Plaster replica of a Greek marble relief

Made:
1860-1920

Plaster replica of a Greek marble relief, depicting Asklepios (Asclepius; Latin: Aesculapius) and Hygeia, original from Athens 4th to 3rd centuries BC, cast 1860-1920

Several sources claim that Asclepius was first a physician hero, who was later recognised as the Greek god of healing and medicine with a cult that spread in the 5th century BCE. Various sanctuaries in his name were built throughout Greece as areas of worship and refuges for the ill. These were hospital-like places where priests guided patients through rituals of purification and medical curative practices, regularly involving snakes as part of the healing process.

Asclepius is usually represented as an old, bearded man, leaning on a heavy staff with a single snake coiled around it, known as the ‘Rod of Asclepius’. The staff of Asclepius (not to be mistaken for a caduceus) was soon associated with healing, becoming, throughout the ages, an established emblem of medicine and curative methods.

In his cult, Asclepius was often joined by his daughter Hygieia (also referred to as Hygeia or Hygiea), goddess of health, cleanliness and sanitation. The modern word ‘hygiene’ derives from the name of the goddess herself. Her symbol was the Bowl of Hygeia, which featured another snake. Since its first apparition on a coin by the Parisian Society of Pharmacy in 1796, the Bowl of Hygeia has been adopted by various pharmaceutical companies in the world and is a cup or chalice with a snake coiled around its stem.

Details

Category:
Classical & Medieval Medicine
Collection:
Sir Henry Wellcome's Museum Collection
Object Number:
A654875
Materials:
plaster
type:
relief and cast
credit:
Gillieron, M.