Hippocrates

Born on the island of Cos (KAWS) off Asia Minor, Hippocrates (hih-PAHK-ruh-teez) came from a family of physicians. Later he taught at the medical school in Cos, one of the most prominent in the Greek world. Famous in his lifetime, he traveled around Greece and other lands, lecturing on his principles of medicine. He died in Larissa (luh-RIH-suh) on the eastern coast of Greece.

Give me a place to stand and I will move the world.

Archimedes, describing his lever and fulcrum

Hippocrates was the first doctor to identify the causes of disease in nature, not as a result of the gods' displeasure. Corbis-Bettmann. Reproduced by permission.

Hippocrates earned his reputation of “father of medicine” because he was the first doctor to identify the causes of disease in nature rather than claim the gods caused them. In the more than sixty books attributed to him (probably written by his followers), he established careful methods for medical treatment.

He believed that doctors should simply aid the body in healing itself, and he stressed diet, rest, and a clean environment. These are very modern concepts, but Hippocrates was less forward-thinking in his belief that diseases came from an imbalance of four “humors,” or bodily fluids. One of these humors was blood. Medieval physicians' acceptance of this idea would lead to the ghastly practice of blood-letting—that is, of bleeding patients to “heal” them.

One of Hippocrates' greatest contributions to medicine was in the area of ethics, or moral behavior, on the part of a doctor. The Hippocratic Oath (hip-oh-KRAT-ik), probably written by his followers, instructs physicians to place the patient's well-being above all other concerns. Medical students today often swear to a version of the Hippocratic Oath, which can be found on display in many doctors' offices.