Asklepios, Louvre
Ancient Greek Mythology, Religion, Art
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In addition to healing others, Asklepios taught others to do the same. Priests, called Asclepiades, continued his work at shrines dedicated to Askelpios and the healing arts. One of the most important sanctuaries to Asklepios was located in Epidauros, also the site of a famous theater. Other sanctuaries were located at Athens and Kos, the birthplace of Hippocrates.
In artwork Asclepios was most commonly depicted as an older, bearded man - not unlike Zeus - carrying a staff and usually a coiled snake. He is usually standing rather than sitting, perhaps a reference to his constant journeys across the land in search of people who needed healing.
Many people believe that the modern medical symbol, a staff with two coiled snakes, is derived from the staff of Asklepios - but that is incorrect. In fact that modern symbol is derived from the staff of Hermes, a completely different figure. A few organizations, like WHO, use the "correct" Asklepios staff which is knotty wooden staff that has a single snake coiled around it. The snake here probably symbolizes the health and renewal by the fact that it sheds its skin, but it might also be inherited from older snake cults. Such a staff dates back to at least 2000 BCE in Sumeria with the healing god Ningishita.
What one usually sees with medical organizations today is the caduceus (magical wand) of Hermes, a short stick or staff with two snakes coiled around it. The reason for this may be due to Hermes' link with alchemy - alchemists were, at one time, referred to as the Sons of Hermes and alchemy blended in with early medical practice.
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