The ideas, decisions and actions we take today shape our tomorrow. The same can be said of our past. Globally, our history has shaped the development of the political, economic and philosophical system we have today. One of the story's biggest influences comes from ancient Greece and a man named Hippocrates. Hippocrates, an ancient Greek physician and philosopher, practiced and taught medicine to his students. His philosophies and practices influenced the development of modern Western medicine. Hippocrates (c. 460-377 BC) was born on the Aegean island of Cos, Greece. He learned his medical practices from his father, Heraclides, and the ancient Greek physician Herodicus of Selymbria. Like many great Greek names of the time, Hippocrates was thought to come from the gods. He was considered a descendant of Asclepius, the god of medicine. Two important creations of Hippocrates have sustained the greatest influence on the history of medicine. The peak of his career was during the Peloponnesian War (431-404 BC), where his healing tactics helped the Athenian warriors ("Hippocrates", 1998). He wrote the first complete medical books, called the Hippocratic Corpus, a collection of about 70 different works describing his medical theories and practices (“Hippocrates,” 1998). He also created the Hippocratic Oath, a document that outlines the ethics and morals of medicine. Although not in their original form, both the Hippocratic Corpus and the Hippocratic Oath are used today. During commencement, graduating medical students in the United States recite a modernized version of the Hippocratic Oath. This oath supports doctors in respect of the medical code of ethics, allowing the patient to receive the best medical care possible. The source...... half of the document ......ame=Reference&limiter=&currPage=&disableHighlighting=true&displayGroups=&sorBy =&search_within_results=&p=BIC1&action=e&catId=GALE%CAAA000042732&activityType=&scanId=&documentId=GALE%7CK131003056&source= Bookmark&u=inspire&jsid=82777b3dd9b1d79c27e5b69abba89e4eJones, M. C. (1909 ). The Hippocratic Oath. The American Journal of Nursing, 9(4). 256-260. doi:10.2307/3403543 Miles, S. H. (2005). The Hippocratic Oath and the ethics of medicine. Oxford: Oxford University Press.Orfanos, C.E. (2007). From Hippocrates to modern medicine. Journal of the European Academy of Dermatology and Venereology, 21(6), 852-858. doi:10.1111/j.1468-3083.2007.02273.x8Shi, L., Singh, D. A. (2013). Essentials of the US healthcare system. Burlington: Jones & Bartlett Learning Willyard, C. (2011). Lifestyle: Breaking the Cancer Habit. Nature, 471(7339), S16-S17. doi:10.1038/471S16a