ASCLEPIUS
- $43.00
The ancient Greek god of healing and a famous physician (350 B.C.)
12" H x 7" W
- Product Code: SKU0000461
- Availability: In Stock
His parents were god Apollo and Coronis. Apollo entrusted his child's education to Chiron, a centaur (half man - half horse) and son of Chronus. Chiron educated him in the healing arts. Two of Asclepius' sons appeared in Homer's Illiad as physicians in the Greek army. Asclepius is represented as a bearded man, standing, dressed in a long cloak that leaves his breast uncovered. His usual attribute was a staff made from a rough-hewn cypress branch with a single serpent coiled around it. This staff is the true symbol of medicine. The thick staff of cypress represents strength and solidity perhaps in reference to the god or to the unwavering ethic of the physician. The serpents symbolize many things such as wisdom or the renewal of youth or rejuvenescence through the casting off of skin. The Staff of Asclepius was first used as the coat of arms for the Medical Department of the U.S. Army in 1818 and by the Medical Corps in 1856. In 1910, the AMA adopted the Staff of Asclepius as its official insignia. The plant serpent aria has a variety of applications including the promotion of appetite and digestion, the increase of bronchial and intestinal secretions, and as a cardiac stimulant.