Asklepios, son of Apollo, is god of healing and medicine. Born mortal, he died, but somehow eventually attained a unique status between god and hero. *

Myth

Asklepios, taught by the centaur Cheiron to be a great healer, crossed a line when he attempted to raise the dead, and Zeus struck him down with a thunderbolt. In anger, Apollo kills the Cyclops who created the thunderbolt in the first place, and was made to serve a mortal for a year in punishment. (This death, however, seems to have affected Asklepios' worship very little.)

Worship

Widely popular, Asklepios' healing sanctuaries arose quickly throughout Greece as soon as he was introduced. Those in need of healing visited these sanctuaries, hoping for healing or for a dream telling them of a cure for their malady.

More detailed information on Asklepios can be found here.

References

• Burkert, Walter. Greek Religion. Harvard University Press, Cambridge, 1985.
• Gantz, Timothy. Early Greek Myth, Volumes 1 and 2. Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore, 1993.
• Kerenyi, Karl. The Gods of the Greeks. Thames and Hudson, London, 1951.
• Nilsson, Martin P. Greek Folk Religion. University of Pennsylvania Press, Philadelphia, 1940.