Those who make peaceful revolution impossible
will make violent revolution inevitable.
John F. Kennedy
Asklepios
Asklepios is one of the few Greek mortals who were made into Gods. He is given the parantage of Apollo and the nymph Coronis. Raised by Cheiron the Centaur, He was taught the healing herbs and their ways. Fearing Asklepios would make mankind immortal, Zeus killed Him with a thunderbolt.
His cult originated in Thessaly, but He was not represented as an God until Post-Homeric times. In the Ilyiad, Homer refers to Asklepios as a great healer among men, but not a immortal. Corinth is one of the known cities that has a shrine dedicated to Him. The sick went to His temples for health and healing. The petitioners were treated to massages and mineral baths, and slept in the sacred hall called the "abaton". The God was supposed to appear, either in person or in the form of His sacred animals...the snake and the dog. The Priests were oftentimes healers themselves, and accepted offerings on the God's behalf. Those who were healed often left votives in the form of the anatomy that was healed (such as a leg or finger). All healing was left to the God, the priests did not take part in anything.
Asklepios is represented as a bearded man in his prime, and is holding a staff with a snake entwined about it. Originally the staff belonged to Hermes, the messanger God, but it was given to Asklepios. Today, this staff is the symbol of healing and medicine.
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