Panacea

In Greek mythology, Panacea (Greek Πανάκεια, Panakeia), a goddess of universal remedy, was the daughter of Asclepius and Epione. Panacea and her four sisters each performed a facet of Apollo's art:[1]

• 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)

Panacea
Goddess of universal remedy
Panacea (center) administering medicine to a baby. Image by the Veronese physician, J. Gazola, as part of a larger woodcut, 1716.
Abode	Mount Olympus
Personal information
Parents	Asclepius and Epione
Siblings	Aceso, Aegle, Aratus, Hygieia, Iaso, Machaon, Podalirius, Telesphoros

Panacea also had four brothers:

• Podaleirus, one of the two kings of Tricca, who was skilled in diagnostics
• Machaon, the other king of Tricca, who was a master surgeon (these two took part in the Trojan War until Machaon was killed by Penthesilea, queen of the Amazons)
• Telesphoros, who devoted his life to serving Asclepius
• Aratus, Panacea's half-brother, a Greek hero and the patron/liberator of Sicyon

However, portrayals of the family were not always consistent; Panacea and her sisters each at times appear as Asclepius' wife instead.[2]

Panacea may have been an independent goddess before being absorbed into the Asclepius myth.[1]

Panacea traditionally had a poultice or potion with which she healed the sick. This brought about the concept of the panacea in medicine, a substance with the alleged property of curing all diseases. The term "panacea" has also come into figurative use as meaning "something used to solve all problems".[3]

The opening of the Hippocratic Oath mentions Panacea :[4]

Ὄμνυμι Ἀπόλλωνα ἰητρὸν καὶ Ἀσκληπιὸν καὶ Ὑγείαν καὶ Πανάκειαν καὶ θεοὺς πάντας τε καὶ πάσας ἵστορας ποιεύμενος ἐπιτελέα ποιήσειν κατὰ δύναμιν καὶ κρίσιν ἐμὴν ὅρκον τόνδε καὶ ξυγγραφὴν τήνδε.

I swear, calling upon Apollo the physician and Asclepius, Hygeia and Panaceia and all the gods and goddesses as witnesses, that I will fulfill this oath and this contract according to my ability and judgment.

A river in Thrace/Moesia took its name from the goddess, and is still known in modern Bulgaria as the river Zlatna Panega ("Golden Panega", from Greek panakeia).