HIPPOCRATES

(27th of the Dorian month of Agranos 460 -
– 375-351 BC)

Hippocrates. Gk.Ippokrates – ‘victorious on horseback’. Doctor, founder of medical science. In the Christian tradition he is regarded as one of the Hellenic philosophers. Ionian. Born in Astipalaia, at the southwest tip of the island of Cos in the Aegean Sea. His parents belonged to the Heraclidae: his mother was Phanareta, daughter of Phenaret; his father was Heraclid, son of Hippocrates, descended from Asclepius, line of Podalirius, from the Nebridae family. Short and completely bald, with a beard. Nearly always covered his head (with a simple cap, pilos, or mantle), explaining this by the necessity to protect the repository of his ideas. The most exact representation of Hippocrates is thought to be a bust from Ostia, dating from the end of the 1st century AD. Married the daughter of Cadmus, former ruler of the island of Cos and produced two sons, Thessalus and Draconus. Their daughter married Hippocrates’ pupil Polibius. Held traditional Hellenic religious beliefs. His early lessons in medicine were at home, thereafter he studied with the doctor Herodicus, the sophist Gorgias of Leontini and the philosopher Demokritos of Abdera. According to several sources, he was accused of setting fire to medical manuscripts in Cos and banished from his homeland. Lived and travelled on the island of Tasos, in Abdera (Asia Minor), Edonian Thrace, Macedonia, Propontis and the Peloponnesian towns. All his writings were incorporated in the Hippocratic Collection, which also includes pieces by his followers and predecessors. Different sources give varying life spans for Hippocrates: 82, 85, 104 and 109 years. Died in the town of Larissa, Thessaly. Buried between the towns of Larissa and Girton. A swarm of bees made their hive on his tomb for many years and their honey was found to have remarkable healing properties.