Asclepius was an ancient Greek God of Medicine and Healing. Born of Apollo and Coronis, he possessed the gift of prophecy.

In Greek Mythology, Asclepius bridged the gap between culture and nature by uniting the material world of the senses with the abstract world of the divine mind. He was prominently worshiped through ancient Greece whilst the most known place of worship was the famous city known as Epidaurus.

The rod of Asclepius is coiled by a snake and is known as the symbol of medicine. He is sometimes accompanied by Hygeia and has a dog at his feet, as these animals were sacred at some of the god’s sanctuaries. He got his medical education from a centaur named Chiron and became the most famous healer among mortals and Olympus itself.

Asclepian healing practice was very different from that of his formidable father. The healing granted by Apollo was swift, coming from afar, abstract, detached, and as sudden as a lightning bolt, since he was a god of healing and a god of punishment. The followers of the path of Asclepius, however, relied heavily on ritual, honored the right time and place, and always paid homage to the earth goddess. Zeus claimed that Asclepius was toying with the balance of the life and death cycle, and thus Asclepius got struck down with a thunderbolt from the almighty god.

After Asclepius's death, Zeus placed his body among the stars as the constellation Ophiuchus only to later be resurrected upon Apollo’s request and given a place on Olympus among other Greek Gods.

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