Polybus ( grc-gre, Πόλυβος; fl. c. 400 BC) was one of the pupils of
Hippocrates
Hippocrates of Kos (; grc-gre, Ἱπποκράτης ὁ Κῷος, Hippokrátēs ho Kôios; ), also known as Hippocrates II, was a Greek physician of the classical period who is considered one of the most outstanding figures in the history of ...
, and also his son-in-law. He lived on the island of
Cos in the 4th century BC. With his brothers-in-law,
Thessalus and
Draco
Draco is the Latin word for serpent or dragon.
Draco or Drako may also refer to:
People
* Draco (lawgiver) (from Greek: Δράκων; 7th century BC), the first lawgiver of ancient Athens, Greece, from whom the term ''draconian'' is derived
* D ...
, he was one of the founders of the
Dogmatic school
The Dogmatic school of medicine (''Dogmatics'', or ''Dogmatici'', el, Δογματικοί) was a school of medicine in ancient Greece and Rome. They were the oldest of the medical sects of antiquity. They derived their name from ''dogma'', a phi ...
of medicine. He was sent by Hippocrates, with his fellow-pupils, during the time of the plague, to assist different cities with his medical skill. Afterwards, he remained in his native country.
[Galen, ''Comment. in Hippocr. De Nat. Hom.'', i. praef. col. xv.] According to
Galen
Aelius Galenus or Claudius Galenus ( el, Κλαύδιος Γαληνός; September 129 – c. AD 216), often Anglicized as Galen () or Galen of Pergamon, was a Greek physician, surgeon and philosopher in the Roman Empire. Considered to be one of ...
, he followed implicitly the opinions and practices of Hippocrates, but the strict accuracy of this assertion has been doubted.
He has been supposed, by both ancient and modern scholars, to be the author of several works in the Hippocratic collection. Possible works include ''De Natura Hominis'', ''De Genitura'', ''De Natura Pueri'', ''De Salubri Victus Ratione'', ''De Affectionibus'', and ''De Internis Affectionibus''.
Clement of Alexandria
Titus Flavius Clemens, also known as Clement of Alexandria ( grc , Κλήμης ὁ Ἀλεξανδρεύς; – ), was a Christian theologian and philosopher who taught at the Catechetical School of Alexandria. Among his pupils were Origen and ...
attributes to him the treatise ''De Octimestri Partu'', and
Pseudo-Plutarch quotes him as the author of ''De Septimestri Partu''.
[Pseudo-Plutarch, ''De Philosoph. Plac''. v. 18] ''De Natura Hominis'' (''On the Nature of Man'') is the earliest known text to advance a
four-humor system of
blood
Blood is a body fluid in the circulatory system of humans and other vertebrates that delivers necessary substances such as nutrients and oxygen to the cells, and transports metabolic waste products away from those same cells. Blood in the c ...
,
phlegm
Phlegm (; , ''phlégma'', "inflammation", "humour caused by heat") is mucus produced by the respiratory system, excluding that produced by the nasal passages. It often refers to respiratory mucus expelled by coughing, otherwise known as sputum ...
,
yellow bile
Humorism, the humoral theory, or humoralism, was a system of medicine detailing a supposed makeup and workings of the human body, adopted by Ancient Greek and Roman physicians and philosophers.
Humorism began to fall out of favor in the 1850s ...
, and
black bile
Melancholia or melancholy (from el, µέλαινα χολή ',Burton, Bk. I, p. 147 meaning black bile) is a concept found throughout History of medicine#Greece and Roman Empire, ancient, medieval medicine of Western Europe, medieval and Lear ...
. Galen, though, considers ''De Natura Hominis'' to be the work of Hippocrates himself.
Polybus is mentioned many times by Galen, chiefly in connection with different works in the Hippocratic collection. He is also mentioned by
Celsus,
Caelius Aurelianus, and
Pliny.
References
Sources
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Polybus
Ancient Koans
4th-century BC Greek physicians