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ix] Asklepios as Year-Daimon 381
maiden-youth in its first bloom, who is but the young form of
Hera Teleia 1
, the Kore.
Herakles, it is abundantly clear from his cornucopia, is Agathos
Daimon ; but if so, we naturally ask where is his characteristic
snake? He has no kerykeion, no snake-twined staff; his body
never ends, like that of Cecrops, in a snake's tail. Olympos did
not gladly suffer snakes, and Herakles, aiming at Olympos, wisely
sloughed off his snake-nature. While yet in his cradle he slew
the two snakes that attacked him and his twin brother Iphikles 2 .
We shall later 3 see the significance of this snake-slaying which
is common to many heroes and which culminates as it were in
the myth of the slaying of the Python of Apollo.
Another hero-daimon Saviour and Defender like Herakles was
less prudent ; he kept his snake and stayed outside Olympos, the
great Hero-Healer with the snake-twined staff, Asklepios.
ASKLEPIOS AND TeLESPHOROS.
Asklepios is a god but no Olympian ; his art-type is modelled
on that of Zeus ; he is bearded, benign, venerable ; he is, in fact,
the Zeus of daimon-heroes. He never becomes an Olympian
because he remains functional rather than personal, he is always
the Saviour-Healer.
On the snake-aspect of Asklepios it is needless to dwell, it is
it was desired to introduce the cult of the god
manifest 4 . When
from Epidauros 5 , a sacred snake was sent for whether to Rome or
Athens. In art as a rule the snake is twined about his staff, but
1 For Hebe as Ganymeda and her ancient cult at Pblius see Prolegomena
p. 325. For the relations of Hebe to Heva, and of both to Herakles, I may refer
forward to Mr Cook's Zeus.
2 Herakles slaying the snakes appears on silver coins of Thebes and on redfigured
vases. See Roscher, Lexicon, s.v. Herakles. The origin of the twin nature
of so many 'heroes' of Daktyl type has been explained by Dr Kaibel, op. cit., and
does not here concern us.
3 Infra, pp. 429—436.
4 For details as to the snake-origin of Asklepios see my Prolegomena, p. 342.
Fick, in Bezzenberger's Beitrage, 1901, p. 313, suggests that the difficult name
Asklepios is connected with aKakairaty, to turn round and round. Hesychius
explains aKaXaird^ei as pl^erai—he coils or rolls round.
5 Paus. viii. 8. 4, n. 10. 3, in. 23. 7.