Statue of Asklepios

This Statue of Asklepios depicts Apollo’s son, the Greek god of medicine, and patron of physicians. During the Hellenistic period, there was increased realism in sculpture, which is exemplified in this statue.

He was sculptured, standing with his weight on his right leg and leaning on his staff.

Asklepios’ right-hand rests on his weight-bearing hip, which is raised in an exaggerated posture over the folds of his draped cloak.

The contrasting directions, called the contrapposto pose, representing the planes of the body and the himation’s sharp folds, produce a spiral twist and convey a sense of movement.

Asclepius was a hero and god of medicine in ancient Greek religion and mythology. Although Asklepios was the son of the god Apollo, his appeal lasted well into the Christian era. Some of his daughters include:

Hygieia, whose name serves as the root of the word “Hygiene,” the goddess of health, cleanliness, and sanitation.
Panacea was the goddess of universal remedy.
Iaso was the goddess of recuperation from illness.
Aceso was the goddess of the healing process.
Aglaea was the goddess of beauty, splendor, glory, magnificence, and adornment.

In its undamaged form, the Asklepios statue would have had him leaning on his staff, with a serpent wound around it. You can see the remnants of the snake and staff in the lower right parts of his clothing.

The serpent was sacred to Asklepios, and his staff, the caduceus. The rod of Asclepius, a snake-entwined staff, remains a symbol of medicine today. Below

Asclepius with his serpent-entwined staff from the Archaeological Museum of Epidaurus

Sanctuaries of Asklepieion

Significant sanctuaries or shrines dedicated to Asklepieion can be found in many of the ancient cities of Greece. Asclepios’s infirmary was one of the most important sanctuaries of a city, and many were active for hundreds of years.

There were two steps in the treatment process of the Asclepeion. The first was the purification stage, where the patient undergoes a series of baths and other purging techniques such as a controlled diet over several days or purging their emotions through art.

The patient would then make an offering to the temple, and the priest would offer a prayer to ease the patient’s mind.

The second step is incubation or dream therapy. The patients would sleep at the temple to be visited by a god.

The patient would then receive the proper treatment while in the dream or receive directions from the god on the necessary steps to treat their ailment.

If required, the patient could also tell their dream to a priest or a dream-interpreter who would interpret the type of treatment necessary for that patient.

Asclepius: The Greek God of Medicine

Title: Statue of Asklepios
Date: 2nd century BC
Period: Hellenistic Period
Media: Pentelic Marble
Dimensions: 36 x 14 1/2 x 9 (91.4 x 36.8 x 22.9 cm)
Country: Greece
Museums: Legion of Honor

Sanctuary of Asklepios

A Virtual Tour of The Legion of Honor

The Thinker
Torso of Hermes
Statue of Asklepios
Cycladic Figures
Head of Bearded Man (Cypriot)
Self-portrait by James Tissot
“St. John the Baptist Preaching” by Mattia Preti

Temple of Asklepios

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“Philosophy should come to know the dimensions,
qualities, and quantities of the earth, the depths of the sea,
the capacity of fire and the effects and nature of all these things in order to admire,
revere and praise the divine artistry and intelligence.”
– Asclepius

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Photo Credit: 1)GM 2) By original file by Michael F. Mehnert [GFDL (gnu.org/copyleft/fdl.html) or CC BY-SA 3.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)], via Wikimedia Commons

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