Just as Aristotle brought the scientific method to biology, a Greek physician brought science to medicine.
He discovered so much about diagnosing illness and treating the sick that he is known as the father of medicine.
Hippocrates was born on the island of Cos in the Aegean Sea around 460 B.C. Both his grandfather and his father were doctor-priests at the local temple dedicated to the Greek god of healing, Asclepius.
These priests were called Asclepiads, and the sick would come to them at the temple for treatment for their ailments.
The common belief at the time was that the sick had somehow angered the gods and were being punished. Treatment included purifying baths, dream interpretation, magic plants, and offerings such as food and flowers to the offended gods.
Hippocrates was the first physician to believe that disease had earthly causes and earthly cures.
He started practicing medicine in a very different way than the powerful Asclepiads.
