The Snake
Have you guys ever wondered how come all ambulances (be it S'pore or even the States and Canada) have this insignia of a serpent?The snake has traditionally been associated with the art and science of medicine. Its origin can be traced to ancient Greece where temples devoted to worshipping the god of medicine, Aesculapius (Asclepios, abounded. Aesculapius was the god of medicine. Born a mortal, he became so skilled in the art of medicine that he was able to raise the dead. For this Zeus slew him with a thunderbolt. Sometime after his death, at the command of the Moirai (Fates), Aesculapius was returned from Hades and apotheosized into a god. He was depicted as a bearded man bearing a serpent-entwined staff. These temples served also as hospitals and in each was to be found a circular pit containing a snake. Retrieved by coiling the serpent from around a wooden rod, it was believed that applying the snake's forked tongue to the diseased body brought about healing.
posted by Japheth @ 8:37 PM
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