random bit about Hippocrates

Apollo, the god of healing, fell in love with a human, Coronis. In his absence, Apollo sent a white crow to look after her. When the crow informed Apollo that Coronis loved another man, Apollo's rage turned the crow black.

To avenge her brother, Apollo's sister shot Coronis with an arrow and, as she lay dying, Coronis told Apollo that she was bearing his child. Although Apollo could not save Coronis, he rescued the unborn child, Asclepius. Hygieia, the goddess of health, and Panacea, the goddess of cures, are the daughters of Asclepius.

According to legend, Hippocrates was a descendent of one of Asclepius' sons.

I find it very interesting that a lot of words in our modern languages are based on names of goddesses. Fortuna bears the roots of the word fortune while the word panacea is unchanged both in meaning and form.

In my own native tongue (Sanskritic Hindi) this tendency is much more prevalent possibly due to absence of Christianity or late arrival of monotheism in the area. As I was telling a friend a few days back the word for power is actually name of a goddess and is of feminine gender. Male acquire power by worshipping the goddess. Shakti, the goddess, is power itself, that incarnates herself in every woman.

But that is only one observation I have made from the above note on Greek paganist roots to modern medicine. I would follow up with other notes later...