Ancient Architecture for Healing

As the Greek myths say, Apollo was the Olympian god of health. However, medicine and healing eventually became associated with his son Asclepius, now also known by the Roman name Aesculapus. The name Asclepius has also been spelled Asklepios or Asclepios in literature; in this article I have adopted the spelling that is most commonly used today.The story of Asclepius, although it deals with healing and medicine, is quite violent. Asclepius's mother was a mortal, the nymph Coronis. Coronis, bearing Apollo's son, chose to marry another mortal, Ischys. Envious Apollo killed Coronis but then snatched unborn Asclepius from the funeral pyre. He took him to the centaur Chiron, who brought him up and instructed him in the healing arts. Asclepius so excelled in his profession that at some point he could even raise people from the dead. Unfortunately, he angered Zeus when he accepted payment for raising a man called Hippolytus. Violence ensued again: Zeus struck Asclepius with a thunderbolt. However, later, and perhaps prompted by Apollo's fury, Zeus realized all the good Asclepius had done …