The Birth of Asklepios

Asklepios' life

Koronis was a beautiful princess from Tessaly, daughter of King Phlegyas, for whom Apollon fell wildly in love. He laid with her in the plains and there He placed His seed inside of her, who was mother to a great savior.

But Koronis had a light heart and quickly she lost her interest in Apollon and even before their son had born she had laid with  Iskhus, son of Kaeneus. A crow who be witnessed the crime made haste to Delphi and told Apollon of what happened. Raged and betrayed, Apollon cursed all crows and turned them black for ever. He then sat quietly in pain for a long time, something His sister Artemis found quite strange in the young joyous God.

When the Huntress became aware of what happened She was furious and murdered Koronis with one of Her divine arrows. Apollon was witness to His sister revenge, for He knows all, but He did not react until Koronis body was being burned with their son on her belly. Then, the God took the baby from the dead body and took Him to the centaur Chiron so that he would raise the child. And this was how Asklepios was born to become a great joy for mortal men.

Still in love with the princess, Apollon placed her among the star as the Crow constellation, paying homage to the crows as well for having a sharp eye and repenting for His curse.

Meanwhile, Asklepios grew and learnt the arts of hunting and healing with the centaur. He became a master in healing wounds, a natural talent He inherited from His father, physician of the Gods, and eventually He invented medicine and learnt how to cure numberless diseases. As His knowledge of the human body and medicine grew, He received from Athena, His aunt, blood of the Gorgon which He could use to either kill or heal man, for such is the power of medicine.

Young Asklepios fell in love with Epione, who would later become the Goddess who relives pain, and married her. They had two boys, Makhaon and Podaleirios, who where physicians of the Greeks in Troy, and four daughters, Hygeia, Iaso, Panakeia and Akeso, who would become Goddesses of good health, remedies, cures and the process of healing, respectively.

But the mastership of Asklepios became dangerously big - the prince began to bring back people from Hades and, fearing He would pass this knowledge, Zeus stroke Him with a lightning bolt sending Him to the house from where He had stolen so many souls.

Seeing this, Apollon felt a great pain and, enraged, He killed the three Cyclops who had crafted the bolt to Zeus. The Lord of Olympus was so angry that He would have imprisoned Apollon for ever if His mother, Leto, wouldn't beg at His knees not to do so.

Apollon set His son among the stars, as the constellation of the Serpent Bearer, making Him a deity. And so Asklepios became the God of Medicine and His family Goddesses of Health and Healing, Gods who are not among the Olympians in the shiny mountain, nor dwell in Hades but rather walk among mankind, teaching medicine and relieving from pain. His sons, Makhaon and Podaleirios, taught men the art of medicine, continuing their father's job.

~Miguel

The art is long, life short - Hippocrates