This volume investigates the evolution of medical theory and practice in ancient Greece from the Homeric era through the Hellenistic period. James Longrigg, a scholar of ancient science, compiles and analyzes primary source texts to demonstrate how Greek medicine transitioned from supernatural explanations to empirical, rational observation. The book provides a structured framework for understanding the intellectual shift that laid the foundation for Western medical tradition.

Scholars and students of medical history frequently cite this work as a reliable, foundational source book for primary texts. The prose is noted for its academic rigor and its utility in providing direct access to the foundational documents of ancient Greek medical thought.