Source Verification: Asclepius
Every claim below is either what a named ancient source attests, in its own line or section, or a point where the sources themselves disagree.
What the Sources Attest
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.
Source: 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.
Source: 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.
Source: 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.
Source: 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.
Source: Apollodorus, Library 3.10.3-3.10.4
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.
Sources
- Pindar, Pythian Ode 3.8-27
- Pindar, Pythian Ode 3.38-58
- Apollodorus, Library 3.10.3-3.10.4
- Timothy Gantz, Early Greek Myth (1993)