Hippocrates, who is regarded as the founder of medicine, was a well-known ancient Greek physician and educator who was born on the island of Kos in the Aegean Sea. He lived in the Classical Period of ancient Greece, which saw advancements in the fields of medicine, philosophy, art, architecture, and theatre as well as a strong Athenian democracy. The ancient Greek empire was thriving, and it was during this age of innovation that we learned most of what we know about ancient Greece.
Herbs were frequently used in ancient Greek medicine by the doctors who practised there. More than 1,500 herbal cures were supplied by Hippocrates and the authors of the Hippocratic Corpus, who also outlined the physiological processes in 300 different plants. Only 44 plants, including sage (Salvia spp.), oregano (Origanum spp.), rue (Ruta graveolens), and bay laurel (Laurus nobilis), accounted for about 40% of these botanical applications (Touwaide & Appetiti 2014). Many of these herbal remedies were for gynaecological and women's health issues (Evans, 2015). Unfortunately, this knowledge of plants was not neatly arranged into a materia medica that would have listed each plant's herbal activities, tastes, energetics, and uses as we know them today.
Hippocrates is credited with creating the four humours theory in addition to using scientific investigation and herbs in his medical practise. Chinese and Indian systems of traditional herbal plant use, both of which are still highly regarded, have concepts in common with this philosophy. The four humors—blood, phlegm, yellow bile, and black bile—were seen as metabolic agents, each correlating to a unique prehistoric conception of the body's essential fluids and their impact on both physical and mental health.
