From Asclepius to Hippocrates: the art and science of healing.

It is often valuable and instructive to look back in history to find out how we got where we are today. A colleague of ours recently named his blog “Asclepiad,” referring to the ancient Greek god of medicine, Asclepius. As we looked further into background information on Asclepius—as well as information about the father of medicine, Hippocrates—we found some highly relevant points for readers we would like to share. In literature, the story of Asclepius is presented as myth and that of Hippocrates as fact—as that of a revered man who actually lived roughly 460-377 BCE. According to legend, Asclepius was the son of the Greek god Apollo and Coronis, who herself was the daughter of a Greek king. When Apollo learned from a raven that Coronis had been unfaithful, he struck her down, even though she was pregnant with Asclepius at the time. Feeling pangs of regret, Apollo saved Asclepius by removing him from the womb of Coronis as she burned on the funeral pyre, thus the origin of the name Asclepius, which means “to cut open.” Asclepius was then raised by the centaur Chiron, who educated him in the art of medicine. The Cult of Asclepius Asclepius became so powerful in his ability to heal the sick that he also could raise the dead. Concerned that no more spirits would descend to the underworld, its leader Hades complained about Asclepius to his brother Zeus, who responded by killing Asclepius with a thunderbolt. Asclepius remained highly venerated by his followers, however, and many healing temples, known as asclepeia, were set up throughout ancient Greece. In the ancient world, the focus of medicine was very much spiritual. People would travel from all over to spend time in one of these healing temples. An asclepeion included facilities for drinking water with special properties, water for bathing, gymnasia, space for rituals, and special rooms for dreaming. During these dreams, patients would become aware of what they needed to do to cure themselves of their ailments. They would report the dreams to priests, who then prescribed cures based on their interpretation of the dreams. The presence of dogs and nonvenomous snakes (Aesculapian snakes) was an essential part of the healing process; in fact, both dogs and snakes were present in many temples. Aesculapian snakes are the serpents seen in the “staff of Asclepius,” a universal sign for medicine. © 2014 American Association of Critical-Care Nurses doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.4037/ajcc2014993