Sherwin-White Susan M. Ancient Cos: An Historical Study from the Dorian Settlement to the Imperial Period

Vandenhoeck und Ruprecht, 1978. — 579 p.Cos (or Kos) was a city of ancient Greece on the island of the same name. The Minoans settled on the island around the 14th century BC, followed by the Achaeans and, a few centuries later, the Dorians came and built the ancient city of Kos. The Persians conquered the island of Kos during the 5th century BC but were defeated by the Athenians who took control of the island during the battle of Salamin. 460 BC is the year during which Hippocrates, the father of Medicine and founder of the first School of Medicine, was born. After his death in 357, the inhabitants of Kos built the sanctuary of Asklepeion honoring Hippocrates and the god Asklepios. It was used as a hospital, welcoming patients from all over the Mediterranean, with doctors who applied the therapeutic methods of Hippocrates. During the Peloponnesian War (431-404 BC), Kos was an ally of Athens. That is why the island had to pay a high tribute when the Spartans invaded it in 411 BC. In 394 BC, Kos became again an ally with Athens and democracy was introduced on Kos. This period was characterized by cultural, educational and economic growth. In 335 BC, the island of Kos became a part of the Macedonian Empire. After the death of Alexander the Great, his successors the Ptolemies took control of the island and of the rest of the Dodecanese. Kos became a part of the Eastern colony of the Roman Empire after 82 BC.