Plaster replica of a Greek state of Asklepios

Made:
1860-1920; 500-401 BCE
Plaster replica of a Greek state of Asklepios

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Plaster replica of a Greek state of Asklepios
Science Museum Group
© The Board of Trustees of the Science Museum

Plaster replica of a Greek state of Asklepios (Asclepius; Latin: Aesculapius), Greek God of Medicine, original found at Epidaurus, probably 5th century 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.

Established in the 6th century BC, The Sanctuary of Asclepius in Epidaurus, Greece, soon began the most important among these sacred sites, not only because some sourced claimed that it was the birthplace of Asclepius, but also due to the variety of treatments it could offer within its large complex.

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.

Details

Category:
Classical & Medieval Medicine
Collection:
Sir Henry Wellcome's Museum Collection
Object Number:
A654555
Materials:
plaster
type:
statue
credit:
Gillieran, M.