Asclepius (Ἀσκληπιός)

ESCULAPIO (Ἀσκληκτὸς). - Greek god of medicine. Numerous etymologies have been proposed to explain his name, both from Greek and from Semitic languages; some have also suggested a pre-Hellenic origin.

According to others, E. was an ancient chthonic (subterranean) god who had a cult in a cave near Tricea in Tessaglia, perhaps in the form of a serpent, and there gave oracles. Later it spread to Fecide and Messenia; at Delfi Apollo became the father of E., and at Epidauro the cult of E. acquired considerable importance. Both hypotheses present difficulties. What is certain is that for unknown reasons, whether accidental or created, as has been claimed, by the clever propaganda of the local priests, E. became an important god at Epidauro toward the end of the 6th and the beginning of the 5th century B.C. and spread rapidly. Numerous branches of Epidauro arose in Grecia, in Asia Minore, and in the colonies. After 480 B.C. that of Sicione was founded; in 422 that of Egina; in 420 that of Atene, where the sacred serpent, transported by wagon from Epidauro, was housed in the Eleusinian until the sanctuary below the Acropoli was ready. The branch of Munichia is mentioned in the Pluto of Aristofane; that of Coo seems to date back to the 4th century B.C., while the foundation of the sanctuary of Pergamo, which rose to great fame in the 1st–2nd centuries A.D., is uncertain: the attribution to the 4th century is uncertain. The branches did not harm Epidauro, which always remained the most famous locality. In many places E. replaced and overshadowed preexisting deities: at Epidauro, as already mentioned, Apollo Maleata, whom the oldest inscriptions mention together with E.; at Munichia the gods mentioned in the preparatory sacrifice; at Coo Apollo. It is not known whether the replaced deities were also healing deities, but this seems likely at least for Munichia.

The sanctuaries of E. were called Asclepieia. The center of the cult was the spring sacred to the god, enclosed within the temple, of which it formed the most secret part (adytus). Near the temple were the porticoes intended for the sick and the faithful. The rite of incubation was practiced; after fasts and sacrifices, the sick person was shut in the adytus and spent the night there: the dream he had, interpreted by the priests, decided the treatment, unless the sick person awoke healed. Pausania saw at Epidauro six stelae covered with inscriptions recording the dreams and the healings that had occurred; three of these and fragments of a fourth have been found: they recount instantaneous and miraculous healings and were intended to edify and convince the faithful of the god's power. However, it was not merely a matter of suggestion, charlatanism, or miracle: in the Asclepieia lengthy treatments and surgical operations were performed; they were true and proper places of healing, often in elevated locations with woods and a healthy climate that exerted a beneficial influence on the sick. The priests were not always physicians, but in any case they possessed empirical treatments and prescriptions, often effective, such as, for example, those at Coo against snake bites.

From Podalirio and Macaone, the two sons of E. mentioned in the Iliad, descended the Asclepiadae, famous in the medical art. To the Asclepiadae of Cnido belonged Ippocrate, the father of Greek medicine. Legend knows numerous sons and daughters of E., Panacea, Telesforo, etc.; the best known is Igies, depicted together with her father on numerous votive reliefs.

In honor of E., the Asclepieia festivals were celebrated; at Epidauro the great Asclepieia included hymnic and musical contests. Characteristic among the cults of E. are those of Arcadia with temples dedicated to E. as a child; that of Titano in Argolide, where all medical treatment is lacking and serpents are an object of fear. The cult statue of E. was dressed in a chiton and woolen cloak, while that of Igies was completely covered by the hair that women cut off in her honor.

Following the epidemic of 293 B.C., after consultation of the Sibylline Books, the cult of E. was introduced to Roma: the temple was on the Isola Tiberina and was dedicated on January 1, 189. The sacred serpent, brought from Epidauro, was said to have taken refuge on the island to indicate that the temple was to be built there. Here too incubation was practiced, and the sick expressed their gratitude with inscriptions and votive gifts. The cult of E. did not spread outside Roma: votive inscriptions are rare in Italia and in the western provinces, where Apollo remained above all the healing god.

The ancients depicted E. as a mature, bearded man, with a gentle and benevolent face, at times full of compassion. His attributes were the staff and the serpent.