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Son of Diotimus; of Myrlea (Myrlea is a city in Bithynia, now called Apamea);[1] but by his original descent, of Nicaea. A pupil of Apollonius.[2] He lived in the time of Attalus and Eumenes, the kings of Pergamum. He wrote on the textual criticism of philosophical books. He also taught in Rome in the time of Pompey the Great, and spent time in Alexandria under Ptolemy IV as a young man. He wrote many works.
Also [sc. attested are the phrases] "Asclepieian drug" and "Asclepeian drug", but "Asclepe-ian shrine". Also [attested are the] Asclepiadae, the doctors, [named] from Asclepius.
He [derived his name] from keeping bodies tough [askele] and gentle [epia].[3]
Asclepius, the patron of medicine, could heal Pauson and Irus and any other hopeless case. See under Pauson and Irus.[4]
And Aelian [writes]: "he, suffering miserably from an illness (the children of the Asclepiadae call it inflammation of the lungs) at first was in need of human medicine."[5]

*)asklhpia/dhs, *dioti/mou, *murleano/s [po/lis de/ e)sti *biquni/as, h( nu=n *)apa/meia kaloume/nh], to\ de\ a)/nwqen ge/nos h)=n *nikaeu/s: grammatiko\s, maqhth\s *)apollwni/ou. ge/gone de\ e)pi\ tou= *)atta/lou kai\ *eu)menou=s tw=n e)n *perga/mw| basile/wn. e)/graye filoso/fwn bibli/wn diorqwtika/: e)pai/deuse de\ kai\ ei)s *(rw/mhn e)pi\ *pomphi/+ou tou= mega/lou kai\ e)n *)alecandrei/a| e)pi\ tou= teta/rtou *ptolemai/ou ne/os die/triyen. e)/graye polla/. kai\ *)asklhpi/eion fa/rmakon kai\ *)asklh/peion fa/rmakon, *)asklhph/i+on de\ i(ero/n. kai\ *)asklhpia/dai, oi( i)atroi\, a)po\ *)asklhpiou=. ou(=tos de\ para\ to\ a)skelh= kai\ h)/pia fula/ttein ta\ sw/mata. o(/ti *)asklhpio\s, e)/foros th=s i)atrikh=s, *pau/swna kai\ *)=iron ka)\n a)/llon tina\ tw=n a)po/rwn i)a/saito. zh/tei e)n tw=| *pau/swn kai\ *)=iros. kai\ *ai)liano/s: o( de\ a)qli/ws no/sw| [peripneumoni/an kalou=sin *)asklhpiadw=n pai=des au)th\n] piezo/menos ta\ me\n prw=ta e)dei=to th=s a)nqrw/pwn i)atrikh=s.

C1 BC. See generally RE Asklepiades(28); NP Asklepiades(8); OCD4 Asclepiades(4); FGrH 697.
[1] cf. [mu 1442] Myrleanos.
[2] Not identified.
[3] A clearer formulation of this etymology can be found in the Etymologicum Magnum, s.v.: 'because he makes tough [askele] (i.e. harsh) diseases mild [epia]'.
[4] pi 823.
[5] Aelian fr. 92c Domingo-Forasté (part of 89 Hercher); cf. eta 558.

David Whitehead (augmented notes; added keywords; cosmetics) on 26 August 2002@05:49:48.
David Whitehead (cosmetics) on 24 April 2012@09:48:08.
Catharine Roth (updated reference) on 29 October 2012@18:19:46.
David Whitehead (updated a ref) on 30 July 2014@08:43:11.
Catharine Roth (coding) on 24 November 2015@18:55:04.
Catharine Roth (tweaked translation on the basis of a suggestion of Brady Kiesling) on 27 December 2016@17:49:02.

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