Rod of Asclepius

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In Greek mythology, the Rod of Asclepius (⚕; sometimes also spelled Asklepios or Aesculapius), also known as the asklepian,^[1] is a serpent-entwined rod wielded by the Greek god Asclepius, a deity associated with healing and medicine. The symbol has continued to be used in modern times, where it is associated with medicine and health care, yet frequently confused with the staff of the god Hermes, the caduceus. Theories have been proposed about the Greek origin of the symbol and its implications.

Greek mythology and Greek society[link]

The Rod of Asclepius takes its name from the god Asclepius, a deity associated with healing and medicinal arts in Greek mythology. Asclepius's attributes, the snake and the staff, sometimes depicted separately in antiquity, are combined in this symbol.^[2] The serpent and the staff appear to have been separate symbols that were combined at some point in the development of the Asclepian cult.^[3] The significance of the serpent has been interpreted in many ways; sometimes the shedding of skin and renewal is emphasized as symbolizing rejuvenation,^[4] while other assessments center on the serpent as a symbol that unites and expresses the dual nature of the work of the physician, who deals with life and death, sickness and health.^[5] The ambiguity of the serpent as a symbol, and the contradictions it is thought to represent, reflect the ambiguity of the use of drugs,^[6] which can help or harm, as reflected in the meaning of the term pharmakon, which meant "drug", "medicine" and "poison" in ancient Greek.^[7] Products deriving from the bodies of snakes were known to have medicinal properties in ancient times, and in ancient Greece, at least some were aware that snake venom that might be fatal if it entered the bloodstream could often be imbibed. Snake venom appears to have been 'prescribed' in some cases as a form of therapy.^[8]

The staff has also been variously interpreted. One view is that it, like the serpent, "conveyed notions of resurrection and healing", while another (not necessarily incompatible) is that the staff was a walking stick associated with itinerant physicians.^[9] Cornutus, a Greek philosopher probably active in the first century CE, in the Theologiae Graecae Compendium (Ch. 33) offers a view of the significance of both snake and staff:

Asclepius derived his name from healing soothingly and from deferring the withering that comes with death. For this reason, therefore, they give him a serpent as an attribute, indicating that those who avail themselves of medical science undergo a process similar to the serpent in that they, as it were, grow young again after illnesses and slough off old age; also because the serpent is a sign of attention, much of which is required in medical treatments. The staff also seems to be a symbol of some similar thing. For by means of this it is set before our minds that unless we are supported by such inventions as these, in so far as falling continually into sickness is concerned, stumbling along we would fall even sooner than necessary.^{[citation needed]}

In any case the two symbols certainly merged in antiquity as representations of the snake coiled about the staff are common. It has been claimed that the snake wrapped around the staff was a species of rat snake, Elaphe longissima.^[10]

Theories[link]

Some commentators have interpreted the symbol as a direct representation of traditional treatment of Dracunculus medinensis, the Guinea worm. The worm emerges from painful ulcerous blisters. The blisters burn, causing the patient to immerse the affected area in water to cool and soothe it. The worm senses the temperature change and discharges its larva into the water. The traditional treatment was slowly to pull the worm out of the wound over a period of hours to weeks and wind it around a stick. ^[11] The modern treatment may replace the stick with a piece of sterile gauze but is otherwise largely identical.^[12]

Some commentators have linked the symbol to the Nehushtan, a sacred object consisting of a serpent wrapped around a pole mentioned in the Bible in the Book of Numbers (Numbers 21:6-9).^{[13][14][15][16]} The section in the Book of Numbers reads as follows:

Then the LORD sent fiery serpents among the people, and they bit the people, so that many people of Israel died. And the people came to Moses and said, "We have sinned, for we have spoken against the LORD and against you. Pray to the LORD, that he take away the serpents from us." So Moses prayed for the people. And the LORD said to Moses, "Make a fiery serpent and set it on a pole, and everyone who is bitten, when he sees it, shall live." Moses made a bronze serpent and set it on a pole. And if a serpent bit anyone, he would look at the bronze serpent and live.^[17]

Modern use[link]

The US EMS Star of Life features a rod of Asclepius

A number of organizations and services use the rod of Asclepius as their logo, or part of their logo. These include:

• NHS ambulance services in England and Wales
• American Academy of Physician Assistants
• Academy of Medicine of Malaysia
• American Osteopathic Association
• American Medical Association
• American Medical Response
• American Academy of Family Physicians
• American College of Osteopathic Internists
• American Academy of Psychiatry and the Law
• American Hippocratic Registry
• American Medical Student Association
• American Veterinary Medical Association
• Army Medical Department of the U.S. Army (AMEDD)
• Australian Medical Association
• Australian Veterinary Association
• British Medical Association
• British Royal Army Medical Corps
• Canadian Association of Physician Assistants
• Canadian Medical Association
• Canadian Forces Medical Service
• International Medical University, Malaysia
• Pakistan Army Medical Corps
• Royal Australian Army Medical Corps
• Malaysian Medical Council
• Medical Council of India
• MedicAlert
• Spanish National Council of Medical Student's Association (CEEM)
• Student Osteopathic Medical Association
• Star of Life, symbol of emergency medical services
• United States Navy Hospital Corps
• United States Air Force Medical Corps
• World Health Organization

Confusion with the caduceus[link]

The U.S. Army Medical Corps Branch Plaque. In 1902 the caduceus was added to the uniforms of Army medical officers.

It is relatively common, especially in the United States, to find the caduceus, with its two snakes and wings, used as a symbol of medicine instead of the correct rod of Asclepius, with only a single snake. This usage is erroneous, popularised largely as a result of the adoption of the caduceus as its insignia by the US Army medical corps in 1902 at the insistence of a single officer (though there are conflicting claims as to whether this was Capt. Frederick P. Reynolds or Col. John R. van Hoff).^[18][19]

The rod of Asclepius is the dominant symbol for professional healthcare associations in the United States. One survey found that 62% of professional healthcare associations used the rod of Asclepius as their symbol.^[20] The same survey found that 76% of commercial healthcare organizations used the Caduceus symbol. The author of the study suggests the difference exists because professional associations are more likely to have a real understanding of the two symbols, whereas commercial organizations are more likely to be concerned with the visual impact a symbol will have in selling their products.

The initial errors leading to its adoption and the continuing confusion it generates are well known to medical historians. The long-standing and abundantly attested historical associations of the caduceus with commerce, theft, deception, and death are considered by many to be inappropriate in a symbol used by those engaged in the healing arts.^[19] This has occasioned significant criticism of the use of the caduceus in a medical context.

Standard representation[link]

The rod of Asclepius has a representation on the Miscellaneous Symbols table of the Unicode Standard at U+2695 (⚕).

See also[link]

• Kundalini
• Aaron's rod
• Bowl of Hygieia
• Phurba
• Chakra
• Caduceus

References[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Rod of Asclepius

Rick Simpson is an American set decorator. He won an Academy Award and was nominated for another in the category Best Art Direction.^[1]

Awards[link]

Simpson won an Academy Award for Best Art Direction and was nominated for another:

Won

• Dick Tracy (1990)^[2]

Nominated

• 2010 (1984)

Selected filmography[link]

• Silent Movie (1976)
• Capricorn One (1977)
• Coma (1978)
• The Champ (1979)
• Personal Best (1982)
• Something Wicked This Way Comes (1983)
• The Star Chamber (1983)
• 2010 (1984)
• Johnny Dangerously (1984)
• Project X (1987)
• Tequila Sunrise (1988)
• Dick Tracy (1990)
• Predator 2 (1990)
• City Slickers (1991)
• Born Yesterday (1993)
• What's Love Got to Do with It (1993)
• The Pelican Brief (1993)
• Boys on the Side (1995)
• Casino (1995)
• Sgt. Bilko (1996)
• Bulworth (1998)
• Armageddon (1998)
• Little Nicky (2000)
• Rush Hour 2 (2001)
• The Hunted (2003)
• 2 Fast 2 Furious (2003)
• Rules of Engagement (2000)
• The Black Dahlia (2006)

References[link]

External links[link]

• Rick Simpson at the Internet Movie Database
• Rick Simpson at AllRovi

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