Hippocrates

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Hippocrates

Q: What did Hippocrates do?

Hippocrates was a much admired physician from the island of Cos who taught students for fees. Throughout his life Hippocrates appears to have traveled widely in Greece and Asia Minor practicing his art and teaching his pupils, and he presumably taught at the medical school at Cos quite frequently.

Q: Why is Hippocrates famous?

Hippocrates’ reputation, and myths about his life, began to grow in the Hellenistic period , about a century after his death. The Library of Alexandria in Egypt collected medical works from the Classical period, calling them the works of Hippocrates. About 60 of these writings have survived, though most of them were not written by him.

Q: What is Hippocrates remembered for?

Medical practice has advanced significantly since Hippocrates’ day. However, today Hippocrates continues to represent the humane, ethical aspects of the medical profession, mainly through the Hippocratic oath , although he probably did not write it. The Hippocratic writings, which are earnest in their desire to help and lacking in technical jargon, have inspired physicians for millennia.

Greek physician

Written by Wesley D. Smith

Fact-checked by The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica

Last Updated: Nov 21, 2024 • Article History

Quick Facts

Born:: c. 460 bce, island of Cos, Greece

Died:: c. 375 bce, Larissa, Thessaly

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What did Hippocrates do?

Why is Hippocrates famous?

What is Hippocrates remembered for?

Hippocrates (born c. 460 bce, island of Cos, Greece—died c. 375 bce, Larissa, Thessaly) was an ancient Greek physician who lived during Greece’s Classical period and is traditionally regarded as the father of medicine. It is difficult to isolate the facts of Hippocrates’ life from the later tales told about him or to assess his medicine accurately in the face of centuries of reverence for him as the ideal physician. About 60 medical writings have survived that bear his name, most of which were not written by him. He has been revered for his ethical standards in medical practice, mainly ...(100 of 1250 words)

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