Telesphorus (mythology)

[1] He symbolized recovery from illness, as his name means "the accomplisher" or "bringer of completion" in Greek.

[1] Telesphorus is assumed to have been a Celtic god in origin, who was taken to Anatolia by the Galatians in the 3rd century BC, where he would have become associated with the Greek god of medicine, Asclepius, perhaps in Pergamon (an Asclepian cult center) and spread again to the West due to the rise of the Roman Empire, in particular during the 2nd century AD, from the reign of Hadrian.

[4] Ancient hymns honor and thank Telesphorus for guarding and favoring the birth of their healthy children.

[6] Telesphorus is the only one of the three names to be cited as a child of Asclepius in an Attican inscription from the second century AD.

[4] The temple of Telesphorus was a two-story dormitory in the Sanctuary of Asclepius, located in Pergamon, Turkey.

[8] These temples were used as sanctuaries for healing rituals conducted by priests, and they were built high up on a rocky outcrop of land known as the Felsbarre.

[9] Another coin shows Asclepius and Telesphorus being recognized in conjunction as medical deities whose duties were to bring care and power to the atonement of health.