His daughters were: Hygeia
and Panacea. They also
helped in healing. Words:
Hygiene, cleanliness, and
panacea were remedies for
illnesses called after their
names.
His temples were called Asclepions and
people would stay at them when they
were ill. Similar to a health farm or
Catholics going on a pilgrimage to
Lourdes. The cult of Asclepius was most
popular in the 5th and 4th centuries BC.
An example of a healing
ritual: Placing snakes on the
patients. The snake is the
sacred animal of Asclepius
and can still be seen in
many logos of many
medical organisations.
Hippocrates
Encouraged the use of four
step method for treating
illness which would now be
recognised as "Clinical
Method of Observation"
Diagnosis > Prognosis > Observation > Treatment
Discouraged the idea of
Gods or spirits being
causes of illness.
"Airs, Waters and Places" a book from the
Hippocratic Corpus. It looks for environmental
causes for disease.
The books "Prognostic" "Coan
Prognostic" and "Asphorisms"
were improved/built off of
Egyptian ideas of diagnosis.
Which suggested that by
studying enough cases, a doctor
could learn to predict the course
of an illness.