INTRODUCTION

In a well-known passage from the Hippocratic Epidemics, the doctor's duties are succinctly characterised as follows:

The principle that the doctor is there to help, to refrain from anything that may be harmful, and to use his skill and knowledge and all the relevant information about the disease and the patient in order to assist the patient in his battle against the disease is an idea that frequently recurs in Greek medicine. It is succinctly summarised here in the words ‘to help, or to do no harm’ (ὠφελεĩν ἢ μἠ βλάπτειν), a formula which is often quoted or echoed both in the Hippocratic Corpus and in later Greek and Roman medical literature.

This formula is interesting in that it reflects an early awareness of the possibility that medical treatment can also cause harm. The Hippocratic Oath, which explicitly mentions the well-being of the patient as the doctor's guiding principle, understands this ‘causing harm’ in the sense of deliberately terminating a person's life or otherwise purposively causing disadvantage to his or her situation.