Asclepius

Asclepius
God of medicine, healing, rejuvenation and physicians
AbodeMount Olympus
SymbolSerpent-entwined staff
Personal information
ParentsApollo and Coronis
Siblingshalf-siblings of Asclepius
ConsortEpione
Children
Equivalents
Roman equivalentAesculapius
Etruscan equivalentVejovis
Egyptian equivalentImhotep
Phoenician equivalentEshmun

Asclepius (/æsˈklpiəs/; Greek: Ἀσκληπιός Asklēpiós [asklɛːpiós]; Latin: Aesculapius) is a hero and god of medicine in ancient Greek religion and mythology. He is the son of Apollo and Coronis, or Arsinoe, or of Apollo alone. Asclepius represents the healing aspect of the medical arts; his daughters, the "Asclepiades", are: Hygieia ("Health, Healthiness"), Iaso (from ἴασις "healing, recovering, recuperation", the goddess of recuperation from illness), Aceso (from ἄκεσις "healing", the goddess of the healing process), Aegle (the goddess of good health) and Panacea (the goddess of universal remedy). He has several sons as well. He was associated with the Roman/Etruscan god Vediovis and the Egyptian Imhotep.[1] He shared with Apollo the epithet Paean ("the Healer").[2] The rod of Asclepius, a snake-entwined staff, (similar to the caduceus) remains a symbol of medicine today. Those physicians and attendants who served this god were known as the Therapeutae of Asclepius.

  1. ^ Pinch, Geraldine (1 January 2002). Handbook of Egyptian Mythology. ABC-CLIO. ISBN 9781576072424.
  2. ^ Mitchell-Boyask, p. 141

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