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| (12th-Century Hippocratic Oath) |
It is difficult to ascertain exactly what Hippocrates of Cos, commonly referred to as "the father of Western medicine," did or didn't do. His contributions were so intermingled with those of like-minded practitioners that it is almost impossible to distinguish one from the other.
Wikipedia defines the Hippocratic Corpus as "a collection of around 60 early Ancient Greek medical works strongly associated with the physician Hippocrates and his
teachings." These works, one of which is the Hippocratic Oath, vary greatly in "content, age and style."
Originally, the Hippocratic Oath required a person to align with "Apollo Physician and Asclepius and Hygieia and Panacea and all the gods and goddesses" as witnesses. By the time the 12th century had rolled around,
the Oath had been written out on a Byzantine manuscript "in the form of a cross, relating it visually to Christian
ideas."
Some of the principles contained within the Oath are as follows: no
deadly drugs, no abortive remedies, no sexual abuse, confidentiality, and no harm.
Resources
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hippocratic_Corpus
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hippocratic_Oath
Copyright December 25, 2013 by Linda Van Slyke All Rights Reserved
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