ÆSCULA′PIUS, the god of physic, was a son of Apollo. He was physician
to the Argonauts in their famous expedition to Colchis. He became so
noted for his cures that Pluto became jealous of him, and he requested
Jupiter to kill him with a thunderbolt. To revenge his son’s death
Apollo slew the Cyclops who had forged the thunderbolt. By his
marriage with Epione he had two sons, Machaon and Podalirus, both
famous physicians, and four daughters, of whom Hygeia, the goddess of
health, is the most renowned. Many temples were erected in honour of
Æsculapius, and votive tablets were hung therein by people who had been
healed by him; but his most famous shrine was at Epidaurus, where,
every five years, games were held in his honour. This god is variously
represented, but the most famous statue shows him seated on a throne
of gold and ivory. His head is crowned with rays, and he wears a long
beard. A knotty stick is in one hand, and a staff entwined with a
serpent is in the other, while a dog lies at his feet.
“Thou that dost Æsculapius deride,
And o’er his gallipots in triumph ride.”