Asclepius - God of Healing
Greek Wicca
Honoring the Gods and Goddesses of old in all new ways!
While Asclepius is not a major player in Greek mythology, he is a pivotal one. He was involved in the voyage of the Argonauts and the Calydonian boar hunt, which put him in the lives of the major heroes of Greek mythology. Asclepius was also a causal figure in the drama played out between Apollo, Death, Zeus and the Cyclops, known to us through Alcestis, by Euripides.
Apollo was no more chaste than any of the other gods. His lovers and would-be lovers included Marpessa, Coronis, Daphne, Arsinoe, Cassandra, Cyrene, Melia, Eudne, Thero, Psamathe, Philonis, Chrysothemis, Hyacinthos and Cyparissos. As a result of their union with Apollo (the brother of the virginal goddess Artemis), most of the women produced sons. One of these sons was Asclepius, although there is debate as to whether his mother was Coronis or Arsinoe. Whoever she was, she didn't live long enough to give birth to her healing god son.
The Creation of Asclepius
Apollo was a jealous god who was mightily displeased when a crow revealed to him that his lover was to marry a mortal, so he punished the messenger by changing the color of the formerly white bird to the now more familiar black. Apollo also directly punished his lover by burning her, although some say it was Artemis who actually disposed of the "faithless" Coronis (or Arsinoe). Before Coronis was completely incinerated, Apollo rescued the infant in her womb from the flames.
The poor, newborn Asclepius needed someone to bring him up, so Apollo thought of the wise centaur Chiron (Cheiron) who seems to have been around forever -- or at least since the time of Apollo's father, Zeus. Chiron was said to have roamed the countryside of Crete when the king of the gods was growing up in hiding from his own father. Chiron was to help train several of the heroes (Achilles, Actaeon, Aristaeus, Jason, Medus, Patroclus and Peleus) and willingly took on the education of Asclepius.
Thus, although Apollo was a god of healing, it wasn't he, but Chiron who taught Apollo's son Asclepius the healing arts. Athena also helped by giving Asclepius the precious blood of the Gorgon Medusa.
The Story of Alcestis
The blood of the Gorgon, given to Asclepius by Athena, was divided into two parts, based on the vein from which it had sprung. The blood from the right side could heal mankind -- even from death, while the blood from the left vein could kill, as Chiron would ultimately experience first hand.
Asclepius grew up to be a capable healer, but after he brought back to life Capaneus and Lycurgus (killed during the war of the Seven Against Thebes), and Hippolytus, son of Theseus, a worried Zeus killed Asclepius with a thunderbolt.
Apollo was enraged, but getting mad at the king of the gods was futile, so he took out his anger on the creators of the thunderbolts, the Cyclops. Zeus, enraged in his turn, was prepared to hurl Apollo to Tartarus, but another god intervened -- possibly Apollo's mother, Leto. Zeus commuted his son's sentence to a year's term as servant to the human King Admetus.
During his term in mortal service, Apollo grew fond of Admetus, a man doomed to die young. Since there was no longer an Asclepius with his Medusa-potion to resurrect the king, Admetus would be gone forever when he died. As a favor, Apollo negotiated a way for Admetus to avoid Death. If someone would die for Admetus, Death would let him go. The only person willing to make this sacrifice was Admetus' beloved wife, Alcestis.
On the day Alcestis was substituted for Admetus and given to Death, Hercules arrived at the palace. He wondered about the display of mourning. Admetus tried to convince him nothing was wrong, but the servants, who missed their mistress, revealed the truth. Hercules set off for the Underworld to arrange for Alcestis' return to life.
The Offspring of Asclepius
When Ascelpius died he left behind progeny to carry on the healing arts. His sons, Machaon and Podalirius, led thirty Greek ships to Troy from the city of Eurytos. It is unclear which of the brothers healed Philoctetes during the Trojan War. Asclepius' daughter was Hygia, goddess of health.
Asclepius' name is also spelled Asculapius and Asklepios.
This page was last updated: June 19, 2021
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