The Father of Medicine
The title “Father of Medicine” refers to the renowned Greek physician Hippocrates, who is believed to have lived between 460 and 377 BC. Despite the scarcity of detailed information about his life, one fact remains clear: Hippocrates is regarded as one of the greatest physicians of his era. He championed the idea that every medical condition has a scientific explanation, a novel perspective during a time when many attributes illnesses and medical issues to divine intervention. Among his significant contributions were the ability to diagnose various diseases and to prescribe simple treatments, such as dietary regimens, hygiene practices, and adequate rest. Hippocrates tirelessly sought to challenge ancient beliefs and disseminate his ideas, frequently traveling across Greece to educate medical students.
Hippocratic Medical Texts
Hippocrates is credited with approximately sixty medical texts. It remains uncertain whether he authored all of these works himself or if some were written later and attributed to him. It is believed that these documents were compiled in the Library of Alexandria. Among the notable texts are “On the Nature of Man,” “Airs, Waters, Places,” “Epidemics,” and “The Sacred Disease.”
The Hippocratic Oath
The Hippocratic Oath is a pledge that physicians are traditionally expected to take before embarking on their medical careers. Although it is commonly associated with Hippocrates, it is unclear whether he was the actual author of the oath. The text includes various guidelines for physicians that may seem outdated today; for instance, it advocates for free medical education, discourages surgical intervention, and encourages students to regard their teachers as parental figures. Notably, many medical students today recite a modernized version of the Hippocratic Oath, adapted by Dr. Louis Lasagna, a professor of medicine at Johns Hopkins University, in 1964.
The Theory of Humors
Hippocrates also played a pivotal role in the development of the Theory of Humors, which posits that four bodily fluids—yellow bile, black bile, blood, and phlegm—influence a person’s temperament, physical health, and mental well-being, along with their behaviors and personality traits. Each fluid is associated with one of the four elements: earth, water, air, and fire. Furthermore, these humors correlate to specific organs, ages—namely childhood, adolescence, adulthood, and old age—and temperaments, which can be divided into cold, hot, wet, and dry categories.