Talk:Asclepius

Asklepios or Asclepius?
I think this article would be better moved to Asklepios. It is better to have a transliteration of the Greek (Asklepios), rather than an anglicisation of a Latin transliteration (Aesculapius). The form Asklepios would also aid readers who are not aware of the proper pronunciation. As such I propose moving this article to Asklepios. BodvarBjarki (talk) 15:15, 21 July 2009 (UTC)


 * The standard naming guideline for the English Wikipedia is the most common English name, which is Asclepius.--Prosfilaes (talk) 08:50, 20 October 2010 (UTC)


 * Newbie here, sorry. I think I put my comment in the wrong place.  I don't know how to move it.  — Preceding unsigned comment added by Donnajpro (talk • contribs) 06:10, 24 June 2011 (UTC)
 * Moving; Asclepius is the accepted and popular spelling of the name. Asklepios is the more ancient Greek spelling.  The name is spelled numerous ways.  The numerous spellings could be listed or cross-referenced.  — Preceding unsigned comment added by Donnajpro (talk • contribs) 06:08, 24 June 2011 (UTC)

Asclepius also died for bringing back too many people and Zeus struck him down with lightning. Then Apollo killed the makers of the bolt. Zeus did finally bring Asclepius back as a god. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 71.56.90.60 (talk) 11:40, 20 March 2024 (UTC)

Aratus
I don't think that the link to Aratus is correct... The Aratus page is clearly talking about a different Aratus entirely. If there is sufficient information about the son of Ascelpius, we should create a new page about him, called something like "Aratus (Mythology)" or "Aratus (Son of Asclepius)" or some such, and perhaps create a "Aratus (disambiguation)" page, but just linking to the WRONG page is just not a good solution IMHO. Blueguy76 02:00, 19 June 2007 (UTC)

"Respectively"
The intro paragraph says "...his daughters Hygieia, Meditrina, Iaso, Aceso, Aglæa/Ægle and Panacea (literally, "all-healing") symbolize the forces of cleanliness, medicine, and healing, respectively."

I don't think six people can map onto three attributes, "respectively." Could someone clarify this sentence? —Preceding unsigned comment added by Inhumandecency (talk • contribs) 06:41, 14 October 2008 (UTC)


 * Several months later, this problem remains. If it's easy to do, I'll try to correct it, but the article needs further development. For instance, Socrates' famous dying words about "a cock for Asclepius" aren't here. Cynwolfe (talk) 19:31, 25 July 2009 (UTC)

Etymology
The section on etymology states several theories but that there is no consensus. The section on his birth states that Asklepios means "to cut open." I find the former statement more trustworthy, in part because the caesarion-etymology refers to a page with a peculiar idea of how to present sources (very long, no references to chapters or sections, but only the works in extenso). Hexmaster (talk) 07:02, 26 October 2008 (UTC)

The paragraph
 * "One might add that even though Szemerényi's etymology (Hitt. asula- + piya-) does not account for the velar, it is perhaps inserted spontaneously in Greek due to the fact that the cluster -sl- was uncommon in Greek: So, Aslāpios would become Asklāpios automatically."

is pure theorising. It is against the rules of Wikipedia. Please take it out. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 130.95.112.161 (talk) 03:09, 22 April 2010 (UTC)

The entire page needs crafting by someone who has done deeper research of the extant testimonies to Asclepius and made the Greco-Egyptian connections that link Greece to Egypt through the Corpus Hermeticum. The best source for Asclepius lore is the Edelstein and Edelstein volumes on Asclepius the Testimonies. There are very basic things that people need to know. This page has a lot of peripheral stuff on it that will only confuse. Also, Telesphoros was not a son of Asclepius. This is a deep subject that has its origin in the mysteries. Try researching the Cabiri. There is collected information on Asclepius and Imhotep beginning to be made available at a web site called STARTISTICS if the page author wants help. Feel free to info shop. I have not yet added the information I collected and postulated about the Cabir Telesphoros. It's pretty deep. Donnajpro (talk) 06:22, 24 June 2011 (UTC)

Asclepeion also makes the "to cut open" claim. I've tagged that claim dubious as well and linked the discussion here. I think the first question to be asked is does Asclepius mean "to cut open"? I don't speak Greek, but if not, then I believe both claims (here at Asclepius and at Asclepeion#Asclepius) should be removed and a paragraph added to Asclepius noting and refuting the claim.

73.219.226.54 (talk) 06:10, 29 December 2015 (UTC)

As anyone seen the obvious?...
I know Wikipedia frowns upon original investigation, but what I'm about to say is so basic and (I guess) obvious I'll even be ashamed if anyone labels it "original investigation"...

I think it's rather strange that no one noticed that the ending of Asklepios' name (gr. Ἀσκληπιός) is strikingly similar to his wife's (Epione, gr. Ἠπιόνη). Epione was the (demi)goddess of soothing; well, in Greek the adjective Ήπιος means "benevolent, favorable; soothing, smoothing" — and it's quite obvious that this is both the root for Epione's name and the ending of Asklepios'... So, I think it's much more reasonable that Asklepios' name is also related with soothing and the idea of a favorable god (good for your health) than any of those strange and rather far-fetched etymologies.

(I have no idea about the "Askl-" prefix. Often, "imported" deities have mixed names, each part in one language, and many times they both mean the same; unfortunately, I cannot suggest any candidate language for the prefix, so this last part is just speculation.) Gazilion (talk) 12:46, 20 January 2012 (UTC)

Imhotep?
There is a connection made at various times with Imhotep, mentioned in that article but not here. Detail and a cite would be appreciatd. +sj + 00:53, 14 June 2009 (UTC)

Etymological legacy?
Something not mentioned here, but I find fascinating, is how we have adopted these names.

Hippocrates  hypocrite

Hygieia      hygiene

abaton       abatoire

etc: etc:  Can we have a section on this?

. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Narwhal2 (talk • contribs) 07:16, 6 November 2009 (UTC)


 * This may appear fascinating, but two of the three "examples" are completely wrong, so I didn't want to leave this uncommented for another six years. The Greek word hygieia means indeed "health" and has directly led to the modern word "hygiene". Hippocrates, however, has nothing at all to do with "hypocrite". Hippo-crates literally means "horse-ruler", whereas hypo-crite consists of "under-/sub-" and "judge/differ". A-baton is an "un-gone" place, a place you must not go to (from Green "bainein": to go), whereas abattoir comes from French a-battre (Latin a-battere) "to beat off/down" (cf "battle" in English of the same origin) 80.133.74.37 (talk) 12:44, 13 July 2016 (UTC)

Parallels with Christianity section
I've removed this entire section until it can be better researched. The section was not meant to compare to Jesus, but was an attempt to make it look the story of Jesus was stolen from Asclepius. Why not compare Asclepius to other mythological figures? Why just Jesus? The intention was obvious. Various assertions were made without being sourced, and they were made too vague to be real comparisons. The main comparison was the healings done by both characters.

"Given the modern connotation of 'miracle,' it might appear misleading to so describe Asclepius's healings since he employed herbs (drugs and salves) and sometimes performed surgery. Moreover, Homer and Pindar say that Asclepius was educated in the healing arts by his centaur teacher, Chiron. Nevertheless the degree to which Asclepius' medicine is intertwined with magic and miracle is illustrated in Ovid's account of the healing of Hippolytus: 'Straightway he drew from an ivory casket simples that before had stood Glaucus' ghost in good stead….Thrice he touched the youth's breast, thrice he spoke healing words: then Hippolytus lifted his head'" Theios Aner and the Markan Miracle Traditions: A Critique of the Theios Aner Concept as an Interpretive Background of the Miracle Traditions Used by Mark. Barry Blackburn. Tubingen: Mohr, 1991. (revision of Ph.D thesis of 1986 for Univ. of Aberdeen]

Also, while I don't have the source on hand, the only pre-Christian sources of Asclepius raising someone from the dead was done using medicine. He is know as the god of medicine for a reason. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 68.51.151.159 (talk) 07:55, 29 November 2010 (UTC)
 * The "doubting Thomas" mentioned in the section was called Ambroja (spelled incorrectly). It should be Ambrosia. This "doubting Thomas" was a woman who was blind in one eye who went into one of his temples and saw some of the cures he was said to have preformed. She fell asleep and in a vision, Asclepius said he would heal her if she gave him an offering for her ignorance. She woke up and she was better. This would be a better comparison if she was one of Asclepius's followers but this seems to be a single case, long after Asclepius had died.68.51.151.159 (talk) 23:29, 29 November 2010 (UTC)

External links modified
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Unsourced "sources"
Why is this unsourced statement on the article?

"Some sources also stated that Asclepius was later resurrected as a god by Zeus to prevent any further feuds with Apollo. It was also claimed that Asclepius was instructed by Zeus to never revive the dead without his approval again." — Preceding unsigned comment added by JimmyPiersall (talk • contribs) 02:11, 26 April 2016 (UTC)

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Discrepancies and potential wrong sources
1. "Zeus killed Asclepius with a thunderbolt because he brought Hippolytus back alive from the dead and accepted gold for it".

According to Pseudo-Apollodorus (Bibliotheca, 3.10.3) Hippolytus is just 1 of 6 people who Asclepius brought back to life. The above statement implies that Zeus killed Asclepius just because of Hippolytus which is not true.

2. The sentence "This angered Apollo who in turn killed the Cyclopes who made the thunderbolts for Zeus" has a reference which is "Apollodorus, Bibliotheca 3.121".

I cannot find that. Pseudo-Apollodorus typically has an A.B.C format and not an A.B format.

3. "Zeus suspended Apollo from the night sky".

I cannot find this in Apollonius Rhodius (Argonautica, 4.610ff).

4. "Once the year had passed, Zeus brought Apollo back to Mount Olympus and revived the Cyclopes that made his thunderbolts".

This is not true according to Diodorus Siculus (Library of History, 4.71.3) who does not mention Apollo is brought back to Mount Olympus and that Zeus brought back to life the Cyclopes. I'm not sure about the accuracy for Hyginus (Fabulae, 49) since I do not have an online source for checking - if anybody has one please let me know.

ICE77 (talk) 07:17, 5 April 2018 (UTC)


 * I had the same doubts and so far I've not found any lines in the stated sources to support the details put in the Wikipedia page. Is it allowed to correct the cited details if they are not true to their source?

Srushtijd 15:54, 10 April 2019 (IST)

A Commons file used on this page has been nominated for deletion
The following Wikimedia Commons file used on this page has been nominated for deletion: Participate in the deletion discussion at the. —Community Tech bot (talk) 14:21, 22 June 2019 (UTC)
 * Nzikov.eskulap.jpg

Birth
Please mentioned the bith day and approximately date which are ideas to Asclepius is bith. Dr-shahzad alam (talk) 21:04, 5 February 2020 (UTC)

"Hepius"
Tzetzes is not a reliable source and there are no other sources that refer to Asclepius by this name.

Britannica notes "His literary and scholarly output was enormous, although it contained many inaccuracies" and it should also be noted that he's a Byzantine scholar from the 1100s and therefore not a primary source for Greek mythology.

There is no other source that I know of that claims Asclepius was born Hepius. The name is derived from the Greek "to cut" because he was cut from his mother's womb as she was burned alive on a funeral pyre because she was seen to have betrayed Apollo in some way (details differ between sources) This is attested in multiple sources from Edelstein and Edelstein, which is THE go to collection of primary sources on Asclepius. Nopenoodle (talk) 15:27, 12 March 2022 (UTC)

Hermes page
It says it on the page Akaora (talk) 19:17, 19 October 2022 (UTC)