Panacea- Greek GodDeity

The Daughter of Asclepius

Panacea was a daughter of Asclepius, the god of medicine, and his wife Epione. Her name meant "all-healing" — from pan, "all," and akos, "cure" — and her domain was the remedy itself, the herb or potion that could defeat any disease. Her sister Hygieia preserved health before sickness took hold; Panacea was the cure after it arrived. Their brothers Machaon and Podalirius practiced the family's art as surgeons at Troy.

Oath and Sanctuary

Panacea is invoked at the opening of the Hippocratic Oath, which dates to the fourth or fifth century BCE: "I swear by Apollo the physician, and Asclepius, and Hygieia, and Panacea, and all the gods and goddesses, making them my witnesses." Physicians who took it named her as one of four divine witnesses to their vow.

She received worship at the Asclepieia — the healing sanctuaries of Asclepius — at Epidaurus, Cos, and Athens. The sick traveled from across the Greek world to sleep in sacred dormitories and wait for the gods to visit them in dreams. The healing inscriptions at Epidaurus record cases of the blind regaining sight and the lame walking after sleeping in the sanctuary. Dedications from these sites name Panacea alongside her father and sisters, often from patients who believed the divine family had cured them. At the sanctuary of Amphiaraos at Oropos, Pausanias records that Panacea shared a section of the great altar with Iaso, Hygieia, and Athena Paeonia, each receiving their portion of sacrifice from suppliants seeking health.