Source edition
Aristides. Vol. 1. Dindorf, Wilhelm, editor. Leipzig: Reimer, 1829.
Source data
Perseus Digital Library · CC BY-SA 4.0
Cloned and adapted by Humanitext, with ongoing edits.
Summary
This oration is a hymn dedicated to Machaon and Podalirius, the sons of the god of medicine, Asclepius. Guided by a divine dream-vision, the author begins by praising their sacred lineage and the noble upbringing they received directly from Apollo and Asclepius. The narrative then describes how they ruled Thessaly with justice and voluntarily joined the Trojan War to bring salvation to all of Greece. The author highlights their extraordinary valor and medical skills during the war, their subsequent colonization efforts, and how their art of healing has spread as an immortal blessing to all of humanity through their descendants, the Asclepiadae. Finally, the work extols their contributions to earthly governance and their ongoing salvation of humans as immortal deities, concluding with the author's own prayer for healing from illness and for personal peace upon awakening from the dream.