Hippocrates

Hippocrates of Cos (Ἱπποκράτης) (c. 460–c. 370 BCE), born on the Mediterranean island of Cos off the west coast of present day Turkey, was a physician in ancient Greece on whom history bestowed the honorific cognomen, "The Father of Medicine", inasmuch as his contributions to medicine known through his writings and those of his followers (the 'Hippocratics') of about 200 years following his death influenced Western medicine for nearly 2000 years. Hippocrates' life overlapped that of Socrates and Aristotle and spanned that of Plato, but historians know little of his personal life. History gave his name to an oath of medical ethics called the Hippocratic Oath.

Hippocrates founded a school of medicine known by his name, and advocated a basic approach to the diagnosis and treatment of disease that, while based predominantly on pre-scientific principles, still has applications in modern medicine. "The code of conduct for doctors outlined in the Hippocratic Oath, a vow commonly taken by modern doctors", remains an ethical guideline in medicine.