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A marble statue of Asclepius that was found in one of the Terrace Houses at Ephesus.
We have posted other statues of Asclepius: one from Perga (Turkey) and another from Epidaurus (Greece).
Asclepius was considered to be the son of Apollo, the god of healing. He was at first considered to be a mortal, but then after his death he was deified as a god – the god of medicine. He is often depicted with a serpent wound around a staff – a symbol still used in the medical profession. Indeed snakes were used as part of the healing process.
At times he bore the title "soter," or "savior" and thus as a healer and savior competed with the work of Christ and the early Church.
