From elemental qualities to medication: Hippocratic pharmacological system in classical Greek medicine

While numerous scholars have studied Hippocrates' philosophy, ideas, and oaths, there has been limited research on his pharmacological theories especially combined with clinical medication. This paper extracts and reconstructs a pharmacological system from the extensive corpus of Hippocrates, dividing it into two parts: the first is the philosophical theory of medicine, exploring the natural properties of all things and humans, producing the Four Humors Theory; the second is clinical pharmacology, discussing how to maintain balance to preserve or restore health. The system comprises two major inferences: first, the four elemental qualities form the foundational logic of natural philosophy and the pharmacological essence of medical philosophy; second, the system guides the complementary "regimen therapy" and the "evacuation therapy" based on the underlying logic of the four elemental qualities. Through theoretical construction and practical validation, this reflects ancient Greece's exploration of the relationship between pharmacal practice and medical philosophy during the classical era.