The Heraldry of Medicine

"1 SWEAR by Apollo the Physician an(d Aesculapius and Hygieia an(d I'anacea and all the Gods an(l Goddesses that accor(ling to m) ability an(l ju(lgment w xviii keep this Oath aned Stipulation . . ." So runi the famous opening words of thle Hippocratic Oath, andl it is to the dlim misty days of ancient Grelek mythology that the Father of clinical Medicine himself directs us if we wvould find the beginnings of the symbolism so long associated with the art of healing. Of all the tales of ancient Greece the one that lasts best in the memory of most of us who make no pretence to classical scholarship is the stor,y of Jason and howv lhe sailed with the Argonauts in search of the Golden Fleece. When Jason was a boy he was taken by his father to that stranige school in a cave on the side of Mount Olympus anid left there in charge of Cheironi the Centaur, that great wise creature, half mal, lhalf horse. TIhere were many famous pupils at that school. There was Aeneas, the hero of bcsieged '[roy, anid Hercules wvho held the world on his shouklers wlhilc Atlas went to fetclh hlec golden apples fromii the Garden of the Hesperides, and many anotlher name famiious in (Greek story. B3ut there was the strange quiet child, the reputed son of Apollo himself, who used to steal away alone while the others, their day's work done, were out with Cheiron hunting or playing games. This wvas Aesculapius, who would conifess to the Centaur how he had seen a serpent cast its skinl anid renew its youth, or how he himself had gone (lovnw into the nearby village and ha(d cure(l ai ol(1 (Iropsical mall with anl infusioll of a herb lhe had seeni a sick goat eatinig oln the mountaini side. Anid thenl Cheiron would tell the others that the Go0ds had given them all differenit gifts and virtues -to some strength, to some wisdom, an(l to some beauty, but that to this lad had beeni given the greatest gift of all--the power to relieve suffering and to heal. And so it came about that in time Aesculapius grew to man's estate and became the greatest healer of the ancienit world and the god of Greek Medicine. To no physician since has death come as it came to Aesculapius. I'luto, lord of the underworl(l, complained to the High Gods on Olympus that the prolongation of life on Earth due to the skill of Aesculapius wvas reducing the population of Hades, so to restore the balance Zeus killed him with a thunderbolt. In this little group we h.ave the beginnings of Medical symbolism. Aesculapius is shown in Greek statuary as having in his hand a staff, round which is twisted a single serpent. Heraldry uses this as the symbol of Medicine to this day. You will find it week by week on the cover of the British Medical Journal and it forms the centre of the badge of the Royal Army Medical Corps. Apollo, the f'ather of Aesculapius, is generally shown holdinig the Caduceus, whlich is a staff with two serpenits. This represents not only Healing, but is the (listinct badge of office of the Heralds of Greek Mythology ancd is therefore often shown winged. 'Ihis is the badge whliich is seen in the insigniia of the medical