Snake Gallery

Gods Of Healing

Asclepius or Aesculapius, the ancient Greek god of medicine, with the snake-entwined staff which has come to symbolise the medical profession, circa 1700. On the left is his son Telesphorus or Telesphoros, a hooded dwarf who presides over convalescence. A statue from the Palazzo Massimo alle Colonne (or alle Valle) in Rome, drawn and engraved by Nicolas Dorigny. (Photo by Hulton Archive/Getty Images)

© 2011 Getty Images

Roman statue of Asclepius

Roman statue of Asclepius. The cult of the deity of Greek medicine, known as Asclepius, dates from the 6th century BC. Asclepius is represented in statues holding a staff around which a serpent twines, a symbol which survives today as a medical emblem. He was taught surgery and the use of drugs by Chiron the centaur. Asclepius was slain by a thunderbolt from Zeus because of complaints the ministrations of Asclepius were reducing the population of Hades (the underworld for the dead). This statue is displayed in the Archaeological Museum of Naples, Italy

© SHEILA TERRY/SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY

Pergamon Altar. Athena against the giant Alcyoneus

Pergamon Altar. Built by order of Eumenes II Soter. 164-156 BC by artists of the school of Pergamon. Marble and limestone. East frieze. Gigantomachy. Struggle between gods and giants. Athena taking the young Alcyoneus by the hair while his mother, Gaia, leaves the ground due to the death of his son. Next, the winged Nike. Pergamon Museum. Berlin. Germany

© Thaliastock / Mary Evans