Asclepiad (Greek)

For other uses, see Asclepiad

For other uses, see Asclepiad
It is uncertain as to who an Asclepiad was. Some theories hold that they were priest

Priest

A priest or priestess is a person having the authority or power to administer religious rites; in particular, rites of sacrifice to, and propitiation of, a deity or deities. Their office or position is the priesthood, a term which may also apply to such persons collectively.Priests and priestesses...

s of an Asclepion

Asclepieion

In ancient Greece and Rome, an asclepeion was a healing temple, sacred to the god Asclepius....

 in ancient Greece

Ancient Greece

Ancient Greece is the civilisation belonging to the period of Greek history lasting from the Greek Dark Ages ca. 1100 BC and the Dorian invasion, to 146 BC and the Roman conquest of Greece after the Battle of Corinth. It is generally considered to be the seminal culture which provided the...

. The Asclepiadae could also have been a guild in honour of Asclepius

Asclepius

Asclepius is the god of medicine and healing in ancient Greek religion. Asclepius represents the healing aspect of the medical arts; his daughters are Hygieia , Iaso , Aceso , Aglæa/Ægle , and Panacea...

, the Greek god of healing, separate from the healing temples and closely related to Hippocratic tradition. It may also be a group of people who claimed to be descended from Asclepius.. Asclepiades was the name of several physicians, some of whom probably assumed this appellation either as a sort of honorary title in allusion to the ancient family of the Asclepiadae, or in order to signify that they themselves belonged to it.