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Rod of Asclepius

December 17, 2023

For the symbol with two snakes that signifies swiftness, see Caduceus.

In Greek mythology, the Rod of Asclepius (⚕; Ancient Greek: Ῥάβδος τοῦ Ἀσκληπιοῦ, Rhábdos toû Asklēpioû, sometimes also spelled Asklepios), also known as the Staff of Aesculapius and as the asklepian,[1] is a serpent-entwined rod wielded by the Greek god Asclepius, a deity associated with healing and medicine. In modern times, it is the predominant symbol for medicine and health care, although it is sometimes confused with the similar caduceus, which has two snakes.[1]

The emergency medical services' Star of Life features a rod of Asclepius

Greek mythology and Greek society edit

 
Asclepius with his serpent-entwined staff; Archaeological Museum of Epidaurus

The Rod of Asclepius takes its name from the Greek god Asclepius, a deity associated with healing and medicinal arts in ancient Greek religion and mythology. Asclepius' attributes, the snake and the staff, sometimes depicted separately in antiquity, are combined in this symbol.[2]

The most famous temple of Asclepius was at Epidaurus in north-eastern Peloponnese. Another famous healing temple (or asclepeion) was located on the island of Kos, where Hippocrates, the legendary "father of medicine", may have begun his career. Other asclepieia were situated in Trikala, Gortys (Arcadia), and Pergamum in Asia.

In honor of Asclepius, a particular type of non-venomous snake was often used in healing rituals, and these snakes – the Aesculapian snakes – crawled around freely on the floor in dormitories where the sick and injured slept. These snakes were introduced at the founding of each new temple of Asclepius throughout the classical world. From about 300 BCE onwards, the cult of Asclepius grew very popular and pilgrims flocked to his healing temples (Asclepieia) to be cured of their ills. Ritual purification would be followed by offerings or sacrifices to the god (according to means), and the supplicant would then spend the night in the holiest part of the sanctuary – the abaton (or adyton). Any dreams or visions would be reported to a priest who would prescribe the appropriate therapy by a process of interpretation.[3] Some healing temples also used sacred dogs to lick the wounds of sick petitioners.[4]

The original Hippocratic Oath began with the invocation "I swear by Apollo the Healer and by Asclepius and by Hygieia and Panacea and by all the gods ..."[4]

The serpent and the staff appear to have been separate symbols that were combined at some point in the development of the Asclepian cult.[5] The significance of the serpent has been interpreted in many ways; sometimes the shedding of skin and renewal is emphasized as symbolizing rejuvenation,[6] while other assessments center on the serpent as a symbol that unites and expresses the dual nature of the work of the Apothecary Physician, who deals with life and death, sickness and health.[7] The ambiguity of the serpent as a symbol, and the contradictions it is thought to represent, reflect the ambiguity of the use of drugs,[8] which can help or harm, as reflected in the meaning of the term pharmakon, which meant "drug", "medicine", and "poison" in ancient Greek.[9] However the word may become less ambiguous when "medicine" is understood as something that heals the one taking it because it poisons that which afflicts it, meaning medicine is designed to kill or drive away something and any healing happens as a result of that thing being gone, not as a direct effect of "medicine". Products deriving from the bodies of snakes were known to have medicinal properties in ancient times, and in ancient Greece, at least some were aware that snake venom that might be fatal if it entered the bloodstream could often be imbibed. Snake venom appears to have been 'prescribed' in some cases as a form of therapy.[10]

The staff has also been variously interpreted. One view is that it, like the serpent, "conveyed notions of resurrection and healing", while another (not necessarily incompatible) is that the staff was a walking stick associated with itinerant physicians.[11] Cornutus, a Greek philosopher probably active in the first century CE, in the Theologiae Graecae Compendium (Ch. 33) offers a view of the significance of both snake and staff:

Asclepius derived his name from healing soothingly and from deferring the withering that comes with death. For this reason, therefore, they give him a serpent as an attribute, indicating that those who avail themselves of medical science undergo a process similar to the serpent in that they, as it were, grow young again after illnesses and slough off old age; also because the serpent is a sign of attention, much of which is required in medical treatments. The staff also seems to be a symbol of some similar thing. For by means of this it is set before our minds that unless we are supported by such inventions as these, in so far as falling continually into sickness is concerned, stumbling along we would fall even sooner than necessary.[12]

In any case, the two symbols certainly merged in antiquity as representations of the snake coiled about the staff are common. It has been claimed that the snake wrapped around the staff was a species of rat snake, Elaphe longissima, the Aesculapian snake.[13]

Dracunculiasis edit

 
Using a matchstick to wind up and remove a Dracunculus medinensis worm from the leg of a human

Some modern commentators have interpreted the symbol as a direct representation of one traditional treatment of dracunculiasis, the Guinea worm disease.[14] One traditional treatment is to slowly pull the worm out of a wound over a period of hours to weeks and wind it around a stick. A more modern treatment may replace the stick with a piece of sterile gauze, but is otherwise largely identical.[15]

However, the hypothesis that the rod of Asclepius represents a stick with a rolled up dracunculus is not a plausible explanation. Greek medical texts do not record any evidence of the disease in ancient Greece. Guinea worm disease was found elsewhere, in some parts of Egypt and the Arabian peninsula. Furthermore, ancient texts mention surgical treatments, rather than the more recent treatment of rolling the worm on a stick.[16]

A biblical equivalent edit

In the biblical Book of Numbers and Books of Kings, the nehushtan (Hebrew: נחשתן‎ nəḥuštān or נחש הנחושת‎) was a brass or bronze serpent on a pole that God told Moses to erect, saying that anyone who saw it would be protected from dying from the bites of the "fiery serpents" that God had sent to punish them for speaking against him and Moses.[17][18] The image of a snake wrapped around a staff is common in Jewish and modern-day Israeli symbols of medicine. With the healing abilities Nehushtan described to have, the two symbols became synonymous in Israeli medicine.[citation needed]

Confusion with the caduceus edit

Main article: Caduceus as a symbol of medicine
 
The US Army Medical Corps plaque. The adoption, in 1902, of the caduceus for US Army medical officer uniforms popularized the (mis)use of the symbol throughout the United States medical field.

It is relatively common, especially in the United States, to find the caduceus, with its two snakes and wings, (mis)used as a symbol of medicine instead of the Rod of Asclepius, with only a single snake. This usage was popularized by the adoption of the caduceus as its insignia by the U.S. Army Medical Corps in 1902 at the insistence of a single officer (though there are conflicting claims as to whether this was Capt. Frederick P. Reynolds or Col. John R. van Hoff).[19][20]

The Rod of Asclepius is the dominant symbol for professional healthcare associations in the United States. One survey found that 62% of professional healthcare associations used the rod of Asclepius as their symbol.[21] The same survey found that 76% of commercial healthcare organizations used the Caduceus. The author of the study suggests that professional associations are more likely to have a historical understanding of the two symbols, whereas commercial organizations are more likely to be concerned with the visual impact a symbol will have on sales.[21]

The long-standing historical association of the caduceus with commerce has engendered significant criticism of its use in medicine. Medical professionals argue that the Rod of Asclepius better represents the field of medicine.[22]

As god of the high-road and the market-place Hermes was perhaps above all else the patron of commerce and the fat purse: as a corollary, he was the special protector of the traveling salesman. As spokesman for the gods, he not only brought peace on earth (occasionally even the peace of death), but his silver-tongued eloquence could always make the worse appear the better cause.[23] From this latter point of view, would not his symbol be suitable for certain Congressmen, all medical quacks, book agents and purveyors of vacuum cleaners, rather than for the straight-thinking, straight-speaking therapeutist? As conductor of the dead to their subterranean abode, his emblem would seem more appropriate on a hearse than on a physician's car.

— Stuart L. Tyson, "The Caduceus", in the Scientific Monthly, 1932[24]

Unicode edit

 
Rod of Asclepius
In UnicodeU+2695 ⚕ STAFF OF AESCULAPIUS
Related
See alsoU+269A ⚚ STAFF OF HERMES

A symbol ⟨⚕⟩ for the rod of Asclepius has a code point in the Miscellaneous Symbols table of the Unicode Standard.

Modern use edit

 
The flag of the World Health Organization, with a rod of Asclepius

A number of organizations and services use the rod of Asclepius as their logo, or part of their logo. These include:

Asia edit

Africa edit

South Pacific edit

Canada edit

Europe edit

United States edit

Worldwide edit

Variation edit

In Russia, the emblem of Main Directorate for Drugs Control features a variation with a sword and a snake on the shield.

See also edit

  • Aaron's rod – Staves carried by Moses's brother, Aaron, in the Torah
  • Bowl of Hygieia – Symbol of pharmacy
  • Chakra – Subtle body psychic-energy centers in the esoteric traditions of Indian religions
  • Nāga – Serpentine mythological creatures in Indian religions
  • Nehushtan – Brass serpent in Torah
  • Ningishzida – Mesopotamian god
  • Phurba – Tibetan ritual implement

References edit

  1. ^ a b Wilcox, Robert A; Whitham, Emma M (15 April 2003). "The symbol of modern medicine: why one snake is more than two". Annals of Internal Medicine. 138 (8): 673–7. doi:10.7326/0003-4819-138-8-200304150-00016. PMID 12693891. S2CID 19125435. Retrieved 15 June 2007.
  2. ^ See for example Pausanias, Description of Greece 2.26.1–28.1 (here translated by Jones) 2nd A.D.: "The image of Asklepios is, in size, half as big as Zeus Olympios at Athens, and is made of ivory and gold. An inscription tells us that the artist was Thrasymedes, a Parian, son of Arignotos. The god is sitting on a seat grasping a staff; the other hand he is holding above the head of the serpent."
  3. ^ Sigerist. Chapter 3, Religious medicine: Asclepius and his cult, p. 63ff.
  4. ^ a b Farnell, Chapter 10, "The Cult of Asklepios" (pp. 234–279)
  5. ^ Stephen Lock, John M. Last, George Dunea, The Oxford Illustrated Companion To Medicine, 2001, p261 "In early statues of Asclepius the rod and serpent were represented separately."
  6. ^ "Asklepios' reptile was a healing creature: in ancient mythology the snake, whose skin was shed and rejuvenated, symbolized eternity and restoration of life and health" Albert R. Jonsen, The New Medicine and the Old Ethics, Harvard University Press, 1990, p122; this interpretation was current in Antiquity, as can be seen in an account of Apollodorus: "your marvel at the serpent curling around him and say that it is the symbol of the healing art, because just as the serpent sloughs the skin of old age, so the medical art releases from illness." (in E. Edelstein and L. Edelstein (eds.), Asclepius: A Collection and Interpretation of the Testimonies, Baltimore, 1945, p12)
  7. ^ "[...] the ancient conception of the serpent as the embodiment of the mystery of one absolute life of the earth, which entails a continual dying and resurrection [...] the combination of corruption and salvation, of darkness and light, of good and evil in the Asklepian symbol." Jan Schouten, The Rod and Serpent of Asklepios, Symbol of Medicine, 1967, p2
  8. ^ Albert R. Jonsen, The New Medicine and the Old Ethics, Harvard University Press, 1990, p122-123
  9. ^ Henry E. Sigerist, A History of Medicine, Oxford University Press, 1987, p27-28
  10. ^ James A. Kelhoffer, Miracle and Mission, Mohr Siebeck, 2000, p438-439 "[...] it was known, at least by some people in antiquity, that a snake's venom is not harmful if imbibed, but rather only if it enters directly into a person's blood stream. For example, the first-century CE historian Lucan writes that the younger Cato, when leading his troops through Libya during the Roman Civil War, informed his men about this very point [...] 'The poison of snakes is only deadly when mixed with the blood; their venom is in their bite, and they threaten death with their fangs. There is no death in the cup.'" He also mentions an account of Cornelius Celsus (first century CE) "'For a serpent's poison, like certain hunter's poisons..., does no harm when swallowed, but only in a wound'". "Likewise, Galen relates a rather peculiar healing by Asclepius involving viper's venom. The god appeared to a wealthy man in Pergamum and prescribed 'that he should drink every day of the drug produced from the vipers and should anoint the body from the outside.' [...] The elder Philostratus describes a similar practice of 'the wise Asclepiads,' who 'heal the bites of venomous creatures... using the virus itself as a cure of many diseases.'"
  11. ^ Andre Menez, The Subtle Beast, Snakes From Myth to Medicine, 2003, p14
  12. ^ Emma J. Edelstein; Ludwig Edelstein (27 February 1998). Asclepius: Collection and Interpretation of the Testimonies. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. p. 13. ISBN 0801857694.
  13. ^ Gerald David Hart, Martin St. J. Forrest, Asclepius: The God of Medicine, 2000, p42
  14. ^ Dickson Despommier, People, Parasites, and Plowshares: Learning from Our Body's Most Terrifying Invaders, Columbia University Press, 2016 (first edition in 2013), pp. 147–163 (chapter 7 on Dracunculus medinensis), ISBN 9780231161954.
  15. ^ "Management of Guinea Worm Disease (GWD)". Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Retrieved 1 May 2012.
  16. ^ Simonetti O, Zerbato V, Di Bella S, Luzzati R, Cavalli F (2023). "Dracunculiasis over the centuries: the history of a parasite unfamiliar to the West". Le infezioni in medicina. 31 (2): 257–264.
  17. ^ Numbers 21:8
  18. ^ 2 Kings 18:4
  19. ^ F.H. Garrison, "The Use of the Caduceus in the Insignia of the Army Medical Officer", in Bull. Med. Lib. Assoc. IX (1919-20), 13-16
  20. ^ Engle, Bernice (December 1929). "The Use of Mercury's Caduceus as a Medical Emblem"". The Classical Journal. 25 (1): 205.
  21. ^ a b Friedlander, Walter J (1992). The Golden Wand of Medicine: A History of the Caduceus symbol in medicine. Greenwood Press. ISBN 0-313-28023-1.
  22. ^ Bohigian, George (2019). "The Caduceus vs. Staff of Aesculapius - One Snake or Two?". Missouri Medicine. 116 (6): 476–477. "The Staff of Aesculapius has represented medicine since 800 BCE and most authorities support its use as the symbol of medicine
  23. ^ An allusion to John Milton's description of Belial in Paradise Lost II.113-114.
  24. ^ Tyson, Stuart L (1932). "The Caduceus". Scientific Monthly. 34 (6): 495.

External links edit

  •   Media related to Rod of Asclepius at Wikimedia Commons

December 17, 2023
asclepius, symbol, with, snakes, that, signifies, swiftness, caduceus, greek, mythology, ancient, greek, Ῥάβδος, τοῦ, Ἀσκληπιοῦ, rhábdos, toû, asklēpioû, sometimes, also, spelled, asklepios, also, known, staff, aesculapius, asklepian, serpent, entwined, wielde. For the symbol with two snakes that signifies swiftness see Caduceus In Greek mythology the Rod of Asclepius Ancient Greek Ῥabdos toῦ Ἀsklhpioῦ Rhabdos tou Asklepiou sometimes also spelled Asklepios also known as the Staff of Aesculapius and as the asklepian 1 is a serpent entwined rod wielded by the Greek god Asclepius a deity associated with healing and medicine In modern times it is the predominant symbol for medicine and health care although it is sometimes confused with the similar caduceus which has two snakes 1 The emergency medical services Star of Life features a rod of Asclepius Contents 1 Greek mythology and Greek society 1 1 Dracunculiasis 1 2 A biblical equivalent 1 3 Confusion with the caduceus 2 Unicode 3 Modern use 3 1 Asia 3 2 Africa 3 3 South Pacific 3 4 Canada 3 5 Europe 3 6 United States 3 7 Worldwide 3 8 Variation 4 See also 5 References 6 External linksGreek mythology and Greek society edit nbsp Asclepius with his serpent entwined staff Archaeological Museum of EpidaurusThe Rod of Asclepius takes its name from the Greek god Asclepius a deity associated with healing and medicinal arts in ancient Greek religion and mythology Asclepius attributes the snake and the staff sometimes depicted separately in antiquity are combined in this symbol 2 The most famous temple of Asclepius was at Epidaurus in north eastern Peloponnese Another famous healing temple or asclepeion was located on the island of Kos where Hippocrates the legendary father of medicine may have begun his career Other asclepieia were situated in Trikala Gortys Arcadia and Pergamum in Asia In honor of Asclepius a particular type of non venomous snake was often used in healing rituals and these snakes the Aesculapian snakes crawled around freely on the floor in dormitories where the sick and injured slept These snakes were introduced at the founding of each new temple of Asclepius throughout the classical world From about 300 BCE onwards the cult of Asclepius grew very popular and pilgrims flocked to his healing temples Asclepieia to be cured of their ills Ritual purification would be followed by offerings or sacrifices to the god according to means and the supplicant would then spend the night in the holiest part of the sanctuary the abaton or adyton Any dreams or visions would be reported to a priest who would prescribe the appropriate therapy by a process of interpretation 3 Some healing temples also used sacred dogs to lick the wounds of sick petitioners 4 The original Hippocratic Oath began with the invocation I swear by Apollo the Healer and by Asclepius and by Hygieia and Panacea and by all the gods 4 The serpent and the staff appear to have been separate symbols that were combined at some point in the development of the Asclepian cult 5 The significance of the serpent has been interpreted in many ways sometimes the shedding of skin and renewal is emphasized as symbolizing rejuvenation 6 while other assessments center on the serpent as a symbol that unites and expresses the dual nature of the work of the Apothecary Physician who deals with life and death sickness and health 7 The ambiguity of the serpent as a symbol and the contradictions it is thought to represent reflect the ambiguity of the use of drugs 8 which can help or harm as reflected in the meaning of the term pharmakon which meant drug medicine and poison in ancient Greek 9 However the word may become less ambiguous when medicine is understood as something that heals the one taking it because it poisons that which afflicts it meaning medicine is designed to kill or drive away something and any healing happens as a result of that thing being gone not as a direct effect of medicine Products deriving from the bodies of snakes were known to have medicinal properties in ancient times and in ancient Greece at least some were aware that snake venom that might be fatal if it entered the bloodstream could often be imbibed Snake venom appears to have been prescribed in some cases as a form of therapy 10 The staff has also been variously interpreted One view is that it like the serpent conveyed notions of resurrection and healing while another not necessarily incompatible is that the staff was a walking stick associated with itinerant physicians 11 Cornutus a Greek philosopher probably active in the first century CE in the Theologiae Graecae Compendium Ch 33 offers a view of the significance of both snake and staff Asclepius derived his name from healing soothingly and from deferring the withering that comes with death For this reason therefore they give him a serpent as an attribute indicating that those who avail themselves of medical science undergo a process similar to the serpent in that they as it were grow young again after illnesses and slough off old age also because the serpent is a sign of attention much of which is required in medical treatments The staff also seems to be a symbol of some similar thing For by means of this it is set before our minds that unless we are supported by such inventions as these in so far as falling continually into sickness is concerned stumbling along we would fall even sooner than necessary 12 In any case the two symbols certainly merged in antiquity as representations of the snake coiled about the staff are common It has been claimed that the snake wrapped around the staff was a species of rat snake Elaphe longissima the Aesculapian snake 13 Dracunculiasis edit nbsp Using a matchstick to wind up and remove a Dracunculus medinensis worm from the leg of a humanSome modern commentators have interpreted the symbol as a direct representation of one traditional treatment of dracunculiasis the Guinea worm disease 14 One traditional treatment is to slowly pull the worm out of a wound over a period of hours to weeks and wind it around a stick A more modern treatment may replace the stick with a piece of sterile gauze but is otherwise largely identical 15 However the hypothesis that the rod of Asclepius represents a stick with a rolled up dracunculus is not a plausible explanation Greek medical texts do not record any evidence of the disease in ancient Greece Guinea worm disease was found elsewhere in some parts of Egypt and the Arabian peninsula Furthermore ancient texts mention surgical treatments rather than the more recent treatment of rolling the worm on a stick 16 A biblical equivalent edit In the biblical Book of Numbers and Books of Kings the nehushtan Hebrew נחשתן neḥustan or נחש הנחושת was a brass or bronze serpent on a pole that God told Moses to erect saying that anyone who saw it would be protected from dying from the bites of the fiery serpents that God had sent to punish them for speaking against him and Moses 17 18 The image of a snake wrapped around a staff is common in Jewish and modern day Israeli symbols of medicine With the healing abilities Nehushtan described to have the two symbols became synonymous in Israeli medicine citation needed Confusion with the caduceus edit Main article Caduceus as a symbol of medicine nbsp The US Army Medical Corps plaque The adoption in 1902 of the caduceus for US Army medical officer uniforms popularized the mis use of the symbol throughout the United States medical field It is relatively common especially in the United States to find the caduceus with its two snakes and wings mis used as a symbol of medicine instead of the Rod of Asclepius with only a single snake This usage was popularized by the adoption of the caduceus as its insignia by the U S Army Medical Corps in 1902 at the insistence of a single officer though there are conflicting claims as to whether this was Capt Frederick P Reynolds or Col John R van Hoff 19 20 The Rod of Asclepius is the dominant symbol for professional healthcare associations in the United States One survey found that 62 of professional healthcare associations used the rod of Asclepius as their symbol 21 The same survey found that 76 of commercial healthcare organizations used the Caduceus The author of the study suggests that professional associations are more likely to have a historical understanding of the two symbols whereas commercial organizations are more likely to be concerned with the visual impact a symbol will have on sales 21 The long standing historical association of the caduceus with commerce has engendered significant criticism of its use in medicine Medical professionals argue that the Rod of Asclepius better represents the field of medicine 22 As god of the high road and the market place Hermes was perhaps above all else the patron of commerce and the fat purse as a corollary he was the special protector of the traveling salesman As spokesman for the gods he not only brought peace on earth occasionally even the peace of death but his silver tongued eloquence could always make the worse appear the better cause 23 From this latter point of view would not his symbol be suitable for certain Congressmen all medical quacks book agents and purveyors of vacuum cleaners rather than for the straight thinking straight speaking therapeutist As conductor of the dead to their subterranean abode his emblem would seem more appropriate on a hearse than on a physician s car Stuart L Tyson The Caduceus in the Scientific Monthly 1932 24 Unicode edit nbsp Rod of AsclepiusIn UnicodeU 2695 STAFF OF AESCULAPIUSRelatedSee alsoU 269A STAFF OF HERMESA symbol for the rod of Asclepius has a code point in the Miscellaneous Symbols table of the Unicode Standard Modern use edit nbsp The flag of the World Health Organization with a rod of AsclepiusA number of organizations and services use the rod of Asclepius as their logo or part of their logo These include Asia edit Beijing University of Chinese Medicine Chinese Medical Association Armed Forces Medical Services Army Medical Corps India Dental Council of India International Medical University Malaysia Ministry of Health Cambodia Ministry of Health and Welfare Republic of China Ministry of Health of the People s Republic of China Ministry of Health Vietnam Medical Council of India Pakistan Army Medical Corps Africa edit Kenya Medical Research Institute Kenya Medical Training College Nigerian Medical Association South African Medical Research Council former coat of arms South African Military Health ServiceSouth Pacific edit Australian Medical Association Australian Medical Students Association Medical Council of New Zealand Royal New Zealand Army Medical Corps Royal Australian Army Medical CorpsCanada edit Alberta Medical Association Canadian Association of Physicians for the Environment Canadian Dental Association Canadian Medical Association College of Physicians and Surgeons of Manitoba Medical Council of Canada Ottawa Paramedic Service Paramedic Association of Canada Royal Canadian Medical Service Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of CanadaEurope edit Association of Anaesthetists of Great Britain and Ireland British Medical Association British Royal Army Medical Corps Emergency medical services in France SAMU SMUR et al Emergency medical services in Italy Emergency medical services in the Netherlands Emergency medical services in the United Kingdom Emergency medical services in Portugal The London Clinic Royal College of Psychiatrists UK Royal Society of Medicine UK University of Copenhagen Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences Jessenius Faculty of Medicine SVK United States edit Alabama College of Osteopathic Medicine American Academy of Family Physicians American Academy of Psychiatry and the Law American College of Osteopathic Internists American Medical Association American Medical Response American Medical Student Association American Osteopathic Association American Veterinary Medical Association Blue Cross Blue Shield Association U S Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth Heritage College of Osteopathic Medicine Hofstra School of Medicine Idaho College of Osteopathic Medicine International Medical Corps MedicAlert U S Michigan State Medical Society Morehouse School of Medicine National Athletic Trainers Association National Association of Emergency Medical Technicians National Registry of Emergency Medical Technicians New York University School of Medicine Stanford University School of Medicine Kansas City University of Medicine and Biosciences Student National Medical Association Student Osteopathic Medical Association U S United States Air Force Medical Corps University of Minnesota Medical School Yale University School of Medicine Worldwide edit Medical Protection Society Star of Life symbol of emergency medical services World Health OrganizationVariation edit In Russia the emblem of Main Directorate for Drugs Control features a variation with a sword and a snake on the shield See also editAaron s rod Staves carried by Moses s brother Aaron in the Torah Bowl of Hygieia Symbol of pharmacy Chakra Subtle body psychic energy centers in the esoteric traditions of Indian religions Naga Serpentine mythological creatures in Indian religions Nehushtan Brass serpent in Torah Ningishzida Mesopotamian god Phurba Tibetan ritual implementReferences edit a b Wilcox Robert A Whitham Emma M 15 April 2003 The symbol of modern medicine why one snake is more than two Annals of Internal Medicine 138 8 673 7 doi 10 7326 0003 4819 138 8 200304150 00016 PMID 12693891 S2CID 19125435 Retrieved 15 June 2007 See for example Pausanias Description of Greece 2 26 1 28 1 here translated by Jones 2nd A D The image of Asklepios is in size half as big as Zeus Olympios at Athens and is made of ivory and gold An inscription tells us that the artist was Thrasymedes a Parian son of Arignotos The god is sitting on a seat grasping a staff the other hand he is holding above the head of the serpent Sigerist Chapter 3 Religious medicine Asclepius and his cult p 63ff a b Farnell Chapter 10 The Cult of Asklepios pp 234 279 Stephen Lock John M Last George Dunea The Oxford Illustrated Companion To Medicine 2001 p261 In early statues of Asclepius the rod and serpent were represented separately Asklepios reptile was a healing creature in ancient mythology the snake whose skin was shed and rejuvenated symbolized eternity and restoration of life and health Albert R Jonsen The New Medicine and the Old Ethics Harvard University Press 1990 p122 this interpretation was current in Antiquity as can be seen in an account of Apollodorus your marvel at the serpent curling around him and say that it is the symbol of the healing art because just as the serpent sloughs the skin of old age so the medical art releases from illness in E Edelstein and L Edelstein eds Asclepius A Collection and Interpretation of the Testimonies Baltimore 1945 p12 the ancient conception of the serpent as the embodiment of the mystery of one absolute life of the earth which entails a continual dying and resurrection the combination of corruption and salvation of darkness and light of good and evil in the Asklepian symbol Jan Schouten The Rod and Serpent of Asklepios Symbol of Medicine 1967 p2 Albert R Jonsen The New Medicine and the Old Ethics Harvard University Press 1990 p122 123 Henry E Sigerist A History of Medicine Oxford University Press 1987 p27 28 James A Kelhoffer Miracle and Mission Mohr Siebeck 2000 p438 439 it was known at least by some people in antiquity that a snake s venom is not harmful if imbibed but rather only if it enters directly into a person s blood stream For example the first century CE historian Lucan writes that the younger Cato when leading his troops through Libya during the Roman Civil War informed his men about this very point The poison of snakes is only deadly when mixed with the blood their venom is in their bite and they threaten death with their fangs There is no death in the cup He also mentions an account of Cornelius Celsus first century CE For a serpent s poison like certain hunter s poisons does no harm when swallowed but only in a wound Likewise Galen relates a rather peculiar healing by Asclepius involving viper s venom The god appeared to a wealthy man in Pergamum and prescribed that he should drink every day of the drug produced from the vipers and should anoint the body from the outside The elder Philostratus describes a similar practice of the wise Asclepiads who heal the bites of venomous creatures using the virus itself as a cure of many diseases Andre Menez The Subtle Beast Snakes From Myth to Medicine 2003 p14 Emma J Edelstein Ludwig Edelstein 27 February 1998 Asclepius Collection and Interpretation of the Testimonies Baltimore Johns Hopkins University Press p 13 ISBN 0801857694 Gerald David Hart Martin St J Forrest Asclepius The God of Medicine 2000 p42 Dickson Despommier People Parasites and Plowshares Learning from Our Body s Most Terrifying Invaders Columbia University Press 2016 first edition in 2013 pp 147 163 chapter 7 on Dracunculus medinensis ISBN 9780231161954 Management of Guinea Worm Disease GWD Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Retrieved 1 May 2012 Simonetti O Zerbato V Di Bella S Luzzati R Cavalli F 2023 Dracunculiasis over the centuries the history of a parasite unfamiliar to the West Le infezioni in medicina 31 2 257 264 Numbers 21 8 2 Kings 18 4 F H Garrison The Use of the Caduceus in the Insignia of the Army Medical Officer in Bull Med Lib Assoc IX 1919 20 13 16 Engle Bernice December 1929 The Use of Mercury s Caduceus as a Medical Emblem The Classical Journal 25 1 205 a b Friedlander Walter J 1992 The Golden Wand of Medicine A History of the Caduceus symbol in medicine Greenwood Press ISBN 0 313 28023 1 Bohigian George 2019 The Caduceus vs Staff of Aesculapius One Snake or Two Missouri Medicine 116 6 476 477 The Staff of Aesculapius has represented medicine since 800 BCE and most authorities support its use as the symbol of medicine An allusion to John Milton s description of Belial in Paradise Lost II 113 114 Tyson Stuart L 1932 The Caduceus Scientific Monthly 34 6 495 External links edit nbsp Media related to Rod of Asclepius at Wikimedia Commons Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Rod of Asclepius amp oldid 1188437074, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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