ABSTRACT
The intellectual traditions established in ancient Greece provided the foundation of Western philosophy, science, and medicine. Western medicine traces its origins to Hippocrates, but even the Hippocratic physicians traced their art back to Asclepius, the god of medicine. Shamanistic, religious, and empirical approaches to healing seem to be universal aspects of ancient medical traditions. Where Greek medicine appears to be unique is in the development of a body of medical theory associated with natural philosophy. The modern physician and patient are especially eager for a precise diagnosis—the ceremonial naming of the disease—but this was of little importance to the Hippocratic physician. According to Hippocratic theory, the processes by which the body fought off disease were essentially exaggerated forms of normal physiological functions. The art of medicine could be divided into three parts: cure by diet, cure by medications, and cure by surgery.
