Asclepius

Asclepius Europe In Greek mythology, the patron of medicine and son of Apollo. He not only cured the sick, but recalled the dead to life. This rare authority over Hades may have derived from the circumstances of his own birth. Koronis, a lake nymph, was impregnated by Apollo, yet dared to take in secret a human being as a second lover. So furious was the god on discovering the infidelity that he sent his sister Artemis to slay Koronis. This she did with a pestilence. When the fire was already blazing round the lake nymph on the funeral pyre, Apollo felt compassion for his unborn son, and removed him from the corpse. In this manner Asclepius came into the world and was taught the art of healing by Chiron, the wisest of the Centaurs, beast-like monsters who dwelt in the woodlands. The success of this instruction was so great that Zeus, fearing lest men might contrive to escape death altogether, killed Asclepius with lightning; but at Apollo's request he placed the medicine god among the stars. His chief temple was at Epidaurus, near Argos, and sacred to him there were serpents—the only species with the power to slough its skin. At Rome the worship of Asclepius was introduced from Greece in 293 BC, for the purpose of averting a plague.