History Fact Finder | Medicine and Disease - What Is The Hippocratic Oath?

What is the Hippocratic Oath?

The Hippocratic Oath is a vow whereby a doctor promises to "prescribe regimen for the good of my patients according to my ability and my judgment and never to harm anyone." It dates to the fourth century B.C., when the Greek teacher and doctor Hippocrates (c. 460–377 B.C.) practiced medicine on the island of Cos. Hippocrates was ahead of his time in believing that diseases had natural causes, not supernatural ones, and that people could cure diseases. Hippocrates is considered the "Father of Modern Medicine."

Further Information: Baker, Rosalie F., and Charles F. Baker III. Ancient Greeks: Creating the Classical Tradition. New York: Oxford University Press, 1997, pp. 116–19; Miller, Brandon Marie. Just What the Doctor Ordered. Minneapolis, Minn.: Lerner, 1997; WWW Virtual Library for the History of Science, Technology, and Medicine. [Online] Available

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