Hippocrates is on trial today

Following highly-acclaimed successes with The NHM Trials of Socrates, Antigone, and The Parthenon Marbles, the National Hellenic Museum once again partners with prominent judges and attorneys to take on another case with ancient roots and modern consequences – The NHM Trial of Hippocrates.

The Case: Hippocrates, the father of medicine, was called to the bedside of the dying King of Thebes. The physician saw immediately that nothing could cure this illness. The King offered the physician a herd of horses for his care, which Hippocrates accepted, offering a potion for fever. The fever subsided, replaced by boils. Once again, Hippocrates said there was nothing to do, yet the King demanded treatment. Gold was given for a salve. Vineyards and a villa offered for a potion. Despite treatments, the King grew worse and died.  Hippocrates was arrested and brought before the King’s son and heir. Hippocrates had sworn to “help the sick . . . but never with a view to injury and wrong-doing.”

The National Hellenic Museum asks: Did Hippocrates violate his own Oath?

Attendees of The NHM Trial of Hippocrates will experience the court in the style of ancient Athens, for one night only, with a modern twist featuring the non-scripted wit of dynamic legal arguments, as professional lawyers debate whether the great Greek physician Hippocrates is guilty of violating his oath when administering medical care to the dying King of Thebes. 

Andrea Darlas, an award-winning Radio and Television News Anchor and Reporter at WGN Radio and WGN-TV, will open the trial as the Moderator and Dr. Peter Angelos, Associate Director of the MacLean Center for Clinical Medical Ethics at the University of Chicago, will serve as the Expert Witness.

Members of the 2019 jury include George Bellas, Senior Partner, Bellas & Wachowski, Attorneys at Law; Darby Dickerson, Dean, The John Marshall Law School; Michael L. Galaty, Director, University of Michigan Museum of Anthropological Archaeology; Hal R. Morris, Partner and Deputy General Counsel, Saul Ewing Arnstein & Lehr LLP; Constance Stavropoulos Palas, Vice President & Associate Counsel, Calamos Investments; Leon Platanias, Director, Robert H Lurie Comprehensive Cancer Center; Emily Reusswig, Executive Director, Chicago Cultural Alliance; Leah Rippe, Vice President, Marketing & Communications, Brookfield Zoo; Herm Schneider, Head Athletic Trainer-Emeritus, Chicago White Sox Baseball Club; Kris Swanson, Vice President and Forensic Services Practice Leader, Charles River Associates; Terri E. Weaver, PhD, RN, FAAN, ATSF, Dean and Professor, University of Illinois at Chicago College of Nursing; and Dr. Athanasios Zervas, Associate Professor, University of Macedonia Thessaloniki Greece.

Presiding over The NHM Trial of Hippocrates will be U.S. District Judge Charles P. Kocoras (presiding), U.S. Court of Appeals Judge William J. Bauer, U.S. District Judge Sharon Johnson Coleman and Cook County Circuit Judge Anna H. Demacopoulos, while the counsel will include Robert A. Clifford of Clifford Law Offices, Patrick M. Collins of King & Spalding, Tinos Diamantatos of Morgan, Lewis & Bockius LLP, Christina Faklis Adair of the Cook County's State Attorney's Office, former U.S. Attorney Patrick J. Fitzgerald of Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom and former U.S. Attorney Dan K. Webb of Winston & Strawn.