Asclepius And Hippocrates: An Analysis
The God of Medicine, Asclepius, and Father of Medicine, Hippocrates, were the personification of healing in antiquity. Hippocrates, according to Gary B. Ferngren, was “the embodiment of medical wisdom, and the exemplar of the ideal physicians” (Ferngren, 41). On the other hand, Asclepius was “the patron of both physicians and patients” and “represented a last hope for those whose disease could not be… cured” (Ferngren, 51-53). It was generally understood that these two characters “flourished side by side” (Ferngren, 51). Greek physicians often considered religious medicine “as complementing [to] their own practice” (Ferngren, 53), and the line between religious and secular medicine was blurred because of the dominating belief that “both… aspects
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Ferngren stated that the Greek physicians “accepted the validity of divine dreams and had no philosophical objections to religious healing” (Ferngren, 53). The practitioners also considered “[medicine as] a divine art that had been given to humanity by a god” (Ferngren, 47). As a result, the Greeks believed that the inherent divine nature of medicine can be used to cure diseases that were once considered divine in origin (Ferngren, 46). There was a sense that Hippocrates and the practitioners were of a status above ordinary people because they were performing divine work. The Hippocratic Oath was a religious promise to the deities that the physicians under oath would be accountable for the divine authority given to them (Ferngren, 42-43). Despite the overwhelming power that physicians wielded, the Hippocratic practitioners were able to maintain a modest decorum because they understood the limits of their abilities. Ferngren explained that “[when] Greek physicians believed they could no longer help a patient… the physicians freed the patients to seek… the direct help of the god Asclepius” (Ferngren, 53). The Hippocratic physicians never doubted the fundamental idea that the “[art of healing] was given to [them] by [Asclepius]” (Ferngren,
Ferngren stated that the Greek physicians “accepted the validity of divine dreams and had no philosophical objections to religious healing” (Ferngren, 53). The practitioners also considered “[medicine as] a divine art that had been given to humanity by a god” (Ferngren, 47). As a result, the Greeks believed that the inherent divine nature of medicine can be used to cure diseases that were once considered divine in origin (Ferngren, 46). There was a sense that Hippocrates and the practitioners were of a status above ordinary people because they were performing divine work. The Hippocratic Oath was a religious promise to the deities that the physicians under oath would be accountable for the divine authority given to them (Ferngren, 42-43). Despite the overwhelming power that physicians wielded, the Hippocratic practitioners were able to maintain a modest decorum because they understood the limits of their abilities. Ferngren explained that “[when] Greek physicians believed they could no longer help a patient… the physicians freed the patients to seek… the direct help of the god Asclepius” (Ferngren, 53). The Hippocratic physicians never doubted the fundamental idea that the “[art of healing] was given to [them] by [Asclepius]” (Ferngren,