To understand the Hippocrates personality quartet one must know that Hippocrates was the father of medicine Hippocrates was a native of Athens in ancient Greece. His mother taught him to read when he was young, and he became a doctor. When he retired as a physician, Hippocrates became very wise. He wrote many books on medicine and became a famous teacher. From these writings we know that he was a great teacher and a very compassionate person.
The four companions along with Hippocrates that traveled with him were: Cebes, his brother Adece, Argus, and Chrysothemis. They traveled for long periods of time and would visit various medical schools. Through all this, one of their closest friends was the Cynic Academic, Aristotle. It was Aristotle that would come to know about the healing skills of Hippocrates, therefore forming the Hippocrates personality quartet.
The quartet also consisted of five doctors. These five men were known as the younger, Stymphalian, Cephalion, Rhoncus and Hippias. They would travel together and bring Hippias new medication that he could use while he was away from home. They would also help Hippias with his problems, such as his fear of an upcoming trip. When Hippias was given the medications that he needed, he would be cured almost immediately.
In addition, the quartet formed an advisory board to Hippocrates. This board provided much input into what type of things Hippocrates would do. They would discuss with the king about what type of medical devices he would make and devise. They would even consult the gods to see if there were any requests that they could make. All of these activities centered around Hippocrates' philosophy of nature. Everything the quartet did was to honor and teach the value of the elements of nature.
The last four physicians that the quartet chose to be their physician assistants were Crantius, Plautus and Marullus. Crantius and Plautus served as assistants to Hippocrates. They helped Hippocrates with his concerns regarding his diet. They would also help him practice his profession by writing him prescriptions. Marullus would act as a mediator when Hippocrates got angry. He would relieve him of some of his duties and make him more comfortable with working with a group of other physicians.
The quartet did not spend very much time consulting with anyone outside of Hippocrates. They just took the person they felt was right for the job and made sure that Hippocrates was happy with them. They did not interfere with a person's career or their happiness. Their roles as the doctors in the Hippocratic group were more functional than having a say in how a person lived their life.
The last member of the Hippocrates personality quartet was Cyprinus. Like Crantius, he also assisted Hippocrates with his concerns regarding his diet. Unlike Crantius, however, he had more than a passing interest in philosophy. His role as a counselor was also important to Hippocrates. This is because the Hippocrates personality quartet was mainly composed of friends that knew him personally.
All the members of the Hippocrates personality quartet knew each other. The quartet was formed as a result of Hippocrates' recommendations. All the members served in the same hospital under the same physician. When one of the members left the group, it didn't mean that the person was replaced. There always existed a replacement waiting in the wings until another member stepped up to fill the void.
The person who eventually became Hippocrates' most reliable confidant was Sthenelaus. Though he wasn't a doctor, Sthenelaus was an educated man who spoke Greek fluently. He had also lived a long and prosperous life himself, so much so that the people around him believed they knew him best because of his longevity. This was due to the fact that Sthenelaus always provided Hippocrates with something that would help their older person's life, even though the Hippocrates personality was not interested in the person's medical knowledge.
When Sthenelaus was asked by Hippocrates what he would want in return for helping the old man, Sthenelaus said nothing. Instead, he wanted a share of Hippocrates' estate. Since this was against the Hippocrates' wishes, Sthenelaus went ahead and arranged for Hippocrates' will to be carried out. This enabled Hippocrates to have peace of mind, but Sthenelaus received a small portion of the estate himself. Though this was a personal gain to him, he did not care as much as the others did that his part in making Hippocrates well was something he was entitled to because of his role as mentor.
In the fourth century BCE, after the death of Hippocrates, his three disciples became rivals. They often criticized and undermined each other, though they respected one another. The four made their points, and the result was that they formed a quartet, each of which contributed something to the cause of Hippocrates. These quartets generally worked together but sometimes split off into smaller groups and took turns trying to solve different problems for Hippocrates. Though they never fully satisfied with what the original group did for Hippocrates, they tried to follow his example.