Hippocrates was an ancient Greek doctor who is considered to be the father of medicine. He was born in 460 B.C. on the island of Cos. Hippocrates’ father was also a physician and there were other physicians before Hippocrates. But, Hippocrates is considered the father of medicine because he was the founder of the Hippocratic school of medicine.
Now during Hippocrate’s time, the world was a very different place. The people believed in a pantheon of gods and goddesses and believed that these gods and goddesses were responsible for everything.
The Greeks had twelve main Gods and Goddesses:
Zeus was King of the Gods
Hera was his wife
Poseidon was god of the water and earthquakes
Hermes was the messenger of the gods/goddesses
Athena was goddess of war and the arts
Demeter was goddess of the corn
Artemis was goddess of the hunt
Apollo was the god of medicine and music
Hepahestus was god of blacksmiths
Aphrodite was Hephaestus’ wife
Ares was the god of war
Hades was the god of the dead
There were other minor gods such as Dionysus who was the god of wine and a demi-god known as Heracles who was a very strong man as well as the son of Zeus.
In ancient times, it was believed that an illness might have been brought on by angering one of these deities. But Hippocrates approached illness in a different way.
He wanted to study the illness and treat it if necessary rather than be superstitious about its cause. He believed that disease was caused by environment and diet, not by the gods or goddesses or other superstitious notions.
Not much was known about the human body back then because dissection was forbidden. They also didn’t have the technology that we have today such as x-rays, blood tests or MRIs. But they relied on the skills of observation and diagnosis and the usage of herbs to treat certain disorders and diseases.
Hippocrates thought that illness came about because of an imbalance of the body. He divided the imbalance into four humours-blood, black bile, yellow bile and phlegm. And he would try and bring back balance by using a therapy such as giving the patient citrus or an herbal concoction to bring back the balance.
The treatments were gentle to the patient and emphasized cleanliness as well. The biggest strength of Hippocratic medicine was with the usage of prognosis. That is determining what the disorder or disease was and what to do about it.
Hippocrates is credited with diagnosing and describing the condition of clubbed fingers, epilepsy, lung disease and even hemorrhoids.
Even though his thoughts on what was causing the condition in the patient were incorrect by today’s standards, the practice of diagnosis and treatment of a disease was a very important concept in his time since many people were superstitious in their beliefs of the origins of disease.
Throughout his practice, Hippocrates used many herbs to treat health problems. He would choose to use the leaves, root or stem of an herb or possibly a combination of herbs depending on the diagnosis.
Oregano was a common herb that Hippocrates used to treat many disorders such as arthritis.
Today, herbs are still used to treat some medical conditions and promote well-being.
Herbs are used in cough drops, teas, medicines (such as bella dona), tinctures, sprays and massage oils.
Herbs are also used in foods today. Some herbs that are eaten are oregano, basil, parsely, cinnamon, nutmeg, garlic, chives, sage, spearment, peppermint, rosemary, tarragon and thyme.
Garlic was considered the king of the herbs and was used to heal colds and flus and rid the body of parasites.
By Rita Jean Moran (www.thelibrarykids.com)
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