Medicinal Plants and Herbs Used by Hippocrates

Healing Herbs and Plant Medicine of Hippocrates, Father of Medicine

Jul 6, 2009

Hippocrates, an ancient Greek healer who became known as the 'father of medicine', used a number of medicinal plants and healing herbs in his teachings and written work.

The history surrounding the Greek healer Hippocrates is often subject to much debate; there are contradictory reports as to what Hippocrates did and did not establish in his lifetime, although it is generally agreed that Hippocrates was the 'father of medicine'. Hippocrates was responsible for establishing a rational base for understanding the workings of the human body and the use of medicinal plants and herbs in the healing process.

Early History of Hippocrates

It is thought that Hippocrates was born on the Greek island of Cos in 460 B.C and died at Lirissa in Thessaly in 377 B.C.. It is believed that Hippocrates came from a family of healers, descended from the Aesculpian priesthood (a name derived from Aesclepius, the god of healing), in which sons were expected to follow their fathers into the healing priesthood.

Hippocrates, although trained in the Aesculpian principle at the Cnidian school of medicine, did not agree with either the school's belief that the body was a mass of individual, unrelated parts or that disease came from the gods; he believed that a number of factors, such as diet, exercise, climate and the environment, were responsible for the manifestation of disease. Many holistic practitioners today believe this principle and continue to treat the body as 'whole'.

Hippocrates is said to have used many medicinal plants and herbs in his teachings; he reputedly taught his students underneath a plane tree on the island of Cos, an area which can still be visited today. Hippocrates' teachings are recorded in a collection of about 70 medicinal works, commonly referred to as Corpus Hippocraticum.

However, it is widely believed that Hippocrates himself was not responsible for a large part, or perhaps any, of the writings and that the majority of the Corpus Hippocraticum was compiled by his students, perhaps even after his death. The Corpus Hippocraticum contains descriptions of between 300 and 400 medicinal plants as used by Hippocrates.

The herbs and healing plants used by Hippocrates bore a relation to the qualities of the four 'humors' (the 'cause' of disease) of the Hippocratic theory; the four qualities consisted of wet, dry, hot and cold and therefore, as an example of this theory, Hippocrates prescribed ginger (a 'warming' herb) for a cold. The effectiveness and complexity of the Hippocrates theory is still hotly disputed today.

Healing plants and herbs which were used by Hippocrates and described in the Corpus Hipporaticum include the following selection:

The Legend of Hippocrates

Although facts surrounding Hippocrates and his teachings are often unsubstantiated with physical written 'proof', there is no doubt that Hippocrates was responsible for changing the way medicine was perceived both in ancient Greece and in the world today; many medical students today take the 'Hippocratic Oath', the cornerstone of medicinal ethical practice. Herbs and medicinal plants also continue to be used in a number of plant medicine practices.