Hippocrates, Plato and today's doctor

Imagine yourself transported with me to the 4th century BC, visiting Hippocrates at his medical school on the island of Kos. There we learn how to balance food and physical and mental activity in an individualised lifestyle in order to prevent illness, as well as when it becomes necessary to use medicines and treatments. We have seen that in Kos, in a way that is unprecedented in history, religious charms and rites give way to an empirically-based medicine, based on philosophical and proto-scientific foundations. In addition to these foundations, this book emphasises the relevance of the Hippocratic doctor's human and professional attitude, based on specific ethics and rhetoric when dealing with patients, their souls and their suffering. A few decades later, Plato describes the ideal doctor inspired by Hippocrates, who dialogues and wins the patient's trust with his art, speaks in a timely manner about diagnosis and prognosis and is always reassuring. Nothing could be more timely for our times, when technology and protocol overshadow care for the patient. Even today, patients can benefit from the revalorisation of ancient concepts presented in this book, such as tekné, philanthropy, kairós, isomoiria, dietai, pharmakon.