The Use of the Figure and the Myth of Asclepius in the Greek anti-pagan Controversy

• Main Author: Spampinato, Gaetano
• Format: Online
• Language: English
• Published: Centre for the Study of Myth and Religion in Greek and Roman Antiquity 2020
• Subjects: Medicine, Plants, Vegetables, Fruits, Disease, Magic, Religion; Greek mythology; Oresteia, Agamemnon, Clytemnestra; disbelief, iamata, epigraphic evidence, literary evidence, divine punishment, incubation; Iphigénie, Iphigénie en Tauride, sacrifice, protéleia, prémices; Asclepius, Justin martyr, Athenagoras, Clement of Alexandria, Origen, Contra Celsum, euhemerism; Hercules; Steve Moore; comics; myth;counterfeit;origami; repetition; Agamemnon, hero, Kassandra, Amyklai, Zeus; Asclepius, testimonials, medical treatment, Aristides; Heracles’ private life; Love; Family; Man /woman; Mythic parallels; greek mythology; Agamemnon, history, rhetoric, politics; Ηρακλής; Γέλα; Ακράγας; Ρόδος; Κρήτη; Snake, ambiguity, health in antiquity, healing cult, symbolism, ancient medicine, snake imagery, manipulation

In this article we analyse how the figure and the myth of Asclepius were used in the controversy against the “pagans” and their divinities by Christian apologetics – specifically, the First Apology of Justin, the Legatio of Athenagoras, the Exhortation to the Greeks of Clement of Alexandria and the...