Everything about Rod Of Asclepius totally explained
The
rod of Asclepius (also known as the
rod of Asklepios,
rod of Aesculapius or
asklepian) is an
ancient Greek symbol associated with
astrology and with healing the sick through
medicine. It consists of a
serpent entwined around a
staff.
Asclepius, the son of
Apollo, was a practitioner of medicine in ancient
Greek mythology.
Symbolism
The rod of Asclepius symbolizes the healing arts by combining the serpent, which in shedding its
skin is a symbol of
rebirth and
fertility, with the staff, a symbol of
authority befitting the
god of Medicine. The snake wrapped around the staff is widely claimed to be a species of rat snake,
Elaphe longissima, also known as the Aesculapian or Asclepian snake. It is native to southeastern Europe,
Asia Minor, and some central European spa regions, apparently brought there by
Romans for their healing properties.
Origin
There are several different theories as to the origin and development of the rod of Asclepius, any or all of which may have contributed to its development. The symbol is named for an ancient Greek legend, although the legend could be older.
Greek mythology
According to
Greek mythology, Asclepius was said to have learned the art of healing from
Chiron. He is customarily represented as a
surgeon on the ship
Argo. Asclepius was so skilled in the medical arts that he was reputed to have brought patients back from the dead. For this he was punished and placed in the heavens as the
constellation Ophiuchus (meaning "serpent-bearer"). This constellation lies between
Sagittarius and
Libra. In
early Christianity, the constellation Ophiuchus was associated with
Saint Paul holding the Maltese Viper. According to some, Asclepius fought alongside the Achaeans in the Trojan War, and cured Philoctetes of his famous snake bite
"Worm" theory
Some scholars have suggested that the symbol once represented a
worm wrapped around a rod; parasitic worms such as the "guinea worm" (
Dracunculus medinensis) were common in ancient times, and were extracted from beneath the skin by winding them slowly around a stick. Physicians may have advertised this common service by posting a sign depicting a worm on a rod. The worm was mistaken for a snake in the middle ages and has since been known as a snake entwined round a staff and not a worm.
Biblical
A similar symbol,
Nehushtan, is mentioned in the
Bible in
Numbers 21:4–9. Attacked by a plague of snakes in the wilderness,
Moses holds up a serpent coiled around a staff, both made from
bronze, so that the
Israelites might recover from the bites.
Professional usage
A number of organisations and services use the rod of Asclepius as their logo, or part of their logo. These include the:
Confusion with the caduceus
The
caduceus is often also used as a symbol for medicine or doctors, in place of the rod of Asclepius which is the usual symbol of medical professions. A 1992 survey of American health organisations found that 62% of professional associations used the rod of Asclepius, whereas in commercial organizations, 76% used the caduceus. The usage of Caduceus as a symbol for medicine is considered incorrect by some scholars.
Early confusion between the symbols almost certainly arose due to the links between
alchemy and
Hermes, whose symbol is the caduceus. The alchemists adopted the caduceus because Hermes, the God of Messengers, was also the patron lord of gamblers, thieves, tricksters and alchemists. By the end of the 16th century, alchemy became widely associated with medicine in some areas, leading to some use of the caduceus as a medical symbol."The Use of Mercury's Caduceus as a Medical Emblem" by Bernice S. Engle, a 5-page article in "The Classical Journal", Vol. 25, No. 3 (Dec., 1929), pp. 204-208, deals with the use of the Caduceus by Sir William Butts, c1491-1545, physician to Henry VIII, who used it on his coat-of-arms and was the first medical man to use it.
The main reason for the modern confusion over the symbols occurred when the caduceus was adopted by the Medical Department of the
United States Army in 1902.
This was brought about by one Captain Reynolds, who after having the idea rejected several times by the Surgeon General, persuaded the new incumbent (WH Forwood) to adopt it. The mistake was noticed several years later by the librarian to the surgeon general, but wasn't changed.
[
There was further confusion caused by the use of the caduceus as a printer's mark (as Hermes was the god of eloquence and messengers), which appeared in many medical textbooks as a printing mark, although subsequently mistaken for a medical symbol.][
]Standard representation
The rod of Asclepius has a representation on the Miscellaneous Symbols table of the Unicode Standard at U+2695 (⚕).
Further Information
Get more info on 'Rod Of Asclepius'.
|
External Link Exchanges
Do you know how hard it is to get a link from a large encyclopaedia? Well we're different and will prove it. To get a link from us just add the following HTML to your site on a relevant page:
<a href="http://rod_of_asclepius.totallyexplained.com">Rod of Asclepius Totally Explained</a>
Then simply click through this link from your web page. Our crawlers will verify your link, extract the title of your web page and instantly add a link back to it. If you like you can remove the words Totally Explained and embed the link in article text.
As long as your link remains in place, we'll keep our link to you right here. Please play fair - our crawlers are watching. Your site must be closely related to this one's topic. Any kind of spamming, dubious practises or removing the link will result in your link from us being dropped and, potentially, your whole site being banned. |
