# Aesculapius — The City of God character guide

> Aesculapius in The City of God by Augustine of Hippo.

**Role:** minor

**Also known as:** O Aesculapius

**First appearance:** 0002-part-i-book-i

## Who they are

Roman god of medicine and healing, son of Apollo, worshipped for cures.

## In the story

### [XII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_city_of_god_se/chapters/part-i-xii)

Noted as having left Epidaurus for Rome to practice medicine.

### [Chapter XVII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_city_of_god_se/chapters/part-i-xvii)

God of medicine brought from Epidaurus during a plague; Augustine mocks his inability to prevent the pestilence or help pregnant women.

### [XXII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_city_of_god_se/chapters/part-i-xxii)

Mentioned as a god whose power to bestow health must be known for proper worship.

### [Concerning the three kinds of gods about which the pontiff Scaevola has discoursed](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_city_of_god_se/chapters/part-i-xxvii)

Listed among those who were actually mortal men, not gods.

### [XXIII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_city_of_god_se/chapters/part-i-xxiii)

The interlocutor of Hermes Trismegistus, to whom Hermes explains the nature of man-made gods.

### [XXVI](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_city_of_god_se/chapters/part-i-xxvi)

Cited as a god who was once a man, with a temple containing his earthly body.

### [XVI](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_city_of_god_se/chapters/part-i-xvi)

Referenced in the story of the Epidaurian serpent that accompanied him on his voyage to Rome.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_city_of_god_se/characters/aesculapius
- Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_city_of_god_se
- All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_city_of_god_se/characters