Asclepius

Asclepius is the son of Apollo and the mortal woman Coronis. When Apollo discovers Coronis has taken a mortal lover while pregnant with his child, he has her killed, but snatches the infant Asclepius from her funeral pyre and gives him to the centaur Chiron, who raises him and teaches him medicine. Asclepius becomes so skilled a healer that he starts raising the dead back to life, and Zeus, fearing that mortals will use the art to escape death entirely, kills him with a thunderbolt. Apollo retaliates by killing the Cyclopes who forged it. Later Greek religion made Asclepius the object of his own healing cult, with pilgrims sleeping in his sanctuaries, most famously at Epidaurus, in hope of a cure revealed in a dream.

By Mythographia Editorial Team Reviewed by Mythographia Editorial Team Updated 2026-09-07

Core Myth

Pindar's third Pythian Ode tells how Coronis, daughter of Phlegyas, was already pregnant by Apollo when she took a mortal lover, Ischys, into her bed. Apollo's own all-knowing mind revealed her betrayal to him at once, and he sent his sister Artemis to kill her. As Coronis's body burned on the funeral pyre, Apollo could not bear to let his own child die with her; he tore the infant Asclepius from the flames and carried him to the centaur Chiron, who raised the boy and taught him "to heal many painful diseases for men." Apollodorus's Library carries the story forward: Asclepius grew so skilled under Chiron's teaching that he began raising the dead, restoring to life figures including Capaneus, Lycurgus, and Hippolytus. Zeus, fearing that men might learn the healing art from him and use it to empty the underworld of its rightful dead, struck Asclepius down with a thunderbolt. Apollo, unable to strike back at Zeus himself, took his revenge on the Cyclopes who had forged the bolt, killing them instead.

Who were Asclepius's parents?

Apollo and Coronis, a mortal woman, daughter of the Thessalian king Phlegyas. Pindar's account has Apollo's own all-knowing mind reveal that Coronis, already pregnant with his child, had taken a mortal lover, Ischys, into her bed.

Pindar, Pythian Ode 3.8-27

How was Asclepius saved from his mother's funeral pyre?

Apollo had already had Coronis killed for her betrayal, but as her body burned, he could not bear to let his own unborn child die with her. He tore the infant from the flames himself and carried him to the centaur Chiron to be raised.

Pindar, Pythian Ode 3.38-58

Who taught Asclepius medicine?

The centaur Chiron, an exception among centaurs for his wisdom rather than the race's usual violence, raised Asclepius after Apollo brought him the rescued infant and taught him the art of healing diseases.

Pindar, Pythian Ode 3.38-58

Why did Zeus kill Asclepius?

Asclepius had become skilled enough to raise the dead, restoring several figures, including Hippolytus, back to life. Zeus feared that if mortals learned this art from him, people would begin rescuing each other from death altogether, and struck him down with a thunderbolt to stop it.

Apollodorus, Library 3.10.3-3.10.4

How did Apollo respond to his son's death?

Unable to retaliate against Zeus directly, Apollo killed the Cyclopes who had forged the thunderbolt that killed Asclepius, and was punished for it by being sent to serve a mortal king, Admetus, for a year.

Apollodorus, Library 3.10.3-3.10.4

Later Traditions

Rather than ending his story, Asclepius's death became the origin of his own cult. Greek religion made him a god of healing in his own right, worshipped at sanctuaries across the Greek world where sick petitioners underwent incubation, sleeping overnight in the temple in hope that the god would either heal them directly in a dream or reveal the cure. His sanctuary at Epidaurus became the most famous of these healing centers, and his serpent-entwined staff survives today as the standard symbol of medicine. Zeus later placed him among the stars as the constellation later called Ophiuchus, the Serpent-Bearer - a permanent memorial that stopped well short of undoing the thunderbolt itself.

Lineage

See the full family tree

1 recorded relation, each with the ancient line behind it.

Parents

Apollo Pindar, Pythian Ode 3.8-58
Apollo fathers Asclepius with the mortal Coronis, then rescues the infant from her funeral pyre after having her killed for taking another lover.

Where Accounts Differ

which figures Asclepius raised from the dead

Apollodorus names several figures Asclepius raised from the dead, including Hippolytus, Capaneus, and Lycurgus; this page names Hippolytus specifically since his own story is the one most fully preserved, without treating the list as exhaustive.

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Mythology

Mythology Greek Mythology

Sources

Primary sources

Pindar, Pythian Ode 3.8-27
Pindar, Pythian Ode 3.38-58
Apollodorus, Library 3.10.3-3.10.4