In Greek mythology, Machaon (; ) was a son of Asclepius; and the older brother of Podalirius. He and his brother led an army from Tricca in the Trojan War on the side of the Greeks.Homer, Iliad 2.729–32
Family Machaon fathered Nicomachus and Gorgasus by Anticleia, daughter of Diocles of Pharae.Pausanias, 4.30.2 His other sons were Alexanor,Pausanias, 2.11.5, 2.23.4 & 2.38.6 SphyrusPausanias, 2.23.4 and Polemocrates.Pausanias, 2.38.6
According to Diogenes Laertius's Lives and Opinions of Eminent Philosophers, Hermippus, in his book On Aristotle, places Machaon as the son of Asclepius, father of Nicomachus, and ancestor of Aristotle.
Mythology Both Machaon and Podalirius were highly valued surgeons and medics.Homer, Iliad 2.730 In the Iliad, he was wounded and put out of action by Paris.Homer, Iliad 11.506 Machaon (or his brother) healed Telephus, Menelaus (after he sustained an arrow at the hand of Pandarus), and the foot infection of Philoctetes during the war. He was also supposed to possess herbs which were bestowed to his father Asclepius by Chiron, the centaur.Homer, Iliad 4.219
He was killed by Eurypylus in the tenth year of the war.Quintus Smyrnaeus, 6.408 He was buried in Gerenia in Messenia, where he was worshiped by the people.
In the account of Dares the Phrygian, Machaon was illustrated as ". . . large and brave, dependable, prudent, patient, and merciful."Dares Phrygius, History of the Fall of Troy 13 Legacy
The Old World swallowtail butterfly (Papilio machaon) references Machaon in its binomial name. Machaonia, a plant genus in Rubiaceae, is named for Machaon. The Jovian trojan asteroid 3063 Makhaon is named after him.Schmadel, Lutz D. (2003) Dictionary of minor planet names, Springer - p.252
Notes
References
Dares Phrygius, from The Trojan War. The Chronicles of Dictys of Crete and Dares the Phrygian translated by Richard McIlwaine Frazer, Jr. (1931-). Indiana University Press. 1966. Online version at theio.com Diogenes Laertius, Lives of Eminent Philosophers edited by R.D. Hicks. Cambridge. Harvard University Press. 1972 (First published 1925). Online version at the Perseus Digital Library. Greek text available at the Perseus Digital Library. Homer, The Iliad with an English Translation by A.T. Murray, Ph.D. in two volumes. Cambridge, MA., Harvard University Press; London, William Heinemann, Ltd. 1924. . Online version at the Perseus Digital Library. Homer, Homeri Opera in five volumes. Oxford, Oxford University Press. 1920. . Greek text available at the Perseus Digital Library. Pausanias, Description of Greece with an English Translation by W.H.S. Jones, Litt.D., and H.A. Ormerod, M.A., in 4 Volumes. Cambridge, MA, Harvard University Press; London, William Heinemann Ltd. 1918. . Online version at the Perseus Digital Library Pausanias, Graeciae Descriptio. 3 vols. Leipzig, Teubner. 1903. Greek text available at the Perseus Digital Library. Quintus Smyrnaeus, The Fall of Troy translated by Way. A. S. Loeb Classical Library Volume 19. London: William Heinemann, 1913. Online version at theio.com Quintus Smyrnaeus, The Fall of Troy. Arthur S. Way. London: William Heinemann; New York: G.P. Putnam's Sons. 1913. Greek text available at the Perseus Digital Library.