Asclepius

Asclepius was the son of Apollo and the mortal Coronis. When Coronis was unfaithful, Apollo killed her but saved the unborn Asclepius, entrusting the infant to the centaur Chiron. Under Chiron's tutelage, Asclepius became the greatest healer the world had ever known.

His skill surpassed all others — he could cure any disease, heal any wound, and eventually learned to raise the dead themselves. When he restored Hippolytus to life, Hades complained to Zeus that the natural order was being violated. Zeus, agreeing that death was a necessary part of existence, struck Asclepius down with a thunderbolt.

Apollo was furious and killed the Cyclopes who had forged the thunderbolt. As punishment, Zeus forced Apollo to serve as a mortal shepherd for a year. Eventually, Zeus relented and placed Asclepius among the stars. Temples of healing called Asclepieia sprang up throughout Greece, where the sick slept in hopes of receiving healing dreams — an early form of clinical medicine.