Rod of Asclepius

The rod of Asclepius (⚕; sometimes also spelled Asklepios or Aesculapius), also known as the asklepian,^[1] is an ancient symbol associated with astrology, the Greek god Asclepius and with medicine and healing. It consists of a serpent entwined around a staff. The name of the symbol derives from its early and widespread association with Asclepius, the son of Apollo, who was a practitioner of medicine in ancient Greek mythology. His attributes, the snake and the staff, sometimes depicted separately in antiquity, are combined in this symbol.^[2] The Rod of Asclepius also represents the constellation Ophiuchus (or Ophiuchus Serpentarius), the thirteenth sign of the sidereal zodiac. Hippocrates himself was a worshipper of Asclepius.^[3]

[edit] Symbolism

The serpent and the staff appear to have been separate symbols that were combined at some point in the development of the Asclepian cult.^[4] The significance of the serpent has been interpreted in many ways; sometimes the shedding of skin and renewal is emphasized as symbolizing rejuvenation ^[5], 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.^[6] The ambiguity of the serpent as a symbol, and the contradictions it is thought to represent, reflect the ambiguity of the use of drugs^[7], which can help or harm, as reflected in the meaning of the term pharmakon, which meant "drug", "medicine" and "poison" in ancient Greek^[8]; we know that today antidotes and vaccines are often compounded from precisely the thing that caused the poisoning or illness. 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.^[9]

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.^[10] Cornutus, a 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 that is worth quoting at length:

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.^[11]

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.^[12]

[edit] Astrological Connection

The two symbols were also associated with astrology. 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.^[13] In early Christianity, the constellation Ophiuchus was associated with Saint Paul holding the Maltese Viper.

[edit] Alternative theories of origin

There are alternative theories accounting for the origin and development of the rod of Asclepius as a symbol. Because it can be difficult to trace the ultimate origins of symbolism, it is possible that no single theory is correct to the exclusion of others.

[edit] Biblical

A similar symbol, Nehushtan, is mentioned in the Bible in the Book of Numbers (Numbers 21:6).

Then the LORD sent poisonous serpents among the people, and they bit the people, so that many Israelites died. The people came to Moses and said, "We have sinned by speaking against the LORD and against you; pray to the LORD to take away the serpents from us." So Moses prayed for the people. And the LORD said to Moses, "Make a poisonous serpent, and set it on a pole; and everyone who is bitten shall look at it and live." So Moses made a serpent of bronze, and put it upon a pole; and whenever a serpent bit someone, that person would look at the serpent of bronze and live.^[14]

[edit] "Worm" theory

It has been 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. According to this theory, physicians might have advertised this common service by posting a sign depicting a worm on a rod. However plausible, no concrete evidence in support of this theory has been adduced. ^[15]

[edit] Professional usage

The American Medical Student Association logo features a rod of Asclepius in its logo

The EMS Star of Life features a rod of Asclepius

The Canadian Forces Medical Service crest, with 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:

• American Academy of Psychiatry and the Law
• American Medical Association
• American Medical Student Association
• American Osteopathic Association
• American Veterinary Medical Association
• Army Medical Department of the U.S. Army (AMEDD)
• Australian Medical Association
• British Royal Army Medical Corps
• Canadian Medical Association
• Canadian Forces Medical Service
• American Hippocratic Registry
• Star of Life, symbol of emergency medical services
• World Health Organization
• Australian Veterinary Association
• Malaysian Medical Council
• MedicAlert
• Pakistan Army Medical Corps
• United States Air Force Medical Corps

[edit] Confusion with the Caduceus

The U.S. Army Medical Corps Branch Plaque. The 1902 adoption of the caduceus for U.S. Army medical officer uniforms erroneously popularized the symbol throughout the medical field in the US.

The caduceus is sometimes used as a symbol for medicine or doctors (instead of the rod of Asclepius) even though the symbol has no connection with Hippocrates and any association with healing arts is something of a stretch;^[16] as the symbol of the god Hermes, its singularly inappropriate connotations of theft, deception, and death, as well as the confusion of commerce and medicine in a single symbol, have provided fodder for academic humor.^[17]

Attempts have been made, however, to argue that the caduceus is appropriate as a symbol of medicine or of medical practitioners. Apologists^[19] have suggested that the sign is appropriate for military medical personnel because of the connotations of neutrality. Others have gathered and presented attested associations between Hermes (or Mercury) and acts or circumstances suggestive of the role of a healer.^[20]

Widespread confusion regarding the supposed medical significance of the caduceus appears to have arisen as a result of events in the United States in the 19th century.^[1] It had appeared on the chevrons of Army hospital stewards as early as 1856.^[21] In 1902 it was added to the uniforms of Army medical officers. The inconsistency was noticed several years later by the librarian to the Surgeon General, but the symbol was not changed.^[1] In 1901 the French periodical of military medicine was named La Caducée. The caduceus was formally adopted by the Medical Department of the United States Army in 1902.^[1] After World War I the caduceus was employed as an emblem by both the Army Medical Department and the Navy Hospital Corps. Interestingly, The United States Air Force's medical branch, the United States Air Force Medical Service, has always used the rod of Asclepius on its insignia. The American Medical Association used the caduceus for a time but it was abandoned in 1912 after considerable discussion, and the rod of Asclepius was adopted instead.

Further confusion was caused by the use of the caduceus as a printer's mark (as Hermes was the god of eloquence and messengers); it appeared in many medical textbooks as a printing mark and was subsequently mistaken for a medical symbol.^[1]

A 1992 survey of American health organizations found that 62% of professional associations used the rod of Asclepius, whereas in commercial organizations, 76% used the caduceus.^[22]

[edit] Standard representation

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

[edit] See also

• Aaron's rod
• Caduceus

[edit] References

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Rod of Asclepius