medical art in ways that only recently have been appreciated. It is time that Asclepiades be recognized for his contributions as the father of molecular medicine and take his rightful place as a pioneer physician next to Hippocrates, the justly recognized father of clinical medicine. Previous Section Next Section Acknowledgements I am pleased to record my gratitude to all the persons who one way or another invited me to take this journey in history. My ancestors Hippocrates, Asclepiades and countless other people who cared for others as much as they cared for themselves.

My parents Nikos and Stella, the teachers, for the gifts of life and humanistic values. My brothers Costas the Professor of environmental engineering and Thanassis the poet for enriching my mind. My deceased friend Dr. Nikos Koufaliotis who kept igniting my interest in both medicine and history. My doctorate supervisor Professor Dimitris Loukopoulos for introducing me to molecular medicine and respect of patients. My exceptional colleague Professor Peter S. Harper for inviting me to the world of the history of medical genetics. My stimulating colleague Professor Manolis J. Papagrigorakis for the research adventure of attempting to close the case file of the Plague of Athens that Thucydides opened twenty-four centuries ago. My scientific family of collaborators ranging from Department Head Professor Eleftherios Vairaktaris to biomedical doctorate students for exciting research of unknown mechanisms of molecular medicine. My good friend Marios Verettas for philosophical discussions and frank criticism. My beloved wife Eleni the historian for everything we share.

Previous Section Next Section Footnotes ↵ * This paper was first presented as an invited oral presentation at the 8th International Conference of Anticancer Research, Kos, Greece, 17-22 October, 2008. Received February 25, 2009. Revision received April 6, 2009. Accepted May 4, 2009.

Question: Known as the Father of Western Medicine, Hippocrates was born on which Greek island?
Answer: Cos