Asclepius
was the son of Koronida and Apollon. In Greek he was called “ipiodoros” which means the one who offers
peace in mind, “ipiodotis” that means the man who offers relief from the pain or “ipiofron” the one who gives love, affection and peace.
As a son of Apollon, the god of the light and the sun, Asclepius symbolized the
virtues of intellectual spirit, the warmth of the soul which was able to
inspire the trust of the diseased, the optimism and the invigoration of the
soul. He also symbolized the terms of hygienic way of living, the air and the
light. He was considered to be supplying people with inner harmony in order to protect them from the diseases of
the body and the mind.
When he was born, Apollon gave him to
the centaur Hiron to grow him up, because Hiron was considered to be the symbol
of eternal wisdom, existing even before the birth of gods. The principle of Asclepius
were purity, respect of your body and of nature generally. His healing
practices were based not only on herbs and ointments, but also on the state of
sleep or joyfulness. But the most essential in this practice was the
cleanliness of the body and venue.
In Aesclepieion some animals were
characterized as sacred. For example, the snake symbolized the regeneration of
the body, after waking up from its hibernation. The most common picture is a
snake coiled round the withe of Asclepius. Another animal that was considered
to be sacred is the dog, which is encountered in Epidavros, in Athens, in
Lyssos, in Levin (Lentas) and in Rome. It was said that the animal had godlike
power, so in a miraculous way it was healing the patient by licking him. It
symbolized faith, intelligence and watchfulness.
According to the ancient historian
Strabon, the most famous Aesclepieia were those in Triki of Thessaly (it is a
possible place of birth for Aesculapius), in Pergamos of Minor Asia, in Kos, in
Titani of Sikion, in Argos, in Athens, in Lyssos and in Levin (Lentas) in
Crete. The Asklepieia were founded and built in open areas that were full of
light and close to healing waters. Light- air- water, were the three basic elements
which symbolized the conditions of preservation of good health and life in
general.
