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Asclepius (also known as Asklepios) is the Greek god of healing and medicine. His Roman counterpart is Esculapius.

Biography[]

Asclepius was born a demigod, son of Apollo and Coronis, daughter of Phlegyas, the king of the Lapiths. Coronis fell in love with the mortal man Ischys while she was pregnant with Asclepius. When Apollo discovered this, he had Artemis kill the lovers in a rage, but saved his child out of remorse. The newborn was then taken to be raised by Chiron, who instructed the demigod in the art of medicine and would drive him to become the greatest of healers. Asclepius eventually settled in the city of Trikke and had two sons, Podaleirios and Makhaon, who led the cities Trikke and Oekhalia in the expedition against Troy.

Asclepius became a favorite of Athena who gave him a vial of Gorgon Blood. This allowed him to cure any illness, heal any injury, and even bring back the dead with The Physicians' Cure. He used it to bring back Hippolytos, the son of Theseus, at Artemis' request, and as punishment for his transgression against the natural laws of death, Zeus struck him down with his thunderbolt. Angered by the death of his son, Apollo retaliated by killing the Cyclopes who made Zeus' thunderbolts, and to atone for this act, Zeus ordered Apollo to serve the mortal king Admetos for a year.

To prevent a further feud with Apollo after reviving the Cylopes, Asclepius was resurrected by Zeus and made into a god under the condition that he didn't revive any more people. His cult became extremely popular in classic times, spreading outwards from his chief shrines located in the Argive town Epidauros, which purported to offer supplicants cures to their physical ills and tried to understand mental ills. Some say it was the best "hospital" in the Mediterranean. The Asklepiades, an ancient guild of doctors, were also devotees of the god.

The Physician's Cure has only been made and used twice, to bring back Hippolytos and Leo Valdez. Piper McLean used charmspeak to convince Asclepius to make the cure for them. 

The Heroes of Olympus[]

Apollo LQ

Apollo, his father.

The Son of Neptune[]

Though against his will, Vitellius explains to Frank how he was claimed by Asclepius. While he was cleaning his clothes, a white chicken stole his underwear. Recognizing the animal as the symbol of his divine ancestor, Vitellius became the physician of his legion. He also casually said that a friend of his had an even more embarrassing claiming involving a bug, but a disgusted Frank didn't want to listen.

The Blood of Olympus[]

Asclepius is first mentioned by Apollo on Delos, as the only person to have ever successfully cured death. Apollo gives Leo, Frank and Hazel his location in Epidaurus.

Piper, Leo and Jason later meet Asclepius in the Asclepion. He quickly diagnoses Jason with myopia (shortsightedness) and gives him a pair of glasses. Later, he uses the Pylosian Mint, the "cursed" daisy and the makhai to formulate the Physician's Cure and gives the trio instructions on its use.

The Trials of Apollo[]

The Hidden Oracle[]

His father mentions the god of healing when helping out with injured campers, stating that he is better at healing then Apollo.

The Burning Maze[]

Apollo tells Meg McCaffrey about how he was turned mortal the first time in retaliation for taking revenge upon the Cyclopses for Zeus killing Asclepius.

After revealing that Herophile has predicted that either he or Piper McLean will die, Jason Grace suggests that a way out of it would be if Apollo has an extra vial of the Physician's Cure on him. However, they are both aware that he doesn't as the physician's cure is only available from Asclepius. As Asclepius wants to avoid going to all out war with Hades, he never gives it out. Leo Valdez was the first person to be resurrected with it in four thousand years and he is very likely to be the last one ever.

After Jason is killed by Caligula, a desperate Piper suggests using the physician's cure to resurrect him. However, Apollo tells her that Leo had the cure ready the moment that he had died, gone through many hardships to get the ingredients and even then he had needed Asclepius to make it. The physician's cure can't help in saving Jason.

The Tyrant's Tomb[]

The Roman healer Pranjal reveals to Apollo that he is a son of Asclepius which makes Apollo his grandfather. Apollo asks Pranjal not to refer to him as such however.

Appearance[]

In The Blood of Olympus, Asclepius is described as a man with a kindly smile, crinkles around his twinkling eyes, short salt-and-pepper hair, and a well-trimmed beard. He wears a white lab coat over a business suit and a stethoscope around his neck. Asclepius wields a polished black staff with a live green yellow-eyed python (named Spike) with a crown of spikes around his neck coiled around it.

Personality[]

Asclepius is a kind man and acts like a common doctor. He always helps those who come to him for it and even with problems they didn't ask about. Asclepius dedicates his entire life to medicine. His is a bit absent minded, obsessive and treats mortals as trivial despite the intense trials he faced as sign of his immortal personality.

Aesculapius/Vejovis[]

Asclepius can change his appearance into his Roman aspect of Aesculapius or Vejovis; becoming more disciplined, militaristic, and warlike.

Abilities[]

  • He presumably possesses the standard powers of a god.
  • Vitakinesis: As the God of Medicine and Healing, Asclepius can restore the injured to near-instantaneous health. As revealed in Percy Jackson's Greek Gods, Asclepius is even more skilled in medicine than his father Apollo, most likely because he, unlike Apollo, devoted all of his time to it. Apollo himself admits this in The Blood of Olympus.
    • Enhanced Healing: As the God of Medicine and Healing, he can instantly heal almost any wounds at a quicker rate than even other gods, his father Apollo even admits that he is superior.
    • Medical Omniscience: As seen in The Blood of Olympus, Asclepius is instantly able to discern a person's health status and history, as he was able to tell that Piper had broken her arm when she was six after falling off a horse, and that Jason had been recently injured by an Imperial Gold sword, that he had a mole on his left foot, and that he was near-sighted.
  • Biokinesis: As the God of Medicine and Healing, he has the ability to manipulate and modify the body.

Items[]

  • Rod of Asclepius: The Rod of Asclepius is often confused with Hermes' Caduceus, however the Caduceus has two snakes (George and Martha), and the Rod of Asclepius has one, Spike. Therefore, the caduceus is sometimes used by medical companies. Asclepius says that this gets Spike angry, because George and Martha get all the attention.

Family[]

Consorts[]

  • Aristodama
  • Epione

Immortal Children[]

  • Aratus
  • Aceso
  • Hygieia
  • Iaso
  • Meditrina
  • Panacea
  • Telesphoros

Mortal Children[]

Legacies[]

Trivia[]

  • In Percy Jackson's Greek Gods his name is spelled as Asklepios.
  • The name of his daughters each rather transparently reflects a certain subset of the overall theme of "good health".
  • His rod is sometimes mistaken with the Caduceus, as mentioned in The Blood of Olympus. However, the Rod of Asclepius has only one snake, Spike, while Hermes' Caduceus has two snakes, George and Martha.
  • Like Serqet, they both are medical gods with the emblems of dangerous, poisonous animals (scorpions and snake). This may be because, as pointed out by Apollo in The Dark Prophecy, poisons and acids were commonly used as cures and medicine in the Middle Ages.
  • He is considered to be the favorite son of Apollo.
  • As revealed in Percy Jackson's Greek Gods, Asclepius was even more skilled in medicine than his father Apollo, most likely because he devoted all of his time to it. Apollo himself admits this in The Blood of Olympus and The Hidden Oracle.
  • He was the healer on the Argo, the original Jason's ship.
  • Despite his imprisonment, he is evidentially still able to get out and have children as Pranjal introduces himself as a son of Asclepius.
    • However, he might have a similar situation as Loki, in which case he can appear to his mortal lovers, but still be physically tied to his prison.

Gallery[]

The Heroes of Olympus
Core Series: The Lost Hero | The Son of Neptune | The Mark of Athena | The House of Hades | The Blood of Olympus
Main Characters: Jason Grace | Piper McLean | Leo Valdez | Percy Jackson | Frank Zhang | Hazel Levesque | Annabeth Chase | Iapetus/Bob | Reyna Ramírez-Arellano | Nico di Angelo | Gleeson Hedge
Secondary Characters: Hylla Ramírez-Arellano | Dakota | Tyson | Ella | Octavian | Halcyon Green | Dr. Howard Claymore | Alabaster C. Torrington | Lamia
Minor Characters: Rachel Elizabeth Dare | Grover Underwood | Thalia Grace | Clarisse La Rue | Fleecy | Mrs. O'Leary | Kinzie | Arion | Calypso | Lou Ellen Blackstone | Chiron | Will Solace | Tristan McLean | Don | Julia | Jacob | Michael Varus | Burly Black | Medea | Midas | Lityerses | Phineas | Otrera | Echo | Narcissus | Sciron | Pasiphaë | Lycaon
Olympian Gods: Zeus | Hera | Poseidon | Hades | Ares | Demeter | Athena | Apollo | Artemis | Hephaestus | Aphrodite | Hermes | Dionysus
Minor Gods: Achelous | Aeolus | Asclepius | Boreas | Eurus | Hecate | Iris | Hypnos | Keto | Khione | Kymopoleia | Mithras | Nemesis | Nike | Notus | Phorcys | Serapis | Thanatos | Triptolemus | Zephyros
Roman Gods: Jupiter | Juno | Neptune | Pluto | Mars | Minerva | Ceres | Lupa | Bellona | Fortuna | Janus | Terminus | Vulcan | Mercury | Apollo (Roman) | Diana | Venus | Bacchus | Pomona | Aquilon | Hercules | Cupid | Auster | Favonius | Letus | Victoria
Giants: Enceladus | Porphyrion | Alcyoneus | Polybotes | Ephialtes | Otis | Damasen | Clytius | Mimas | Orion | Hippolytos | Thoon | Periboia
Undead: Gray | Zombie
Primordial Gods: Gaea | Tartarus | Ourae | Nyx | Chaos | Ouranos | Akhlys | Hemera | Elpis | Spes
Monsters and Magical Creatures: Cynocephali | Gorgon | Gryphon | Harpy | Basilisk | Lycanthrope | Gegeines | Cyclops | Katobleps | Unicorn | Giant Eagle | Ichthyocentaur | Satyr/Faun | Storm Spirit | Laistrygonian Giant | Lares
Related Content: Rick Riordan | Haley Riordan | Percy Jackson and the Olympians | Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Ultimate Guide | The Demigod Files | The Demigod Diaries | The Son of Sobek | The Singer of Apollo | The Staff of Serapis | Percy Jackson's Greek Gods | Percy Jackson's Greek Heroes | The Crown of Ptolemy | Demigods & Magicians | Demigods of Olympus | Percy Jackson Demigod Collection
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