Early Christian Beliefs About Aesculapius

Clement of Alexandria, Exhortation to the Heathen Supporting witness

For, not understanding that it is God that does us good, they have invented saviours in the persons of the Dioscuri, and Hercules the averter of evil, and Asclepius the healer.

Irenaeus, Against Heresies: Book II Supporting witness

...se heretics, being the disciples of those mentioned, render those who assent to them worse than the heathen. For the former serve the creature rather than the Creator and those which are not gods, even though they ascribe the first place in Deity to that God who was the Maker of this universe. But the latter maintain that He, the Creator of this world, is the result of a defect and describe Him as being of an animal nature and as not knowing that Power which is above Him, while He also exclaims, “I am God, and besides Me there is no other God.” Affirming that He lies, they are liars themselves, attributing all sorts of wickedness to Him; and conceiving of one who is not above this Being as really having an existence, they are thus convicted by their own views of blasphemy against that God who really exists, while they claim into existence a god who has no existence, to their own condemnation. And thus those who declare themselves "perfect," and as being possessed of the knowledge of all things, are found to be worse than the heathen and to entertain more blasphemous opinions even against their own Creator.

Irenaeus, Against Heresies: Book III Supporting witness

...n additional meaning that shows they are not gods at all. For example, with David: "The gods of the heathen are idols of demons;" and, "You shall not follow other gods." By saying "the gods of the heathen"—while the heathen do not know the true God—and calling them "other gods," he denies their claim to be regarded as gods entirely. But regarding their true nature, he speaks of them, "for they are," he says, "the idols of demons." And Isaiah: "Let all who blaspheme God and carve useless things be ashamed; even I am witness, says God.” He removes them from the category of gods, but uses the word alone for the purpose that we may understand whom he speaks of. Jeremiah also says the same: "The gods that have not made the heavens and earth, let them perish from the earth which is under the heaven." By noting their destruction, he shows them to be no gods at all. Elijah, too, when all Israel was gathered at Mount Carmel, wishing to turn them from idolatry, says to them, "How long will you waver between two opinions? If the Lord is God, follow Him." And again, at the offering, he addresses the idolatrous priests: "You will call upon the name of your gods, and I will call on the name o

Athenagoras, A Plea for the Christians Supporting witness

... about. If he is darkness, or frost, or the moist part of nature, none of these is abiding. But the Deity is immortal, immovable, and unalterable. So neither Kronos nor his image is God. And as for Zeus: if he is air, born of Kronos, whose male part is called Zeus and female part Hera, which is why she is both sister and wife, then he is subject to change. If he is a season, then he turns about. But the Deity neither changes nor shifts about. But why should I trespass on your patience by saying more, when you already know so well what each of those people has said who have resolved these things into nature, or what different writers have thought concerning nature, or what they say concerning Athênâ, whom they affirm to be the wisdom pervading all things; and concerning Isis, whom they call the birth of all time, from whom all have sprung, and by whom all exist; or concerning Osiris, after whose murder by his brother Typhon, Isis with her son Orus sought his limbs, and finding them honored them with a sepulchre, which to this day is called the tomb of Osiris? For while they wander up and down among the forms of matter, they fail to find the God who can be beheld only by reason, w

Clement of Alexandria, Exhortation to the Heathen Supporting witness

...they invented saviors in the persons of the Dioscuri, and Hercules the one who turns away evil, and Asclepius the healer. These are the slippery and harmful departures from the truth that pull a man down from heaven and throw him into the abyss. I want to show fully what these gods of yours are like, so that at last you may give up your delusion and hasten in your flight back to heaven. For we too were once children of wrath, just as others were. But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which He loved us, when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ. Ephesians 2:3-5 For the Word is living, and having been buried with Christ, is raised up with God. But those who are still unbelieving are called children of wrath, brought up for wrath. We who have been rescued from error and brought back to the truth are no longer the nurslings of wrath. Thus, therefore, we who were once the children of lawlessness have now, through the love of humanity shown by the Word, become the sons of God.

Tertullian, Ad Nationes Supporting witness

And yet the Athenians will not be at a loss how to sacrifice to gods of such a fashion, for they pay divine honours to Æsculapius and his mother among their dead (worthies).

Origen, Against Celsus Direct teaching

Now, to allow for the sake of argument that there really was a healing spirit named Aesculapius, who used to heal people's bodies, I would say this to those who are amazed by such a thing, or by Apollo's prophetic knowledge. The healing of bodies is a matter of indifference, and it is something within the reach not only of the good, but also of the bad. Foreknowledge of the future is also a matter of indifference, because someone who knows the future does not necessarily show virtue. Therefore, you must show that those who practice healing or who foretell the future are in no way wicked, but display a complete pattern of virtue, and are close to being regarded as gods. But they will not be able to show that those who practice healing, or who are gifted with foreknowledge, are virtuous. For many who are unfit to live are said to have been healed, and these are people whom no wise physician would want to heal, since they live improper lives. And in the answers of the Pythian oracle, you may also find some commands that do not agree with reason. We will mention two of them here. One is when it commanded that Cleomedes, I suppose the boxer, should be honored with divine honors, as if s

Origen, Against Celsus Direct teaching

Again, when it is said about Aesculapius that a great multitude of both Greeks and Barbarians acknowledge that they have often seen, and still see, not a mere phantom, but Aesculapius himself healing, doing good, and foretelling the future, Celsus requires us to believe this. He finds no fault with the believers in Jesus when we express our belief in such stories. But when we give our assent to the disciples and eyewitnesses of the miracles of Jesus, whose writings clearly show the honesty of their convictions, because we can see their guilelessness as far as it is possible to see a conscience revealed in writing, he calls us a set of foolish people. Although he cannot prove that an incalculable number, as he claims, of Greeks and Barbarians acknowledge the existence of Aesculapius, we, if we think this is a matter of importance, can clearly show a countless multitude of Greeks and Barbarians who acknowledge the existence of Jesus. And some give evidence that through this faith they have received a marvelous power by the cures they perform. Over those who need their help, they call on no other name than that of the God of all things, and of Jesus, along with a mention of His histor

Arnobius, Against the Heathen Supporting witness

Aesculapius presides over the duties and arts of medicine;

Arnobius, Against the Heathen Supporting witness

Aesculapius, because he discovered the use of herbs;

Clement of Alexandria, Exhortation to the Heathen Supporting witness

...octor, and not only a metalworker among the gods. And that doctor was greedy for gold. His name was Asclepius. I will bring forward your own poet, the Boeotian Pindar, as a witness:

Origen, Against Celsus Background

...matter unless the principle involved was important and beneficial to human life. For the science of medicine is useful and necessary to the human race, and there are many disputes in it about the way bodies should be cured. For this reason, many heresies are admittedly found in the science of medicine among the Greeks, and also, I suppose, among those barbarous nations that claim to practice medicine. Again, philosophy professes truth, and promises knowledge of existing things for the guidance of life. It tries to teach what is beneficial to our race. And since the investigation of these matters is attended by great differences of opinion, countless heresies have arisen in philosophy, some of them more famous than others. Even Judaism itself provided an occasion for the rise of heresies, because different meanings were given to the writings of Moses and the prophets. So then, since Christianity appeared worthy of reverence to men, not only to the more servile class, as Celsus supposes, but also to many among the Greeks who were devoted to literary pursuits, heresies necessarily arose. Yet they did not arise at all from faction and strife, but from the earnest desire of many lear

Origen, Against Celsus Supporting witness

Now, in order to grant that there did exist a healing spirit named Æsculapius, who used to cure the bodies of men, I would say to those who are astonished at such an occurrence, or at the prophetic knowledge of Apollo, that since the cure of bodies is a thing indifferent, and a matter within the reach not merely of the good, but also of the bad;

Lactantius, The Divine Institutes Supporting witness

It is equally wonderful, that during the prevalence of a pestilence, Æsculapius, being called from Epidaurus, is said to have released the city of Rome from the long-continued plague.

Lactantius, The Divine Institutes Supporting witness

What other action worthy of divine honours, except the healing of Hippolytus, did Æsculapius perform, whose birth also was not without disgrace to Apollo?

Lactantius, The Divine Institutes Supporting witness

... And what piety is, he states in another place in these words: "For piety is the knowledge of God." Asclepius also, his disciple, expressed the same thought more fully in that polished discourse which he wrote to the king. In fact, both of them say that the demons are the enemies and tormentors of men, and for this reason Trismegistus calls them wicked angels. He was so far from being ignorant that they had fallen away from heavenly beings, become corrupted, and begun to be earthly.

Arnobius, Against the Heathen Direct teaching

...and recovered, and the pestilence fled before the health that arose. What gods, tell me, I beg you? Aesculapius, you say, the god of health, from Epidaurus, and now established on the island in the middle of the Tiber. If we wanted to examine your claims very strictly, we could prove by your own authorities that he was in no way divine, since he was conceived and born from a woman's womb, and by passing through the years he reached that time of life when, as your books relate, a thunderbolt suddenly took him from life and light. But we set that question aside. Let the son of Coronis be, as you wish, one of the immortals and possess the everlasting blessedness of heaven. Yet what was brought from Epidaurus except a huge serpent? If we trust the annals and give them the authority of well-established truth, nothing else was brought, as it has been recorded. What then shall we say? That Aesculapius, whom you praise so highly, an excellent and venerable god, the giver of health, the one who turns away, prevents, and destroys sickness, is enclosed in the shape and form of a serpent, crawling along the ground as worms usually do, worms that spring from mud. He rubs the earth with his c

Arnobius, Against the Heathen Direct teaching

...r hand, ask this question: If, according to the books of fate and the answers of the seers, the god Aesculapius was ordered to be invited to the city so that he might keep it safe and sound from the infection of plague and deadly diseases, and if he came without proudly rejecting the invitation, as you say, changed into the form of serpents, why has the Roman state so often been afflicted with such disasters, so often at one time or another torn apart, harassed, and reduced by the deaths of countless citizens? For since the god is said to have been called for this purpose, that he might completely drive away all the causes that stirred up pestilence, it followed that the state should be safe and always remain free from deadly outbreaks and unharmed. But yet we see, as was said before, that again and again it has had times made mournful by these diseases, and that the manly strength of its people has been broken and weakened by very great losses. Where, then, was Aesculapius? Where was that deliverer promised by the venerable oracles? Why, after temples were built and shrines raised to him, did he allow a state deserving his favor to remain plague-stricken any longer, when he had

Lactantius, The Divine Institutes Direct teaching

...ded as gods of heaven, and those whose services to men have placed them in heaven: Hercules, Liber, Aesculapius, Castor, Pollux, and Quirinus." Also in his Tusculan Disputations, when he said that heaven was almost entirely filled with the human race, he said: "If indeed I should attempt to examine ancient accounts, and to draw from them those things which the writers of Greece have handed down, even those who are held in the highest rank as gods will be found to have gone from us into heaven. Ask whose tombs are pointed out in Greece. Remember, since you are initiated, what things are handed down in the mysteries. And then at last you will understand how widely this persuasion is spread." He appealed, as is clear, to the conscience of Atticus, so that it might be understood from the mysteries themselves that all those who are worshipped were men. And when he acknowledged this without hesitation in the case of Hercules, Liber, Aesculapius, Castor, and Pollux, he was afraid openly to make the same admission concerning Apollo and Jupiter their fathers, and likewise concerning Neptune, Vulcan, Mars, and Mercury, whom he called the greater gods. Therefore he says that this opinion i

Minucius Felix, Octavius Supporting witness

...aracter of your gods? Vulcan is a lame and crippled god. Apollo is smooth-faced after so many ages. Aesculapius is well bearded, although he is the son of Apollo, who is ever youthful. Neptune has sea-green eyes. Minerva has bluish-gray eyes. Juno has ox-eyes. Mercury has winged feet. Pan has hoofed feet. Saturn has feet in fetters. Janus indeed wears two faces, as if he might walk with looks turned back. Diana sometimes is a huntress, with her robe girded up high. And as the Ephesian, she has many fruitful breasts. And when she is shown as Trivia, she is horrible with three heads and many hands. And what is Jupiter himself? Sometimes he is shown in a statue without a beard, and sometimes he is set up with a beard. When he is called Hammon, he has horns. When he is Capitolinus, he wields thunderbolts. When he is Latiaris, he is sprinkled with gore. When he is Feretrius, he is not approached. And not to mention any further the multitude of Jupiters, the monstrous appearances of Jupiter are as numerous as his names. Erigone was hanged from a noose so that, as a virgin, she might glow among the stars. The Castors die by turns so that they may live. Aesculapius, so that he may rise

Lactantius, The Divine Institutes Supporting witness

...he wanted to mock religion; madman, if he did this seriously, and so regarded a most vile animal as God! For who can dare to criticize the superstitions of the Egyptians, when Socrates confirmed them at Athens by his own authority? And was it not a mark of complete vanity that before his death he asked his friends to offer for him a rooster which he had vowed to Aesculapius? He clearly feared that Aesculapius might bring him to trial before Rhadamanthus the judge because of the vow. I would consider him completely mad if he had died while under the power of sickness. But since he did this while in his right mind, anyone who thinks he was wise is not in his right mind either. Look at the man in whose time the wise man congratulates himself that he was born!

Cyprian, Treatises Supporting witness

...thrown into the sea, and afterward become sea gods. The Castors die in turns so that they may live. Aesculapius is struck by lightning so that he may rise as a god. Hercules, so that he may put off the man, is burned up in the fires of Oeta. Apollo fed the flocks of Admetus. Neptune built walls for Laomedon and, unhappy builder, received no pay for his work. The cave of Jupiter can be seen in Crete, and his tomb is shown there. It is clear that Saturn was driven away by him, and that Latium received its name from Saturn, as being his hiding place. He was the first to teach the forming of letters. He was the first to teach the stamping of money in Italy, and from there the treasury is called the treasury of Saturn. He also cultivated country life, which is why he is pictured as an old man carrying a sickle. Janus received him as a guest when he was driven away. From Janus's name, the Janiculum is so called, and the month of January is appointed. Janus himself is pictured with two faces because, standing in the middle, he seems to look equally toward the beginning and the end of the year. The Mauri plainly worship kings, and they do not hide their name under any disguise.

Arnobius, Against the Heathen Supporting witness

What gods, say, I beseech? Aesculapius, you say, the god of health, from Epidaurus, and now settled in the island in the middle of the Tiber.

Arnobius, Against the Heathen Supporting witness

Aesculapius, because he is a physician, by the sacrifice of physicians;

Cyprian, Treatises Supporting witness

Aesculapius is struck by lightning, that he may rise into a god.

Athenagoras, A Plea for the Christians Supporting witness

...d the other statues were made by Phidias. Aphrodite the courtesan in Cnidus was made by Praxiteles. Asclepius in Epidaurus was made by Phidias. In short, not one of these statues can be said not to have been made by man. If these are gods, then why did they not exist from the beginning? Why are they younger than the men who made them? Why, in order to come into existence, did they need the help of men and of art? They are nothing but earth, stones, matter, and skillful workmanship.

Athenagoras, A Plea for the Christians Supporting witness

...others were honored for their strength, like Heracles and Perseus, and others for their skill, like Asclepius. Therefore, those to whom either the people gave honor, or the rulers themselves claimed it, received the name of god. Some received it because of fear, and others because of revenge. In this way, Antinous came to be regarded as a god through the kindness of your ancestors toward their subjects. But those who came after accepted the worship without examining it.

Athenagoras, A Plea for the Christians Supporting witness

and others for their art, as Asclepius? Those, therefore, to whom either the subjects gave honour or the rulers themselves [assumed it], obtained the name, some from fear, others from revenge.

Origen, Against Celsus Direct teaching

or else Apollo, and Æsculapius, and those others who are believed to perform acts on earth, would not be gods, but only certain demons, much inferior to those wise men among mankind, who on account of their virtue ascend to the vault of heaven.

Arnobius, Against the Heathen Supporting witness

...cred rites with the proper ceremonies. To make this clear, let us suppose there is a temple of some deity in the Canary Islands, another of the same deity in farthest Thyle, another among the Seres, another among the dark Garamantes, and others among peoples kept from knowing one another by seas, mountains, forests, and the four corners of the world. If all of them at the same time ask that deity through sacrifices for whatever their needs lead each one to think about, then what hope, I ask, will they all have of receiving the benefit, if the god does not hear the cry sent up to him everywhere, and if there is any distance that the words of the one asking for help cannot reach? For either he will be present nowhere, if at times he may be nowhere at all, or he will be in one place only, since he cannot pay attention to all in general and without making any distinction. And so it comes about that either the god helps no one at all, if he has been too busy with something to hurry and listen to their cries, or only one goes away with his prayers heard, while the rest have accomplished nothing.

Origen, Against Celsus Supporting witness

...remarks in which he tries to show that our teachings are like those given by the priests during the pagan mysteries. He says, "Just as you, good sir, believe in eternal punishments, so do the priests who explain and initiate people into the sacred mysteries. The same punishments with which you threaten others, they threaten you." Now, it is worth examining which of the two is established more firmly as true, since both sides insist with equal confidence that the truth is on their side. But if we ask for proofs, the priests of the pagan gods produce many that seem clear and convincing, partly from wonders done by demons, and partly from answers given by oracles, and from various other kinds of divination. He wants us, then, to believe that both we and the interpreters of the mysteries teach the doctrine of eternal punishment equally, and that it should be examined on which side the truth lies. Now I would say that the truth is with those who are able to lead their hearers to live like people who are convinced that what they have heard is true. But Jews and Christians have been affected in this way by the teachings they hold about what we call the world to come, and the rewards of

Arnobius, Against the Heathen Supporting witness

...ll them empty words and attack them with joking insults? Unless, then, my opponent says, I become a Christian, I cannot hope for salvation. It is exactly as you yourself say. For Christ alone has been given the task and trust by God the Father to bring salvation and give to souls what should be bestowed and must be added, the deeper and more hidden causes having been arranged in this way. For just as, among you, certain gods have fixed duties, privileges, and powers, and you do not ask from any of them what is not in his power or allowed to him, so also Christ alone has the right to give salvation to souls and assign them everlasting life. For if you believe that father Bacchus can give a good grape harvest, but cannot give relief from sickness; if you believe that Ceres can give good crops, Aesculapius health, Neptune one thing, Juno another, and that Fortune, Mercury, and Vulcan are each the giver of one fixed and particular thing, then you must also accept this from us: souls can receive life and salvation from no one except Him to whom the Supreme Ruler gave this charge and duty. The Almighty Master of the world has decided that this is the way of salvation, this, so to spea