Kos Island Thermai

Kos Island Thermai is a geothermal hot spring on the island of Kos in the Dodecanese archipelago of the southeastern Aegean, Greece, where oligomineral thermal waters from the volcanic and tectonic geology of the island's eastern coastline emerge into the sea — creating the remarkable phenomenon of naturally warm seawater bathing in an ancient Aegean setting near the ruined remains of what were once the thermal bath facilities of ancient Kos. Kos is one of the most historically significant islands in medicine, as the birthplace of Hippocrates — the ancient Greek physician regarded as the father of Western medicine — whose principles of rational, observation-based healing revolutionized medical thought and whose Asklepion (healing sanctuary) on Kos attracted patients from across the ancient Greek world. Bathing in Kos Island's geothermal waters connects modern visitors to the birthplace of both Western medicine and the therapeutic use of mineral springs, in a tradition of healing by water that Hippocrates himself would have recognized.