Aratus (Ancient Greek: Ἄρατος) was in Greek mythology the son of the god Asclepius and the mortal Sicyonian woman Aristodeme.
He was half-brother to Aceso, Aegle, Hygieia, Iaso, Meditrina, Panacea, Machaon, Podalirius, and Telesphoros.
Literary evidence of Aratus's parentage largely comes via references from one single author, the geographer Pausanias.
[1][2] However, there are other remnants, such as an inscription dating from the second or third century BCE and unearthed in the city of Epidaurus that reads: "[We] set up this dragon, the monstrous father of the hero Aratus, to be guardian of possessions.
"[3] It is unclear to what extent Aratus as the son of Asclepius was an existing mythological tradition and to what extent it was a post-hoc mythologizing of Aratus of Sicyon after his death.