The Greek scholar Hippocrates was born on the island of Kos in 460 BC and died in 377 BC. Hippocrates appreciated the healing powers of nature and treated his patients with nutritional therapy and the healing power of the elements.

 

Hippocrates recognised that the whole person must always be treated and not just the symptoms of the disease. Even today, this realisation forms an important basis of naturopathy. In ancient times, Hippocrates was faced with the prevailing doctrine that only treated the symptoms of illness locally without looking at the whole picture.

 

Hippocrates was of the opinion that a disease is not limited to a single organ, but that mental balance also plays a role in human health.

 

Hippocrates summarised the ethical principles and professional duties of a doctor in a document that every doctor still has to take as an oath today (the Oath of Hippocrates).