Everyone knows that the symbol of medicine is a bowl with a snake, and the people jokingly call it "mother-in-law eats ice cream." But not everyone knows what such an emblem means. What other symbols are there for medicine, where did they come from and what is their true meaning? This is what we will talk about in our article.
Where did medical symbols come from
At different times, different cultures adopted their symbols and emblems of medicine, which reflected the understanding and perception of death and life, indicated the image of the healer and methods of treatment. Speaking of various medical symbols, it is worth remembering the famous gods - the patrons of healing, ancient methods of treatment and other features.
The most basic and oldest symbol of medicine is snakes. It was their image in various forms that was used to denote healing. The history of the use of this sign goes back to the ancient civilizations of the East, Greece and Egypt. For example, it is the snake that wraps around the body of Isis, the Egyptian patroness of healing. Also, the snake is accompanied by an inscription on the pillar of Sesostris I in Karnak, which says: "I give life, longevity and he alth … to the king of lower and upper Egypt."Interestingly, the modern symbol of medicine also could not do without a snake image. Here the reptile wraps itself around the bowl, and each of the parts of this emblem deserves special attention.
As society developed, with an increase in the level of knowledge about nature and the world around us, symbols reflecting various phenomena changed and were rethought. Today, the interpretation of the symbols of healing that have come down to us is quite diverse. There are about fifty different symbols for medicine, but we will consider only the most common ones.
General and private emblems of healing
For a comprehensive study of the issue, along with many scientific methods used in the study of medical symbols, the historical method is also relevant.
The most valuable sources for studying the issue are numismatics and bonistics. The first studies coins, tokens, medals and orders, and the second examines paper banknotes in the historical, economic and artistic aspect. It is on coins and banknotes of different eras that you can find the largest number of medical symbols and emblems of healing, and in some cases this is generally the only source of confirmation of their physical existence.
Specialists who study emblems and symbols of medicine tend to use a special classification, according to which all existing designations can be divided into private and general. Private include:
- a drop of blood is a sign of a surgical profile;
- lily of the valley image;
- klyster (enema);
- hand feeling the pulse -therapists emblem;
- picture of a Florentine baby;
- pentagrams of surgical instruments, such as a scalpel;
- urinarium;
- mortars with or without a pestle - such emblems are used by pharmacists or medical societies;
- military medical signs (emblems).
General medical symbols are much more famous. These include:
- snake;
- staff of Asclepius (Aesculapius) - a snake wrapping around a stick;
- a snake around the bowl;
- two snakes wrapped around the rod of Hermes (Mercury);
- egg;
- a snake wrapped around Apollo's tripod;
- lamp;
- ank Impoteha;
- a snake wrapped around a mirror;
- rooster;
- one or two snakes coiled around a candle or lamp;
- a snake wrapped around the Delphic navel, omphalos;
- burning candle or torch;
- heart in palms and others.
Thus, we can conclude that general symbols mean healing in general, and private ones are designed to divide medicine into areas.
Why the snake is a symbol of medicine
At the dawn of civilization, in the just emerging primitive society, when the first totems reflected the helplessness of man in front of nature and the outside world, the snake was one of the main symbols. With the advent of a religious cult, the dual nature of good and evil was attributed to snakes. On the one hand, they personified deceit and cunning, and on the other hand, they were a symbol of wisdom, knowledge and immortality.
Interesting, but inIn ancient beliefs, the symbol of medicine was not poisonous snakes at all, but a quiet, harmless one. It was they who were called "Aesculapian snakes." These reptiles were honorary residents of cult healing centers in Rome and Greece. The snakes moved freely around the house and treated the sick - they licked the wounds. The Romans and Greeks were very fond of their snakes, kept them in their homes, at baths and baths.
For many nations, the snake symbolizes a good start, brings prosperity to the house, he alth and happiness to those living in it. Also, according to legend, snakes heal wounds and are able to teach the wisdom of healing.
In ancient Eastern mythology, the snake was also associated with people's he alth and their treatment, and in African countries it personified healing. Perhaps this is the only case in which a chain of associations can be traced. The fact is that in Africa only sorcerers were engaged in the treatment of people, they were also charmers of poisonous snakes. And so a chain of associations appeared: a sorcerer - snakes - treatment. Then, however, the sorcerers disappeared somewhere, but the snakes and healing remained in a strong bond.
In European countries, unlike Africa, the snake was associated not with sorcerers, but with wisdom and knowledge in general. This is a symbol of eternal youth - rejuvenation in this case is symbolized by the annual molt, skin change. This ability of the snake in the literal sense of the word "to lose its temper" found an interesting reflection in Egyptian legends. At midnight, the great sun god Ra, together with his associates, leaves the luminous boat and enters the body of a huge serpent. In the morning they all come out of his insideschildren, again sit in the sacred boat and continue their journey through the sky. This is how, according to the ancient Egyptians, day turns into night.
Similar myths of rejuvenation and immortality exist in African fairy tales, Sumerian legends and Greek myths. As the oldest symbol of medicine, the snake was depicted without any additions and attributes. And only much later they began to attach a staff, a tripod, a mirror or the famous bowl to it.
What does the cup symbolize
Since the symbol of medicine is a bowl with a snake, the next thing we'll talk about will be exactly that. The most common interpretation of the fact that it was the bowl that became a symbol of something good and saving, that is, medicine, is associated with the perception of fresh water in arid regions of the globe. Since it rarely rained in these places, water became a gift from heaven. It was possible to save the gift of the heavenly gods with the help of hands folded in the form of a bowl, or stones with recesses, earthenware or metal utensils. Since people died from the drought in entire villages, prayers for rain began to be accompanied by requests for he alth and the preservation of life. On ancient Egyptian stelae and frescoes, the patient, turning to the gods with a request for recovery, holds the bowl in his hands.
Treatment with water has become traditional for the countries of the Ancient East and India. Alchemists necessarily used water or dew drops to obtain medicines. For healing, special cups were used with spells and symbols engraved on them. For example, for the treatmentfear (“the disease of fear”), Muslims used a special “cup of fear” - a copper bowl specially made in Mecca and decorated with sayings from the Holy Koran.
Folk tales to our times have preserved expressions associated with ritual bowls: “the bowl of suffering”, “let the house become a full bowl”, “drink the bowl to the bottom”, “the bowl of patience” and others. These sayings contain the dual nature of the image - a double-bottomed goblet, the creation of heaven and earth. If a person has drunk from the cup of earthly creation, his gut turns to earthly passions. Having drunk from the heavenly cup, a person directs his thoughts to heaven, lofty ideals, gets rid of earthly sins and passions. It is no accident that one of the symbols of Christianity is the goblet of communion - the cup of deliverance from sins.
Staff
Considering the symbols of medicine, one cannot help but recall the staff - a knotty pole around which a snake usually wraps. This object personifies a travel stick, meaning the wanderings of healers. The staff not only helps along the way, but also increases the level of trust. Indian medical treatises strongly recommended that the doctor carry a staff, as patients subconsciously trust more experienced, middle-aged people who have a connection with the earth.
It was this item that became the prototype of the doctor's cane, especially popular in England in the Middle Ages. Sometimes, as a medical symbol, the staff was depicted with branches and foliage. It symbolized the beginning of a new life, rejuvenation.
In some emblems there is not a staff, but the rod of Mercury, or Hermes. This god was considered an intermediary betweenrealms of the dead and the living, between men and gods. According to legend, Hermes received his rod as a gift from Apollo. It was a reward for the fact that he invented such a musical instrument as the lyre, and played it virtuoso. The Greeks called this magic cane the kirekiyon, while the Romans called it the caduceus.
Pentagram and tripod
Medicine symbols such as the pentagram and Apollo's tripod are also quite popular.
The first one is a five-pointed star drawn in one line. This sign has its roots in Mesopotamia and Egypt. It is believed that in this way five planets known by that time were connected to each other: Mars, Venus, Saturn, Mercury and Jupiter. This symbol was most often used as a talisman and amulet against spirits and creatures that cause misfortune and illness. A little later, during the widespread spread of Christianity, the pentagram became a sign of heretics and was replaced by an image of a hand with spread fingers.
The second sign is Apollo's tripod. According to legend, at the foot of Mount Parnassus, Apollo killed Python, an evil monster that guarded the valley. On the site of the battle, the Delphic Temple, the sanctuary of Apollo, was built. One of the walls of the temple was a rock, from the crevice of which a heady aroma flowed. Nearby, on a golden tripod, sat Pythia, a priestess who communicated with the gods and thus recognized their will. And since Apollo was the patron saint of medicine and healing, the tripod from his sanctuary became a special symbol that unites the three principles of medicine:
- ownobservation;
- analysis of other people's observations;
- conclusion by analogy.
Staff of Asclepius
So, what does the symbol of medicine mean, depicting a stick with a snake crawling up it? To begin with, it is worth noting that this sign is the most recognizable from about the 8th century BC. The history of this sign goes back to Greek myths. According to legend, Asclepius (the Romans called him Aesculapius) learned his business, the art of healing, from a centaur named Chiron. He successfully applied the acquired knowledge in practice and became a skilled healer. He treated people so well that Zeus was afraid that thanks to his efforts, people would become immortal at all. So he killed Asclepius with a thunderbolt.
There is a legend according to which once Asclepius was invited to the court of King Minos to resurrect his dead son. On the way to the palace, a snake suddenly climbed onto a stick on which Asclepius leaned while walking. The doctor got scared and killed her. As soon as he deprived the reptile of life, another snake appeared out of nowhere, carrying grass in its mouth. With the help of a bunch of grass, the snake resurrected her friend, and together they crawled away. Asclepius correctly understood the sign of the gods, he found the grass that the snake held in its mouth, and was able to resurrect the son of King Minos.
Since then, the image of the staff of Asclepius has been used as a symbol of healing, and the doctor himself has been revered as the god of healing.
Bowl with a snake
However, a much more common symbol of medicine is a snake wrapped around a bowl. The first images of this symbol refer to600–800 AD BC. It is noteworthy that at first the parts of the image existed separately and were attributes of Hygiea, the daughter of Asclepius - she held a snake in one hand, and a bowl in the other. And only much later did the images merge into a single whole.
The true meaning of this sign is highly debatable. Someone interprets it this way, and someone else. Most often, the goblet is associated with a container for storing snake venom, a well-known healing substance, and the snake symbolizes wisdom. However, there is another interpretation. According to him, the emblem reminds the doctor of the need to be wise, and draw wisdom from the cup of world knowledge, the human mind, embracing the whole world.
The funniest interpretation of the symbol came from medical students. According to them, the symbol means that the medic is "cunning as a snake, and loves to drink very much."
Today, such an emblem is most often used to denote pharmaceutical activities.
Caduceus
The meaning of the symbol of medicine, depicting a wand with wings, around which two snakes curl, is also not very clear.
The fact is that initially the caduceus was a symbol of secrecy, a sign protecting commercial or political correspondence. And only much later did it become a symbol of medicine.
For ease of perception, it is worth dividing the emblem into several parts:
- the wand symbolizes the Tree of Life, the connection between heaven and earth;
- double helix formed by the interweaving of snake bodies - a symbol of cosmic energy, unity of opposites, dualityphenomena;
- the reptiles themselves are the active forces of the earthly and otherworldly worlds.
Most likely, the transformation of the symbol from a commercial (political) into a medical one was due to the presence of snakes, which give both a medicinal drug and poison at the same time.
Red Cross and Crescent
If we consider the symbols of medicine, popular all over the world, we should not forget about the red cross and the crescent. Oddly enough, but such a symbol does not mean “something medical”, as is commonly believed in our country. It is designed to protect doctors, the wounded, hospitals and hospitals during military conflicts. Therefore, it is unacceptable to use such a symbol on pharmacies, car first-aid kits, gowns and hats of medical staff and in other places. As planned, it should have an "emergency" value and be used only in extreme cases.
They have a similar meaning:
- red cross;
- red crescent (in Islamic countries);
- sun and red lion (in Iran);
- red Star of David (in Israel).
At the present time, the Red Cross Movement is busy developing new symbols, devoid of national and religious signs.
Star of Life
The symbol of medicine, the photo of which is presented below, is not very popular in Russia. This is the "Star of Life" - a symbol of medicine, born in the USA. Each of the rays of the snowflake symbolizes a certain function of emergency medical care:
- detection;
- notice;
- response;
- help on the spotaccidents;
- transport assistance;
- transportation for further assistance.
Conclusion
When studying medicine, it is impossible not to know or understand the symbols that mean healing. Interest in the past, as you know, generates a bright future. The more vividly we can imagine the content and significance of the cultural relay race passed on to us by past generations, the more valuable and meaningful the present becomes for us. After all, our ancestors put a special meaning into each symbol, designed to convey its value to future generations.
