The Probert Encyclopaedia of Greek & Roman Mythology

AESCULAPIUS

Aesculapius was the Greek god of medicine and latterly adopted by the Romans, usually said to have been a son of Apollo. He was worshipped in particular at Epidaurus, in Peloponnesus, where a temple with a grove was dedicated to him. The sick who visited his temple had to spend one or more nights in the sanctuary, after which the remedies to be used were revealed in a dream. Those who were cured offered a sacrifice to Aesculapius, commonly a cock. He is often represented with a large beard, holding a knotty staff, round which is entwined a serpent, the serpent being specially his symbol. .Near him often stands a cock. Sometimes Aesculapius is represented under the image of a serpent only.
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