Therapeutae (plural) is Latin from the Greek plural ''Therapeutai'' (Θεραπευταί). The term ''therapeutes'' means one who is attendant to the gods although the term, and the related adjective ''therapeutikos'' carry in later texts the meaning of attending to heal, or treating in a spiritual or medical sense. The Greek feminine plural ''Therapeutrides'' (Θεραπευτρίδες) is sometimes encountered for their female members. The term therapeutae may occur in relation to followers of

Asclepius Asclepius (; grc-gre, Ἀσκληπιός ''Asklēpiós'' ; la, Aesculapius) is a hero and god of medicine in ancient Religion in ancient Greece, Greek religion and Greek mythology, mythology. He is the son of Apollo and Coronis (lover of ...

at Pergamon, and ''therapeutai'' may also occur in relation to worshippers of

Sarapis Serapis or Sarapis is a Graeco-Egyptian deity. The cult of Serapis was promoted during the third century BC on the orders of Greek Pharaoh Ptolemy I Soter of the Ptolemaic Kingdom in Egypt as a means to unify the Greeks and Egyptians in his r ...

in inscriptions, such as on

Delos The island of Delos (; el, Δήλος ; Attic: , Doric: ), near Mykonos, near the centre of the Cyclades archipelago, is one of the most important mythological, historical, and archaeological sites in Greece. The excavations in the island are ...

. The therapeutae of Asclepius were a recognized and designated association in antiquity that included the physicians, their attendants and support staff, in the larger temples of

. These healing temples were known as

Asclepeion Asclepieia ( grc, Ἀσκληπιεῖον ''Asklepieion''; Ἀσκλαπιεῖον in Doric dialect; Latin ''aesculapīum'') were healing temples located in ancient Greece (and in the wider Hellenistic and Roman world), dedicated to Asclepius ...

s. Examples of famous therapeutae of Asclepius between 300 BCE and 300 CE include

Hippocrates Hippocrates of Kos (; grc-gre, Ἱπποκράτης ὁ Κῷος, Hippokrátēs ho Kôios; ), also known as Hippocrates II, was a Greek physician of the classical period who is considered one of the most outstanding figures in the history of ...

Apollonius of Tyana Apollonius of Tyana ( grc, Ἀπολλώνιος ὁ Τυανεύς; c. 3 BC – c. 97 AD) was a Greek Neopythagorean philosopher from the town of Tyana in the Roman province of Cappadocia in Anatolia. He is the subject of ''L ...

Aelius Aristides Publius Aelius Aristides Theodorus ( grc-gre, Πόπλιος Αἴλιος Ἀριστείδης Θεόδωρος; 117–181 AD) was a Greek orator and author considered to be a prime example as a member of the Second Sophistic, a group of celebra ...

and

Galen Aelius Galenus or Claudius Galenus ( el, Κλαύδιος Γαληνός; September 129 – c. AD 216), often Anglicized as Galen () or Galen of Pergamon, was a Greek physician, surgeon and philosopher in the Roman Empire. Considered to be one of ...

. The Greek word has the primary meaning of 'one who serves the gods, or 'worshipper'. Aelius Aristides in the later 2nd century writes: ''"We Asclepius therapeutae must agree with the god that Pergamum is the best of his sanctuaries."'' - Sacred Tales (39.5) Galen used his designation of "therapeutae" to secure from the Roman Emperor

Marcus Aurelius Marcus Aurelius Antoninus (Latin: áːɾkus̠ auɾέːli.us̠ antɔ́ːni.us̠ English: ; 26 April 121 – 17 March 180) was Roman emperor from 161 to 180 AD and a Stoic philosopher. He was the last of the rulers known as the Five Good ...

exemption from military service. In their book ''Voluntary Associations in the Graeco-Roman World'' the authors state: "Some therapeutae are known to have rented apartments within the sanctuary in order to be close to the deity'' (Apileius, Met, 11.19.1). ''Very little is known about the purpose of the therapeutae. Vidman thinks they were simple worshipers united in a loose association (1970:69, 125-38). ''cf. therapeutae of Asclepius at Perganon'' (Habicht 1969: 114-115)"Voluntary Associations in the Graeco-Roman World, edited by

John S. Kloppenborg John S. (Seargeant) Kloppenborg (born 1951) is a Canadian professor of Religious Studies with expertise in Greco-Roman culture, Judean culture and Christian Origins, particularly the synoptic gospels and Q-source. He is presently at the Unive ...

, Stephen G. Wilson. The following authors (in their books) make reference to the therapeutae: *

Aelian Aelian or Aelianus may refer to: * Aelianus Tacticus, Greek military writer of the 2nd century, who lived in Rome * Casperius Aelianus, Praetorian Prefect, executed by Trajan * Claudius Aelianus, Roman writer, teacher and historian of the 3rd centu ...

De Natura Animalium Claudius Aelianus ( grc, Κλαύδιος Αἰλιανός, Greek transliteration ''Kláudios Ailianós''; c. 175c. 235 AD), commonly Aelian (), born at Praeneste, was a Roman author and teacher of rhetoric who flourished under Septimius Severus ...

Varia Historia Claudius Aelianus ( grc, Κλαύδιος Αἰλιανός, Greek transliteration ''Kláudios Ailianós''; c. 175c. 235 AD), commonly Aelian (), born at Praeneste, was a Roman author and teacher of rhetoric who flourished under Septimius Severus ...

Aristides Aristides ( ; grc-gre, Ἀριστείδης, Aristeídēs, ; 530–468 BC) was an ancient Athenian statesman. Nicknamed "the Just" (δίκαιος, ''dikaios''), he flourished in the early quarter of Athens' Classical period and is remember ...

: Orationes * Athenaeus: The Deipnosophists * Basil: Epistulae *

Claudius Ptolemy Claudius Ptolemy (; grc-gre, Πτολεμαῖος, ; la, Claudius Ptolemaeus; AD) was a mathematician, astronomer, astrologer, geographer, and music theorist, who wrote about a dozen scientific treatises, three of which were of importance ...

: Tetrabiblos *

Clement of Alexandria Titus Flavius Clemens, also known as Clement of Alexandria ( grc , Κλήμης ὁ Ἀλεξανδρεύς; – ), was a Christian theologian and philosopher who taught at the Catechetical School of Alexandria. Among his pupils were Origen and ...

: Protrepticus * Dionysius of Halicarnassus: Antiquitates Romanae Books I-III, VII-IX * Eusebius of Caesarea: Historia ecclesiastica * Greek Anthology: Volume II * John of Damascus: Vita Barlaam et Joasaph * Julian the Emperor: Epistulae * Plato: Euthydemus, Protagoras, Gorgias, Meno, Laws, Parmenides, Philebus, Symposium, Phaedrus, Republic * Plutarch: Maxime cum principbus philosopho esse diserendum *

Strabo Strabo''Strabo'' (meaning "squinty", as in strabismus) was a term employed by the Romans for anyone whose eyes were distorted or deformed. The father of Pompey was called "Pompeius Strabo". A native of Sicily so clear-sighted that he could see ...

: Geography * Xenophon: Cyropaedia

References

{{Reflist Ancient Greek medicine Asclepius