HIPPOCRATES: BIOGRAPHY, WORKS AND CONTRIBUTIONS - HISTORY - 2025

Hippocrates (460 BC-370 BC) was an Ancient Greek physician born on the Island of Cos. His contributions to medicine were so important that for many historians he is considered the father of this discipline.

He obtained his medical studies mainly from his father, Heraclides, who was also a renowned physician at the time. He also learned from other doctors of the time, with whom he reinforced what he had learned with his father.

Portrait of Hippocrates (1787) - Morgado de Setúbal (Museu de Évora)

In some of the texts that refer to Hippocrates, there are descriptions of anatomy, some types of diseases, treatments, among others.

Biography

According to the historical records that are had, the date of birth of Hippocrates was around the year 460 before Christ. It is known that this Greek doctor was born on the island of Cos, located in the Aegean Sea.

The family of Hippocrates was characterized by carrying out priestly medicine, since they were followers of the god Asclepios, a Greek deity linked to medicine.

Hippocrates' father was Heraclides and his mother was named Praxitela. Both Heraclides and Hippocrates I (Hippocrates' grandfather) practiced medicine, and from them Hippocrates learned the basic principles of this practice.

Work as a doctor

Historical records indicate that Hippocrates traveled to different cities when he was very young, with the intention of curing sick people.

It is said that these trips also served him to receive the teachings of other illustrious doctors of the time, which served to further develop his skills in the field of medicine.

During those trips, Hippocrates also began to build a good reputation as a doctor, which eventually made him recognized in that field.

After making these trips, Hippocrates returned to the island of Cos and there he founded his first medical school. Later he traveled to Thessaly, specifically to the city of Larissa, where he founded a second medical school.

Personal characteristics

There are not many biographical data on Hippocrates that can be considered completely true. Its history can be found narrated by three main voices: Aristotle, Sorano of Ephesus and Juan Tzetzes.

All three provide information with a certain degree of contradiction, although they coincide in several essential elements of the characteristics of Hippocrates.

For example, these historians have agreed that Hippocrates was a very observant man, which makes sense with the skills necessary for the activity he performed in life. Likewise, it is known that he had two sons; Draco and Tesalo. He also had a daughter, but it is not known what her name was.

Among Hippocrates' interests was also philosophy. It is estimated that this character studied philosophy while following the teachings of Herodicus of Selimbria, also a doctor.

Death

Hippocrates died around 370 BC. It is believed that his death was in the city of Larissa, although there is no certainty regarding this information given that Hippocrates traveled a lot to cities such as Thrace and Thessaly, as a result of his work in the field of medicine.

Historical sources reflect that Hippocrates was 90 years old when he died, although there are other information that indicate that he was more than 100 years old.

Hippocratic theory

The Hippocratic theory is also called as the theory of humors or theory of the four humors.

According to this theory, the human body is created from four specific elements, which is what Hippocrates calls “humors”. Depending on how harmonious and balanced the relationship between these elements is, the subject in question will have better or worse health.

Hippocrates linked these humors to the four elements of nature, which are air, fire, earth and water. In Ancient Greece these four elements were considered to have been the origin of everything, so it makes sense that they were the ones that Hippocrates took into account to explain and develop his theory.

The four humors taken into account by Hippocrates were: blood, black bile, yellow bile and phlegm. This doctor indicated that all people had the four humors, but that each one had them arranged in different ways, and there was always one that was more relevant than the others.

The most relevant aspects of each humor raised by Hippocrates will be described below:

Blood

This substance was directly related to air. According to Hippocrates, the capabilities and characteristics of blood were associated with humidity and warmth.

Black bile

This element was related to the earth and its main characteristic was dryness, as well as cold.

Yellow bile

Yellow bile was specifically linked to fire, and the associated characteristics were dryness and warmth.

Phlegm

Phlegm was linked to the water element, and its main peculiarities were humidity and cold.

Association with personality

These humors raised by Hippocrates were directly related to aspects of the personality.

Although this knowledge later became the studies of personality in the field of psychology, the approach taken by Hippocrates was linked to relating these humors to the different diseases that affect the body.

Then, the characteristic elements of each humor had a physical representation in the human body, which in turn triggered a specific type of personality.

It is worth noting that this theory of Hippocrates was used as a reference until the Renaissance period. Subsequently, certain psychologists have used these notions as a starting point for the study of personalities, but currently research in this area has evolved beyond these concepts.

The personality types that emerge from the humors determined by Hippocrates are: sanguine, melancholic, choleric and phlegmatic.

Bloodline

Hippocrates indicated that the blood type is characterized by being sociable, empathetic, extroverted and very communicative.

Their very outgoing characteristics could also make this person a despot in some of their actions.

Melancholic

According to Hippocrates, when black bile is the element that stands out the most, it is a person with a tendency to sadness.

For Hippocrates, these types of people are very easily moved and are usually sensitive towards the field of the arts.

Choleric

In this type of personality, it is the nerves that stand out above the rest of the essential elements of the human being. It corresponds to an increase in yellow bile.

These people are characterized by being very passionate. They are creative, restless and emotional. Furthermore, people with these characteristics tend to be impulsive and react according to their environment: if it is favorable, they are communicative and of good character; On the other hand, if the environment is unfavorable, they get irritated and angry.

Phlegmatic

The phlegmatic type is linked to phlegm as the most prominent element of the body's composition.

As expressed by Hippocrates, individuals with this personality have a greater tendency to be cold and to superimpose reason over feelings.

Plays

The works of Hippocrates are abundant. There are several texts in which there are certain doubts as to whether he wrote them directly or whether some of his disciples did.

However, it can be said that Hippocrates wrote or coordinated the writing of a series of works that make up the so-called Hippocratic collection (in Latin, corpus hippocraticum), which consisted of seventy books and was located in the library of the School of Medicine of Cos, founded by him.

Some of the most relevant documents that make up the Hippocratic collection will be mentioned below:

Treaty of airs, waters and places

Among the most outstanding works is the one entitled Treaty of the airs, waters and places, in which he talks about the fact that diseases have a root originating in the environment. At that time, the usual thing was to attribute the causes of known affections to divine elements.

In this book Hippocrates enunciates something revolutionary for the historical moment, and it is that he indicated the great influence that the climate, the characteristics of a population and even the water could have on the diseases that appeared in a specific region.

About the regimen of acute diseases

This document was of great importance because it focused the analysis on the importance of disease prevention. It was the first time in history that there was talk of carrying out actions that help not so much to treat the disease, but to prevent it.

In this context, the work On the regimen of acute diseases emphasizes that both diet and the way in which each person lives their life have a direct influence on health.

Hippocratic Oath

This is one of the creations of Hippocrates that has transcended the most. It is an oath that doctors still take once they graduate from university.

Some recent research establishes that it is possible that this text was not written by Hippocrates, since it is believed that it was generated after his death. One hypothesis accepted by some is that the oath was written within the Pythagorean school of medicine; however, there is no truthful information to confirm this fact.

The nature of this oath is essentially ethical and is framed in a series of guidelines and actions that reflect the good behavior of doctors.

This is a lengthy oath and is not always said as it is, verbatim, but it has been taken as the basis for texts that determine the ideal moral practices in medical practitioners.

Main contributions of Hippocrates

Transform medicine into a discipline

Until the 5th century BC, medicine was not a suitable discipline to be studied. In fact, diseases were thought to have a strict relationship with superstitions, legends, and magic.

The arrival of this Hippocrates drastically changed the look towards medicine, since he raised it in a more rational way.

He looked away from the legends and began to study the causes of disease. He stated that the diseases that man contracted depended more on the environment, habits and diet.

In addition, he implemented techniques and methodologies for the treatment of some diseases, including diagnoses and preventive measures that would mark the beginning of the art of medicine, expanding to different parts of the world.

Some of these approaches and descriptions were rescued and as a whole it is currently known as the Hippocratic Corpus. It is a compilation where you can find the most important findings for medicine during the 4th and 5th centuries.

Hippocratic Oath

The creation of the ethical basis of medicine starts from this writing. This oath, attributed to Hippocrates, is a document in which the principles that a person dedicated to medicine must possess are described.

Currently in many of the medical schools of the world, students of this discipline must take an oath, allusive to this writing, at their graduation ceremony.

Anatomy

Among the different writings rescued from this time, some drawings of human anatomy were discovered. However, this anatomy was mainly based on animals, so there was no detailed knowledge of the human body.

Despite the fact that knowledge about the anatomy of man was scarce, these writings were the first impressions that were related to human anatomy.

Description of diseases

In the experience he obtained during his life, and his dedication to medicine, Hippocrates was able to describe a large number of diseases (hemorrhoids, diseases located in the thorax, lung diseases, heart disease, among others).

Although some of their descriptions are not exactly accurate, they were a strong basis for getting medicine to be viewed as a science.

Surgery

Another of the great contributions to modern medicine was the possibility of surgery. The data collected about this time indicate that Hippocrates was one of the first surgeons of which there is a record.

Despite the time, there are talk of quite adequate methods, taking into account the technological limitations.

Preventive medicine

This was an important part in the writings of Hippocrates. It indicates in them the evolution of certain diseases, describes their symptoms and possible complications in order to give a diagnosis.

Likewise, depending on the diagnosis, the literature describes guidelines to achieve improvement.

For Hippocrates, other aspects were also relevant for the prognosis of diseases, such as the diet and the patient's lifestyle.

He considered that the habits and the environment in which a person was, influenced the diseases that he contracted.

Gynecology

Regarding this topic, Hippocrates studies women in different situations. For example, describe the diseases that virgin women suffer from. Describes other states, such as sterility, pregnancy, among others.

References

1. National Geographic Spain. Medicine in ancient Greece: the birth of a science. 2017. Recovered from: nationalgeographic.com.es
2. Steven H. Miles. THE HIPPOCRATIC OATH AND THE ETHICS OF MEDICINE. 2005. Recovered from: books.google.com
3. Barry Robson, OK Baek. THE ENGINES OF HIPPOCRATES: From the Dawn of Medicine to Medical and Pharmaceutical Informatics. 2009. Recovered from: books.google.com
4. Wesley D. Smith. Hippocrates. ENCYCLOPAEDIA BRITANNICA. 2017. Recovered from: britannica.com
5. Michael Boylan. Hippocrates (c.450-c.380 BCE). INTERNET ENCYCLOPEDIA OF PHILOSOPHY. Recovered from: iep.utm.edu.