Tree of Hippocrates

The Tree of Hippocrates stands in the Plateia Platanou (Plane Tree Square) at the heart of Kos Town, beside the entrance to the Castle of the Knights. It is one of the oldest and largest plane trees in Europe — the trunk is enormous, supported by metal scaffolding and a stone wall to keep it upright. The square is pleasant to sit in, shaded by the great canopy.

The adjacent Loggia Mosque (now a museum) is an elegant 18th-century Ottoman building worth a look. Together with the castle entrance directly opposite, the square concentrates more than a thousand years of history in a small area. The tree, despite its debunked Hippocratic connection, remains a pilgrimage site for the medical profession.

things to do sight
A story
The plane tree in Plateia Platanou is celebrated as the tree under which Hippocrates taught his pupils the art of medicine — a legend that collapses under botanical scrutiny since the current tree is about 500 years old and Hippocrates died around 370 BC. The tree has nonetheless become a symbol of medicine internationally: cuttings from it have been planted at medical schools in the United States, Canada, and across Europe as symbolic dedications to the Hippocratic tradition. The adjacent Loggia Mosque, built by the Ottomans in the 18th century, uses the tree's shade rather well.