by Agron Dalipaj. Translation Petrit Latifi.

Asclepios, the son of Apollo and the nymph Coronea, is the god of medicine in Greek mythology. His story begins with a tragedy: Coronei, Apollo’s human lover, betrays him with a mortal. When Apollo learns of this, he orders her to be burned at the stake. But before the flames can consume her, Apollo rescues the child from her womb. Thus, Asclepios is born – amidst the fire, taken from the womb of a mother who was burning because of her fault.

The child grows up under the care of the centaur Chiron, who teaches him the art of healing. Asclepios becomes so powerful that he can even resurrect the dead, which shakes the order established by the gods. Zeus, worried that Asclepius is breaking the boundary between life and death, strikes him with a bolt of lightning – a celestial bolt that kills him. But then, because of his greatness, Asclepius ascends to heaven and is deified.

Etymology according to Albanian reveals the very essence of the myth of Asclepius:

ASKLEPI < A-SHKLEP-I < A-I-SHKREP = A I SKLEP = A’SKLEP’I Only two well-known rotations (sh > s e r > l) were enough for us to motivate the etymology of the myth. ASKLEPI = A-SHKREP-i = Asht i shkrepuur, the one who is caused, formed and struck by lightning, by the collisions of divine energy.

The extremes of his life are two fires:

The fire of birth, where he emerges from the womb of his burnt mother – a bolt from Apollo.

The fire of death, where he is struck down by Zeus’s lightning bolt – a punishing bolt, but also an ascent towards deification.
He was born from a fire and returned to fire, and his name is the seal of this experience:

ASHKREP – the one struck, the one struck between the world of men and the divine.

Thus, in the light of the Albanian language, Asklepios appears as a figure who embodies the divine lightning that heals and destroys, resurrects and overthrows – but above all, transforms.

Etymology becomes light on the myth, and Albanian becomes the language that gives voice to the divinity.

Conclusion: the name as fate and mythical testimony.

The name of Asclepius, broken down into A-SHKREP-I, contains his entire mythical path:
– birth from flame
– growth with knowledge
– healing and resurrection
– death by lightning
– resurrection as a deity

This is a wonderful example of how the Albanian language, through its embryomorphemes, can unravel the hidden meanings of mythology and provide not only etymology, but also hermeneutics of myth.