Douglas Harper's Etymology Dictionary
god of medicine, Latin, from Greek Asklepios, which is of unknown origin.
Wikipedia
Asclepius (; , Asklēpiós ; ) was a hero and god of medicine in ancient Greek religion and mythology. Asclepius represents the healing aspect of the medical arts; his daughters are Hygieia ("Hygiene", the goddess/personification of health, cleanliness, and sanitation), Iaso (the goddess of recuperation from illness), Aceso (the goddess of the healing process), Aglæa/Ægle (the goddess of beauty, splendor, glory, magnificence, and adornment), and Panacea (the goddess of universal remedy). He was associated with the Roman/Etruscan god Vediovis and the Egyptian Imhotep. He was one of Apollo's sons, sharing with Apollo the epithet Paean ("the Healer"). The rod of Asclepius, a snake-entwined staff, remains a symbol of medicine today. Those physicians and attendants who served this god were known as the Therapeutae of Asclepius.
Asclepius may refer to:
- Asclepius, the Greek god of medicine and healing
- Asclepius of Tralles, an Alexandrian scholar
- 4581 Asclepius, an asteroid
- Asclepius, a text in the Corpus Hermeticum ( Hermetica)
- A town in Pontus, now İskilip, Turkey.
- An Argonaut
- Asklepios Kliniken, German private hospitals group
All of these can be spelled Asklepios or Asclepios, and the Latin for the god is Aesculapius.
Asclepius is the sixth tragedy ( lyric ) of Angelos Sikelianos and the only one that was unfinished. It was partially written between 1915 and the end of the poet's life in 1951. It was published in 1955.
The main plot takes place in late antiquity Greece which is under the apparent influence of Rome, as well as during the first years of Christianity, in the 4th century AD, and follows the struggle of sick athlete Igesias to get well – by putting his hopes on Asclepius and his sanctuary in Epidaurus. The scenery (the Asklepieion of Epidaurus and the cults relating to the treatment of illnesses and human health at a time when new -Christian- ideas are emerging) clearly reflects the intention of Sikelianos to talk about a time of conflict between two major traditions (the Greek and the Christian spirit) and their final reconciliation and synthesis –in the work. The character of Igesias (leadership) (a symbol -with a proper name for the political events occurring during the last editing of the work; both as a concept for the people and also the poet) is carrying within the purity of the ancient ideals, but also embraces the Christian beliefs, proceeding to a blending of the two worldviews.
In this way, the improvement of the health of Igesias (meaning that of the people) will be made possible through those changes that the people will willingly accept and implement (in everyday life) aiming at their spiritual progress, rebirth and its treatment of the disease. At the same time, the soul of the poet Igesias - is cured from all personal passions and problems and he finds Health (healing as a principle is apparent throughout text that has been salvaged to date), a meeting that is affecting the situation (and the desire for treatment) of the poet in the final period of writing of the play: Sikelianos is ill and is gradually unable to leave his sickbed (the end is not far away). Therefore, the redemption of the soul of Igesias which will be the salvation for the poet, is the salvation of his own soul.
The connection with ancient Greek tragedy is once again present. It has been suggested that Igesias – who comes from Argos – be identified with the "sick" Orestis of the ancient drama, who also comes from Argos (many schemes and elements of the tragedy of Sikelianos, especially those relevant to Igesias, - the illness that he has which is a result of a mental illness - the therapy through sleep and dreams that are directly suggestive of what we would in ancient drama call "correspondences" and "ideals").
Usage examples of "asclepius".
Followed by Pluto, he lurches past the blurred pictures of the benefactors Asclepius, Sauerbruch, Paracelsus, and Virchow.
Not even Daedalus, not even Hephaestus or divine Asclepius, could extract a god-Face from inside a human head without killing the avatar.
They are with the healer Asclepius, and although they have sworn allegiance in return for their lives, I will never trust them.
You make a step forward by cultivating wisdom, strength, temperance, and justice, and finally you arrive at acquiring the purifying virtues: we try to separate the soul from the body, we learn to evoke the godsnot to speak of the gods, as the other philosophers did, but to act upon them, causing rains to fall through a magic sphere, setting amulets against earthquakes, testing the divinatory powers of tripods, animating statues to obtain oracles, summoning Asclepius to heal the sick.
Hammond and Griffin, likening one to Asclepius and the other to Hippocrates, while not failing to make any number of cautiously favorable remarks about every other Doctor who had come within a hundred yards of the King during the last month.