The name Ofiuco derives from the Greek word ofiokosche that means "who holds the snake":
indeed the constellation of the Snake crosses in the sky that one of the Ofiuco, like if
the animal were tightened between the hands of this last one. There is a great variety of
interpretations on the identity of the personage,but second the Greek astronomers,would
be Asclepio (Esculapio for the Roman), son of Coronide and Apollo, the God of the Sun.
The mother, after to have conceived the son from the God, had a relation with the mortal
man Ischys. A crow, time ago a candid sacred bird to Apollo,communicated the news to the
God that for the fury before changed in black the color of the sacred animal and then made
to die in flames the young woman guilty of the betrayal: but the God moved from compassion,
saved the child that she had in lap. Entrusted to the education of the centauro Chirone,
Asclepio became very soon skillful in the curative limbs, to the point to be considered
from many historicans the father of the medicine. A day these came called from the king
Minosse for take care of the son,Glauco,dead in a honey vase. While he observed its body,
Asclepio noticed a snake in the attempt to coil itself to the stick of wood that carried
with himself: with a fast release killed the animal using the same stick. All at once but
an other snake entered in the room and relived the reptile with a miraculous grass that
the same Asclepio collected and used in order to bring back Glauco while still alive.
For this reason still today the symbol of the medicine is a snake coiled to a stick, in
memory of the event. After that episode, Asclepio became famous for its ability to relive
the dead men (some say that also Ippolito, son of Teseo): such to be able it was not
appreciate to Ade, the God of the dead men,than seeing threatened its reign,asked to Zeus
to take part. The father of gods, hit with a lightning the son of Apollo, which inflamed
from the anger killed the three Ciclopi that forged the lightning. Zeus therefore for calm
the anger putted Asclepio in the firmament, under constellation shape. The more shining
star of the Ofiuco is Rasalhague,than in Arab it means "the head of who collects the snake".
It follows Cebalrai, from the Arabic word that means "the dog of the shepherdesses", since
the Arabs saw in the star a shepherdesses (Rasalhague) with its flock and its dog.