Cult Of Asclepius Analysis

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This paper analyzes the medical practice that was built around the cult of Asclepius in Ancient Greece and compares it to other practices from the same period: the Hippocratics and unaffiliated doctors. It starts with a short story about the mythical persona of Asclepius to showcase the perspective the people had about him then it continues to describe how this perspective helped forward the medical profession despite its gross inaccuracies and it ends with a discussion of the symbiotic relationship between the medical practices of Asclepius and those of the Hippocratics. The paper concludes that the cult of Asclepius was a necessary phase in the history of medicine as a basis of trust in the profession and even with all its flaws and perceived …show more content…
As previously mentioned, at that point anyone could claim the title of physician since there was no official certification or group one needed to adhere to. This not only hurt their credibility but also the potential to improve the medical profession through exchange of ideas as well as to train inexperienced doctors through apprenticeship. In contrast, priests of Asclepius gathered around temples called asclepieions and thus they were able to better capitalize on this potential. Evidence that such guild-like structures formed is in the fact that these priests considered each other extended family as showcased on their emphasis on tracing their lineage back to Asclepius8 …show more content…
At the advent of Christianity in the Roman Empire (of which Ancient Greece was part of by that time), the cult of Asclepius fell out of favor as all other pagan religious beliefs, but it was condemned even harsher due to their symbol (the snake coiled around a rod) and the parallels that were being drawn to the healing stories in the early days of Jesus. Thus, it fell out of favor quickly as history started to move rapidly towards the Dark Ages, a period in which too often unconventional healers were being accused of

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