Biography
Hippocrates was a physician that lived during the classical Greek period. That much is certain of his past, the rest is subject to scrutiny because of conflicting accounts. Most of the information about him was written long after his death. The accounts that are taken to be the most valid are those of Aristotle who wrote in the 4th century BC around the time Hippocrates would have been alive. Most of Aristotle's writings of Hippocrates were brief. The first real biography of his life did not come out until the 2nd century AD when Soranus of Ephesus wrote about him. This biography has provided the most information on Hippocrates and to this day is seen as that leading source despite its late writing. Other biographies were also written later and sometimes provide valid information but tend to err on the side of legend. He is known to have actually existed because of brief mentions from his contemporaries like Plato who called him 'Hippocrates of Kos, the Asclepliad" in his dialogue Protagoras.
Factual Accounts
The Island of Kos
As far as can be told this is how the true life of Hippocrates went
- He was born on the island of Kos in 460 BC.
- His father was the physician Heraclides and his mother's name was Praxitela.
- As a child Hippocrates began learning medicine from his father and grandfather who were also physicians.
- He went on to study medicine at the Asklepieion of Kos a healing temple of the gods.
- He also is thought to have taken lessons with Herodicus of Selymbria, a physician from Thrace.
- After finishing his studies at an unknown age, Hippocrates began to practice medicine.
- He gained great renown and practiced medicine all throughout Greece traveling at the very least to Thessaly, Thrace, and the Sea of Marmara. Some accounts say he traveled much further but these are probably legends.
- Sometime after he had gained renown he founded the Hippocratic School of Medicine on Kos. He taught at this school when he was not traveling to cure patients or give lectures.
- Accounts of his death vary. It is mostly agreed upon that he died in Larissa at an age of somewhere between 83 and 90, but some accounts have him living to well over a hundred.
Map of the island of Kos- zoom out to see surrounding area and places he traveled to.
Activity- Try and find all of the places that Hippocrates traveled to.This will help you learn the influence and renown that Hippocrates had. Hint- you may need to look up the current Greek names of the location in order to find them.
The fact that Hippocrates traveled so much shows his individuality. Most Greeks would have stayed in their polis because they were highly nationalistic. In this case Hippocrates was original, by seeing so many different cultures he was able to pick up new ideas so his originality helped him.
Legends
These are accounts of Hippocrates that may or may not be true, but there is reason to believe that they are either false or embellished.
Legends
- He was the direct decedent of the healing god Asklepius on his father's side
- Helped heal Athenians during the Plague of Athens by lighting huge fires filled with purifying material
- He rejected a formal request to help heal the king of Persia.
- Is said to have set fire to a healing temple that belonged to the Knidians.
- When a statue of him was raised in Rome Augustus's nephew was resurrected
The fact that Hippocrates left so many stories behind him signifies both that he left a significant mark on the life and values of Greek culture. Also the nature on the legends that were created about Hippocrates says something about Greek culture itself.
What does the fact that legends were created about him show to you? To me it shows that he was a monumental figure that changed the way the Greeks looked at things. Think about all the other people legends have been created about, Didn't they all do something monumental to the culture around them?
Look at the nature of the legends about him and try and find Greek values are revealed in them.
What does the fact that legends were created about him show to you? To me it shows that he was a monumental figure that changed the way the Greeks looked at things. Think about all the other people legends have been created about, Didn't they all do something monumental to the culture around them?
Look at the nature of the legends about him and try and find Greek values are revealed in them.
- Did you notice that the first legend is about a noble family heritage? This shows the Greeks' reliance on ancestry as a measure for power. This comes from the fact that even though they were at that time a democracy they were once an aristocracy.
- How about the fact that he refused to help an outsider? What do you feel this says about the Greeks at this time? I feel that its says that the Greeks were highly nationalistic within their poli and after the Persian war they hated the Persians. helping their king would have been seen as base treachery.
- Finally the story about the burnt temple. This shows that within the city states there were conflicting views that were allowed to exist by having a democracy and they wanted to discredit each other. In this case it was the two separate theories on medicine. The knidians were trying to discredit Hippocrates who was a koan.