In Greek mythology, Panacea is a healing goddess with a large family. Her father is Asclepius, god of medicine and son of visionary god Apollo. Her mother, the goddess Epione is the personification of soothing of pain for healing.
Panacea might have been an independent goddess before her association with Asclepian deities. Asclepius himself is half-mortal, until Zeus kills him with a thunderbolt and makes him a full god in compensation, as Apollo cries amber tears at the death of his son.
Zeus kills him because Asclepius is bringing people back from the dead, and becomes so skilled he can render a person immortal. This upsets the cosmological balance, leading to complexes of human superiority and the death of gods.
Epione and Asclepius have nine children. They are:
Panacea, the goddess of universal health
Hygieia, "Hygiene", the goddess/personification of health, cleanliness, and sanitation
Iaso the goddess of recuperation from illness
Aceso the goddess of the healing process
Aegle the goddess of radiant good health
Podaleirus, one of the two kings of Tricca, skilled in diagnostics
Machaon, the other king of Tricca, a master surgeon; in the Trojan War Machaon is killed by Penthesilea, queen of the Amazons
Telesphoros, who devotes his life to serving Asclepius
Aratus, Panacea's half-brother, a Greek hero and patron/liberator of Sicyon
Goddess Panacea uses a poultice or potion to heal the sick, leading to the idea of a panacea in medicine - a substance believed to cure all illnesses. Over time, the term "panacea" is also used figuratively to describe a solution for all problems.
A panacea is a remedy claimed to cure all diseases and prolong life indefinitely. It's sought in history by alchemists as an elixir of immortality. It might be created through the philosopher's stone, a substance enabling transmutation of common metals into gold, and illness into health.
Ancient Greek and Roman scholars describe various kinds of plants that called panacea or panaces, such as resinous Opopanax sp., Centaurea (knapweed) sp., Levisticum officinale (lovage), Achillea millefolium (yarrow) and Echinophora tenuifolia (tarhana herb).
Beginning in the late 17th century, cure-alls become known as patent medicines, available without a prescription. Some attract royal favor, and authorize use of the royal endorsement in advertising.
"Panacea" becomes a major trend in the 18th and 19th centuries. Many patent medicines are claimed to be panaceas. The term is used in a negative way to describe overuse of any one solution to solve different problems, especially in medicine.
Patent medicines do not fully disclose their ingredients, which may consist of antiseptics, analgesics, sedatives, laxatives, antacids, cold and cough remedies or various skin products. The term "snake oil" is based on use of mildly venomous water snakes in Chinese medicine.
From the 18th century to the 20th, patent medicines purporting to be universal remedies are widespread. Addictive substances like cocaine, amphetamine, alcohol, and opium-based mixtures or potions are added, or perhaps a little axle grease to make it taste like medicine.
After the deaths of several people from accidental overdose of pills, in the 19th century the law comes down on false marketing and dangerous ingredients in Europe and America. Pharmaceutical societies are established. Miracle cures are still sold today.
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