Asclepius

Asclepius, a son of Apollo, was possessed with great skill and knowledge for healing the ill. His reputation grew and people came from far and near to be healed. So grateful were his patients that they gave him many treasures. Before long, the hero they worshipped was considered a god and they built temples in his honor. The remains of the most famous one at Epidaurus can be visited today. (Some say Epidaurus was his birthplace.) Asclepius put beds in these temples, thus creating the first hospitals. (The concept of a hospital disappeared in later centuries; some people went to monasteries when ill but most relied on home cures.)

It wasn't until the early 18th century that King Louis XIV of France built L'Hôtel des Invalides to care for the many wounded veterans of his dreams to expand the French empire. Some veterans still reside at L'Hôtel des Invalides but most of the stucture today is a war museum. (The church at L'Hôtel des Invalides houses the remains of Napolean.)

Asclepius walked everywhere, leaning on a staff entwined with sacred serpents. The ancients considered that serpents knew the secrets of the earth and would tell him causes and cures for diseases. Snakes were also the symbol of renewal, probably because of their ability to shed old skin. They roamed the temples of Asclepius freely. Whenever a new temple was dedicated to him, a sacred snake, representing Asclepius, was brought to the new site from Epidaurus.

His seven children were his assistant physicians and nurses. Hygeia, one of his daughters, washed and scrubbed patients from morning till night. When one noticed how quickly they regained their health, the concept that cleanliness helped the healing process replaced the one that proclaimed that soap and water killed the sick. As with hospitals, this concept too became lost through the centuries. In the early days of our country, people washed at best twice a year. Not until the middle 1800s did the idea that washing one's hands prior to surgery resulted in higher patient survival from the ordeal.

Asclepius grew famous and wealthy. It was said his skills even allowed him to bring the dead back to life. The Fates were angered by this, feeling their work was in vain. Hades also felt he was losing dead souls. Apollo tried to intercede for his son but when Asclepius accepted gold as a reward for restoring a life, Zeus killed him with a thunderbolt.

Nothing remained of the mortal Asclepius but his temples and those teachings that lived on. It was said that the gods placed his image among the stars as a constellation where he could look down upon all whom he had helped.

In 239 BCE Rome was devastated with plague. Messengers were sent to consult the oracle at Delphi, which suggested that one of the snakes be taken from Epidaurus to Rome. Legend says that the creature itself chose an island in the Tiber River as a sanctuary. This island is known today as Tiber Island in English and Isola Tibertina in Italian. The temple no longer exists. Romans also changed the name of the deity to Aesculapius.

Asclepius' staff is somewhat replicated in the caduceus, Mercury's staff and a symbol of medicine.