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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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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author Francois P. Retief
Louise Cilliers
author_facet Francois P. Retief
Louise Cilliers
author_sort Francois P. Retief
collection DOAJ
description 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.
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spelling doaj-art-23c5e5f4d7aa4e7391e7f0215de5c8e62025-02-11T12:26:26ZengUniversity of the Free StateActa Theologica1015-87582309-90892005-06-01710.38140/at.v0i7.2073Hippocrates: facts and fictionFrancois P. Retief0Louise Cilliers1University of the Free StateUniversity of the Free State 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. https://journals.ufs.ac.za/index.php/at/article/view/2073
spellingShingle Francois P. Retief
Louise Cilliers
Hippocrates: facts and fiction
Acta Theologica
title Hippocrates: facts and fiction
title_full Hippocrates: facts and fiction
title_fullStr Hippocrates: facts and fiction
title_full_unstemmed Hippocrates: facts and fiction
title_short Hippocrates: facts and fiction
title_sort hippocrates facts and fiction
url https://journals.ufs.ac.za/index.php/at/article/view/2073
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