But according to Ruck, the true origin of Jesus’s Greek name is the root for “drug” or “poison” (ios), which supplies the Greek words for “doctor” or iatros (ἰατρός). Ruck says the “drug man.” Either way, it’s unlikely a Greek speaker of the first century AD would have heard the name Iesous and not thought of Ieso or Iaso, the Greek goddess of healing and the daughter of Asclepius, who was taught the art of drugs, incantations, and love potions by the centaur Chiron.
