Which Roman god was the god of medicine and healing, son of Apollo?

The Roman god of medicine and healing, son of Apollo, was Aesculapius. He is the Roman name for the Greek god Asclepius, whose cult centered on curing illness and training physicians.

According to myth, Apollo fathered Asclepius with Coronis, a mortal woman. In one famous version, Apollo rescued the unborn child from Coronis’s funeral pyre and entrusted him to the centaur Chiron, who taught him medicine. Asclepius eventually became so skilled that he could restore the dead, alarming Jupiter, who struck him with lightning.

His most recognizable emblem is a staff entwined by a single serpent—the Rod of Asclepius, still used as a medical symbol. This is often confused with the caduceus, Mercury’s winged staff with two serpents, which is not the traditional symbol of medicine.

Healing sanctuaries called asklepieia operated in the Greek world and influenced Roman practice. Visitors sought cures through rituals, prayers, purification, and reported dream encounters with the god.