Hippocrates: facts and fiction

Hippocrates, the Father of Medicine, is reviewed as a historical person and in terms of his contribution to medicine in order to distinguish fact from fiction. Contemporary and later sources reveal that many (possibly untrue) legends accumulated around this enigmatic figure. The textual tradition a...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Francois P. Retief, Louise Cilliers
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: University of the Free State 2005-06-01
Series:Acta Theologica
Online Access:https://journals.ufs.ac.za/index.php/at/article/view/2073
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Summary:Hippocrates, the Father of Medicine, is reviewed as a historical person and in terms of his contribution to medicine in order to distinguish fact from fiction. Contemporary and later sources reveal that many (possibly untrue) legends accumulated around this enigmatic figure. The textual tradition and the composition of the socalled Corpus Hippocraticum, the collection of medical works written mainly in the 5th and 4th centuries BC (of which possibly only about five can be ascribed to Hippocrates himself) are discussed. The origin of the Hippocratic Oath, and the impact of the Hippocratic legacy on modern medicine are considered.
ISSN:1015-8758
2309-9089