Asclepius

The god of medicine. He is the son of Apollo and Coronis, a beautiful maiden of Thessaly. Angry because Coronis was unfaithful to him, Apollo killed her and took his infant son to a centaur named Chiron to be raised. Asclepius learned all that Chiron knew about the art of healing and soon became a great physician. One day he committed the unpardonable sin of raising a man from the dead and so Zeus killed him with a thunderbolt. For hundreds of years after his death, the sick visited the many temples built in Asclepius' honor. There they offer sacrifices and pray to Asclepius who, they believe, would come to them in dreams and prescribe cures for their illnesses. His symbol is the snake.