Asclepius's major shrine was at Epidauros, which is where the name "Epidauria" comes from. As for where the sacred snake stuff comes from, well, snakes have been associated with youth and immortality since prehistoric times because of their ability to shed their skins. Some scholars say they are also associated with fertility because of their resemblance to a phallic symbol! Snakes were especially sacred to the Athenians, who associated them with the Athenian god-king Erechthonius--more on him in the selection from Ovid, below.

The first offering on our list is an obituary for Asclepius, whose life and death were the subject of contemplation for postulants during the Epidauria phase of the Eleusinian Mysteries. If you don't know anything about Asclepius, make sure you start here!

Next, there are two accounts of Asclepius's birth, one by Pindar and one by Ovid. For copyright reasons, we have asked a non-profit educational website to host and password protect modern translations of these works. All postulants will receive the password. If you are not a postulant, never fear: other translations are available on line or in books.

Pindar, Pythian Three
Ovid, selection from Metamorphoses, Book Two

The difference between these two versions of the same story is a fascinating example of the flexibility of mythology and how it was adapted during ancient times to fit the storyteller's needs. For many people, that's the most interesting thing about mythology. Through the way people described their gods, we can get a feeling for what the people themselves were like, their values and their concerns. Here's some background on Pindar and Ovid that might help clarify some of the details in the two texts:

Pindar was a professional Greek poet living at the height of the classical period in the 5^th century B.C. He made his living by composing odes in favor of wealthy patrons who supported him in return for the privilege of being immortalized in his poetry. Usually these patrons had a stake in the sacred athletic competitions at the Olympic, Nemean, Pythian, or Isthmian games. The Olympian and Nemean games were sacred to Zeus, the Isthmian games were sacred to Poseidon, and the Pythian games were sacred to Apollo.

In "Pythian Three," the third of his odes to a patron of the Pythian games, Pindar addresses Hieron of Syracuse. Hieron was in poor health at the time, so Pindar chose to use the games' association with Apollo to introduce the myth of Apollo's son, the famous healer. The way in which he adapts the myth is significant: he uses it to make a comment on the dangers of wanting too much or reaching too high, a typical example of the Greek emphasis on "Nothing in Excess." The desire for "things remote" and the appetite that causes her to anticipate her marriage vows are, literally, the death of Asclepius's mother Koronis.

At the end of the ode, Pindar also meditates on the fact that the only road to immortality is through your progeny--a typical theme in the poetry of both Greece and Rome, and indeed in most poetic traditions of the pre-Christian era. In the case of "Pythian Three," the concept of progeny extends to cover the literature or art that you leave behind as opposed to actual children, another common idea in ancient Greece and Rome. Thus, Pindar reminds Hieron that it is important to consider the legacy one leaves behind (and it's important to pay a good poet to ensure that legacy is an enduring one!).

Ovid, on the other hand, was a sophisticated Roman living at the court of Caesar Augustus in the 1^st century B.C. Life under the Roman emperors was very different from life in a Greek polis, especially if you lived at court. One of the first rules you learned was to keep your mouth shut and not to expose yourself. The imperial court was a dangerous place to live. Idle gossip could, and frequently did, get people killed. Thus, the story of the fate of the gossipy raven. Whether or not Ovid meant specifically to warn his audience against the dangers of idle gossip, the theme would have been a familiar one to them and would have been natural for him to incorporate into his rendition.

Ovid's purpose in writing the Metamorphoses was to use various stories of metamorphosis, or change, as a theme to tie together the old myths. That's where the title comes from, and that's why the description of the raven's metamorphosis has such an important position at the end of his account.

Pindar's purpose, on the other hand, is to soothe and please his ailing patron, using the myth as a cautionary tale about wanting more than we are fated to have and not being content with what we've got.

Notice how Ovid nests other stories (the one about the crow, and inside that, the story of Athene's owl, Nyctimene) inside his tale of Asclepius's birth. This was typical of his elaborate literary style, very different from Pindar's straightforward delivery that was intended for oral performance.