The Asclepieion of Kos: The Garden of Hippocrates blooms 2,500 years later (photos)

It’s Sunday afternoon, September 14, and the prima is mounting down the timeless rocks that carnivore witnesser to the agelong past of Kos — the land wherever Hippocrates was born, practiced medicine, and wherever the world’s archetypal Asclepieion is located.

In an ambiance of solemn awe, nary 1 could fell their emotion astatine this ambitious travel that is opening anew done the herbs and plants blessed by the Father of Western Medicine. “The Garden of Life” of Hippocrates, arsenic it is called, aims to reintroduce each the herbs discovered by the Father of Medicine and to pave the mode for reconnecting Hippocrates with his land — which has the imaginable to instrumentality to the planetary forefront.

The unsocial Hippocratic botanical plot created by “Ikos Aria” successful Kos seeks not lone to reconstruct Hippocratic symbolism to the halfway of attraction but besides to make a vibrant taste and acquisition abstraction done a uncommon experiential brushwood that has already drawn planetary interest.

This is simply a large-scale task to which a squad of scientists, archaeologists, botanists, and taste figures contributed — a important taste lawsuit that puts Kos backmost successful the spotlight, inviting authoritative bodies to follow.

The Island of Ancient Medicine

Perhaps it’s the vigor of Kos, 1 of the astir beauteous islands of the Aegean, with its bluish winds mingling with the scents of herbs blooming erstwhile again. Perhaps it’s the timing that brings the Father of Western Medicine backmost to halfway stage. Either way, everything seems to beryllium regaining a mislaid harmony.

By foregrounding its taste individuality and aiming to reconstruct Kos arsenic the land of Ancient Medicine to the planetary stage, a radical of visionaries from “Ikos Aria,” supported by scientists from assorted fields, acceptable retired to make the perfect Garden of Hippocrates and marque it accessible to the nationalist done technology.

Visitors, with their mobile phones successful hand, tin scan the herbs successful Hippocrates’ “Garden of Life” and perceive to audio guides detailing the past of each works and the Nymphs that inspired their names.

With this app — narrated by Hippocrates and the Nymph Flora (Latin for “flora”) — visitors are guided done the plot successful an informative yet entertaining way. It presents the healing properties of the herbs, the halfway principles of Hippocratic Medicine, and the past customs and myths intimately tied to them.

However, the task doesn’t halt astatine the garden. Its broader purpose is to reconstruct the prominence of Hippocrates’ fig and teachings — a antheral who connected medicine with philosophy.

The authoritative presumption of the caller plot astatine “Ikos Aria” took spot connected Sunday, September 14, with the information of the project’s contributors, representatives of section authorities, and distinguished guests.

The lawsuit was a solemnisation of civilization and sustainability, highlighting the adjacent narration betwixt the Sani/Ikos Group and the island, and bringing unneurotic antithetic organizations, specified arsenic the International Hippocratic Foundation, that tin enactment this initiative.

The Garden of Life

Hippocrates’ “Garden of Life” hosts dozens of herbs and plants utilized successful Hippocratic Medicine. The plants are organized thematically, inspired by mythological figures, past heroes, and healing traditions.

Pomegranate, myrtle, savory, laurel, fig, chaotic rose, almond, juniper, chaotic olive, stone samphire, tamarisk, chaste tree, and galore much Hippocratic medicinal herbs instrumentality halfway signifier successful a travel that highlights humanity’s heavy transportation with quality and healing.

The Seven Corners

The plot is divided into 7 “corners” (a fig with magical properties successful the past world), each inspired by figures that played a relation successful the signifier of healing, linking mythology with doctrine and regular life.

These are the corners of Persephone, Athena, Aeneas, Panacea, Daphne, Aphrodite, and the sons of Asclepius. Through this experiential tour, visitors research myths, history, and the healing traditions of the past world.

By reviving the value of Hippocrates and the healing individuality of Kos, “Ikos Aria” seems to respire caller beingness into the long-standing imaginativeness of the island’s International Hippocratic Foundation: to make an planetary halfway guided by Hippocrates, encouraging gatherings, hosting conferences that bring unneurotic doctors and scientists from astir the world, and introducing the nationalist to the secrets of past medicine.

Located eastbound of the Asclepieion and conscionable disconnected the roadworthy connecting it to the town, the International Hippocratic Foundation has established a tiny depository with Hippocrates’ pharmacy, explaining each the secrets of Hippocratic Medicine. It besides houses authentic editions of Hippocratic texts from the 17th century.

(Hippocrates’ pharmacy astatine the International Hippocratic Foundation, featuring fruits and dried parts of herbs)

Why Hippocrates

Born connected the land of Kos astir 460 BC, Hippocrates was not by accidental the top healer and doc of antiquity.

Kos was already location to the Asclepieion, which inactive impresses visitors contiguous with its imposing scale, dominating the land arsenic its signature landmark. Hippocrates descended from the distinguished Asclepiads — the priest-physicians of Asclepius connected Kos — who were renowned for their aesculapian knowledge.

There is besides a mythological kinship connecting Hippocrates to the demigod Heracles, the quintessential deity of spot who relieved humans of their burdens — conscionable arsenic Hippocrates relieved humanity of illness.

On this island, with its unsocial vigor and its fertile, benevolent atmosphere, the antheral who would alteration medicine into a subject archetypal saw the airy of day. That is why, to this day, physicians upon graduation curse an oath successful his name.

In antiquity, medicine and healing were approached holistically, encompassing some psyche and body. As a result, Hippocrates’ sanction became straight associated with philosophy.

A modern of Plato, Hippocrates’ sanction appears doubly successful the Platonic dialogues: archetypal successful Protagoras, wherever Socrates tries to person a young antheral to question to Kos to larn the secrets of medicine, and aboriginal successful Phaedrus, wherever Hippocrates is cited arsenic the 1 who teaches radical the secrets of medicine and healing done an knowing of earthy phenomena.

He was the archetypal to abstracted medicine from superstition, linking it not lone to doctrine but besides to rational knowing and practice. He himself wrote that “the doc who is besides a philosopher is adjacent to the gods,” emphasizing the human-centered quality of science, the fluidity of knowledge, and the principles that physicians indispensable respect — elements that are intelligibly reflected successful his oath.

Also a Surgeon

Even though immoderate person questioned the authenticity of the Hippocratic Oath, its principles are straight tied to Hippocratic ethics.

His pioneering enactment profoundly influenced the improvement of technological medicine done the ages, and its symbolic powerfulness remains immense.

Among the findings of the Asclepieion of Kos, the celebrated surgical toolkit with 24 instruments stands out, proving that galore of the secrets of country were already known to Hippocrates and his successors.

Ancient inscriptions discovered connected the tract besides uncover that the Asclepieion was granted pan-Hellenic designation of its rights to “asylia” (asylum) and “ekecheiria” (truce) during the large celebrations of the Lesser and Greater Asclepieia festivals. These festivals progressive sacrifices, philharmonic performances, and diversion games.

It is nary coincidence that Asclepius remained a revered deity adjacent aft Christianization, with busts of Hippocrates occupying salient places successful households arsenic protectors par excellence.

The Next Steps

For each these reasons, the institutions of Kos, unneurotic with “Ikos Aria” and the International Hippocratic Foundation, person taken connected the ngo of bringing Hippocrates backmost to the halfway of attention.

With respect for nature, religion successful the island’s inherent strengths, and a absorption connected sustainability, their adjacent extremity is for authoritative authorities bodies — specified arsenic the Ministry of Culture — to articulation the effort.

“For us, sustainability means supra each respect — for quality and for the places that big us. The ‘Garden of Life’ astatine Ikos Aria is simply a surviving monument to Hippocrates, linking the healing contented of the past with today’s experiential reality.
It was created to inspire, to educate, and to grant the values of the aesculapian contented of the Father of Western Medicine, who was calved connected the land of Kos and whose bequest continues to interaction lives astir the world,”
said Ms. Eleni Andreadi, ESG Senior Director of the Sani/Ikos Group, astatine the inauguration of the botanical garden.

“We invitation our guests astatine Ikos Aria to link with the spot and its history, and to observe the doctrine of Hippocrates, which, 2,500 years later, remains much applicable than ever.”

The instauration of the “Garden of Life” is portion of the Sani/Ikos Group’s Ikos Green sustainable improvement program, which focuses connected biology protection, preserving Mediterranean biodiversity, and promoting authenticity and taste development.

The authoritative presumption of the “Garden of Life” took spot with the information of the project’s contributors, the politician of Kos, Theodosis Nikitaras, distinguished guests, and members of the section community.

Among the guests were:

• Christos Zerefos, Emeritus Professor of the University of Athens, Secretary General of the Academy of Athens, and Director of the Research Center for Atmospheric Physics and Climatology;
• Stelios Zerefos, architect-engineer, who designed the plot unneurotic with scenery designer Eva Papadimitriou;
• Irini Vallianatou, botanist and student of Hippocratic Medicine, who, unneurotic with Nikos and Niki Koutsianas, founders of Apivita, Symbeeosis, and the Hippocrates for Life organization, curated the Hippocratic biodiversity of the garden;
• and the squad of Professor Giannis Ioannidis from the Department of Informatics and Telecommunications of the University of Athens, who created the acquisition app “Educating Flora.”

(The world prof Christos Zerefos, the architect-engineer Stelios Zerefos, and the ESG Senior Director of the Sani/Ikos Group, Eleni Andreadi)

The lawsuit was besides attended by the “Diazoma” Association, represented by its Secretary General, Professor of Classical Archaeology Vassilis Lambrinoudakis, who ensured the technological accuracy of the contented of the app, arsenic good arsenic Dr. Nikos Papantoniou, President of the International Hippocratic Foundation.

Highly informative guided tours were offered by archaeologist Anastasia Vassiliou successful Greek, portion writer Helene Smith from The Guardian, who covered the event, enjoyed a circuit successful fluent English. Writer, museologist, and archaeologist Katerina Servi was connected manus to reply questions and clarify immoderate doubts.

Together, we had the accidental to bask a repast inspired by the Hippocratic tradition, prepared with herbs from the “Garden of Life” astatine Ikos Aria — an innovative edifice radical with an planetary beingness and resorts successful Mediterranean coastal destinations.

A pioneer successful sustainable tourism, the Sani/Ikos Group has developed an ambitious sustainability strategy (ESG) and is simply a subordinate of the United Nations Global Compact for businesses.

The adjacent steps impact Ikos Aria’s enactment for the International Hippocratic Foundation of Kos, guided by the Hippocratic worldview, with the purpose of restoring its symbolic prestige done the instauration of caller Hippocratic centers connected the island.