The myth of Asclepius, god of medicine

The myth of Asclepius, or Aesculapius for the Romans, not only tells us about the god of medicine, but also about an entire family dedicated to the arts of healing. Although almost all the gods had some healing power, Asclepius was the one who best mastered this knowledge, to the point of having the power to resurrect the dead.

The myth of Asclepius is believed to be based on legend of an Egyptian character called Imhotep. This character lived about 2,000 years before the myth of the Greek god took shape. He was a scholar who is considered the father of modern medicine and the first to practice this profession as such.

Imhotep was the author of an extensive pharmacological recipe book and, as far as is known, the first human being to describe clinical cases from a rational and non-magical perspective.

He even used opioids as anesthetics and made the first known anatomical descriptions. It is believed that the myth of Asclepius was inspired by this real-life character.

The origin of the myth of Asclepius

As is common among the Greeks, there are several versions of the myth of Asclepius. The best known indicates that this character He was the son of the god Apollo ruler of the sun and the arts, and of a mortal named Coronis or Coronis.

Coronis is described as a woman of great beauty. She was so beautiful that she stole the heart of the god Apollo, who fell at her feet when he saw her.

The story goes that They came together near a lake and, to achieve this, the god had to become a swan.. Coronis became pregnant.

After this, Apollo had to return to Delphi, but he ordered a white raven to take care of his wife while he was away. However, taking advantage of the god’s absence, Coronis became the lover of a warrior named Isquis.. The crow realized this and quickly flew to tell his master about him.

On the way he met a crow and it warned him that it was not a good idea to bring bad news, but the crow ignored her. Apollo was completely shocked. In the midst of his anger, he cursed the bird and condemned it forever to wear black plumage. Since then it was considered a “bird of bad omen.”

Asclepius, a brilliant boy

The myth of Asclepius tells that Apollo went to where Coronis was and, full of anger, shot one of his arrows at her, piercing the woman’s chest. When he saw her die, the god repented and tried to revive her, but it was too late. He then carried her to the funeral pyre. Thus, when Coronis’s body was consumed by fire, Apollo decided to take the son out of her womb.

Such a son was Asclepius and Apollo decided to entrust their upbringing and education to Chiron, the healing centaur. In this way, the boy grew up under the tutelage of a teacher who knew the healing arts in depth. Thus, from an early age, he became familiar with medicinal plants and treatment techniques.

Asclepius had so many healing abilities that he even learned to resurrect the dead. This aroused the wrath of Zeus, who thought it was a danger to reverse the condition of mortals. So, using a Cyclops, he sent a thunderbolt and killed Asclepius.

Zeus

A revered god

Apollo, enraged by the murder of his son, killed the Cyclops who had executed Zeus’s plan. Then, using his powers, he got Asclepius reached Olympus and became a god. Since then, many mortals began to worship him and implore his favor when they needed help with an illness.

The death of Asclepius also caused great virtues to develop in the family that he had left on Earth. In this way, his wife, Epione, acquired the power to calm the pain. Her daughter, Hygea, became the symbol of health prevention.

Panacea, another of her daughters, became synonymous with the treatment; Telesphorus became the symbol of convalescence and Machaón and Podalirio became the protectors of doctors and surgeons.

Hippocrates was later said to be a descendant of Asclepius.; The insignia of this god, a snake entangled in a rod, became the universal symbol of medicine.

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