Asclhpios

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Asclhpios
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• Who was Asklepios?
• Homer originally related to Asklepios as a
  mortal blameless physician in 900 BC
• It was not until the 5th to 4th century BCE that
  Asklepios was deified by the mythic odes of
  Pindar and Hesiod

• He became the mythical God of healing
• During the 4th century the cult of Asklepios
  spread throughout the Greek world. Epidauros was
  claimed as the birthplace of Asklepios

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The Homeric Asklepios

• He is considered to be a heroic mortal and not a
  God
• He was a skillful local physician of Trikka in
  Thessaly, which later became the oldest home of
  his cult

• His sons Machaon and Podaleirios appear in the
  Iliad not as sons of a god but craftsmen skilled
  in the art of healing

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The Diefied Asklepios

• According to Hesiod (700 BC)
• Apollo was in love with Coronis
• Apollo kills Coronis for her unfaithfulness with
  Ischys
• Asklepios is saved by Apollo while still in
  mothers womb
• Asklepios learns the art of medicine where he
  becomes a god and hero

http//home.att.net/hagardorn/epidaurus.htm
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The bottom left relief depicts a patient and his
family approaching the Medical Gods of Asklepios
and his children Hygieia, Machaon, Podaleirios,
Akeso, Iaso, and Panakeia
Votive relief from Tyrea, in Argolis (370 BC)
http//www.perseus.tufts.edu/cgi-bin/imbrow
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Cult of Asklepios

• The Asklepian cult came to be located in
  Epidauros as well as in Athens, Pergamon and Kos
• From the Asklepieion of Epidauros, the cult
  spread to Athens and the rest of the Greco-Roman
  world

• Right Epidauros
• Left Sanctuary

http//home.att.net/hagardorn/epidaurus.html http
//www.bowdoin.edu/dept/clas/arch201/sanctuaries/k
os.temple.remains.html
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Part of the complex of buildings comprising the
shrine of Asklepios on the south slope of the
Acropolis http//nimbus.ocis.temple.edu/jsiegel/s
ites/athens/South20Slope/9804.htm
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The sanctuaries of Asklepios are always
associated with healing powers of sacred springs.
The water supposedly carried the blessings of
the earth spirits.

• This is a spring and shrine of Asklepios in the
  Acropolis, Athens

http//www.sacredsites.com/final40/181.html
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Healing Rituals of Asklepian Cult

• A patient in pursuit of a cure came to the
  Asklepieion with offerings of honey cakes at
  altar
• The patient would then drink and bath in the
  sacred waters
• Then the patient was induced to sleep in silence
  because it was believed that Asklepios cured the
  sick in dreams
• During the dream, Asklepios or his snakes would
  give them clues in regards to healing their
  ailments
• His staff symbolized the tree of life and the
  coiling snake represented the healing powers of
  the earth

• Porphyrius, De abstinentia ii.19
• http//www.ama-assn.org/sci-pubs/msjama/articles/
  vol_281/no_5/jms90003.htm

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• Entrance at Temple of Kos
• Picture shows a pot of milk being warmed and
  snakes surrounding altar

http//historyproject.ucdavis.edu/imageapplication
/Images.cfm?MajorGRMinorA
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• Votive relief of Archinos (370 BC)
• The healing god Asklepios appears to the dreamer
  to cure him

http//historyproject.ucdavis.edu/imageapplication
/Images.cfm?MajorGRMinorA
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• Portico at Epidauros
• The patient recieves a dream message from
  Asklepios

http//historyproject.ucdavis.edu/imageapplication
/Images.cfm?MajorGRMinorA
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• Patient is brought to holy tree to tempt snake to
  lick the wounds

http//historyproject.ucdavis.edu/imageapplication
/Images.cfm?MajorGRMinorA
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Votives from the Asklepieion

• These votives represented the a patients ailment
  and their thanks for the cure

http//historyproject.ucdavis.edu/imageapplication
/Images.cfm?MajorGRMinorA
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• These are terracotta votives from the Asklepieion
  at Corinth

http//ablemedia.com/ctcweb/consortium/demandgreek
cures.html
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The Symbolism Behind the Snake

• The symbol of the snake has been a paradox
• The Bible illustrates the snake as the evil arch
  enemy of man (Genesis 3 1-16)
• However, the serpent of brass made by Moses
  cures the ailing Jews in Numbers 21 9
• The serpent becomes a magical creature amongst
  the ancient Greeks and Romans
• Asklepios adopts the snake as a symbol for
  healing

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• The brazen serpent is depicted here by
  Michelangelo

• http//216.33.240.250/cgi-bin/linkrd?_langENlah
  0d0ee08f5f26ebe4c6527c6e57ef53c8lat986492500hm_
  __actionhttp3a2f2fwww2ekfki2ehu2f7earthp2
  fart2f

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Asklepian Connections

• Demeter was also seen as a healing deity
• Both Asklepios and Demeter were symbolized by
  snakes
• In addition, they both used the poppy seed for
  its curative properties

http//srd.yahoo.com/goo/demeterandsnakes/9/htt
p//www.cybercomm.net/grandpa/demeterx.html
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Asklepios Comes to Rome

• From the 3rd century BC and onwards, the Greek
  world fell into Roman hands. As a result,
  Asklepios becomes increasingly popular and even
  becomes threatening to Christianity and other
  religions

http//www.harlanjberk.com/departments/antq/page1/
Asklep.htm
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• from an ivory diptych, 5th century AD
• http//www.britannica.com/eb/art?id9293typeA
  Asclepius

• Etching of 2nd century Roman sature of Asklepios
  currently in the Uffizi, Florence
• http//www.ama-assn.org/sci-pubs/msjama/articles/v
  ol_281/no_5/jms90003.htm

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http//www.signalz.com/dionart/sama.htm