Hippocrates Now: The 'Father of Medicine' in the Internet Age (Bloomsbury Studies in Classical Reception)

We need to talk about Hippocrates.

Current scholarship attributes none of the works of the 'Hippocratic corpus' to him, and the ancient biographical traditions of his life are not only late but also written for their own promotional purposes. Yet Hippocrates features powerfully in our assumptions about ancient medicine, and our beliefs about what medicine – and the physician himself – should be. In both orthodox and alternative medicine, he continues to be a model to be emulated.

This book will challenge widespread assumptions about Hippocrates (and, in the process, about the history of medicine in ancient Greece and beyond) and will also explore the creation of modern myths about the ancient world. Why do we continue to use Hippocrates, and how are new myths constructed around his name? How do news stories and the internet contribute to our picture of him? And what can this tell us about wider popular engagements with the classical world today, in memes, 'quotes' and online?

About The Author:
Helen King is a Professor of Classical Studies at The Open University, UK, and Visiting Professor at Plymouth University Peninsula College of Medicine and Dentistry, UK. She has published widely on ancient medicine and its reception in the Renaissance and early modern world including, most recently, The One-Sex Body on Trial (2013).