Asclepius of Milos

Last updated
Asclepius of Milos
Asklepios Melos BM Sc550.jpg
The Asclepius of Milos on display in the British Museum
MaterialMarble
Size60 cm high
Created325-300 BC
Present location British Museum, London
Registration1867,0508.115

The Asclepius of Milos or Asklepios of Melos is a marble head from what was once a colossal ancient Greek statue of Asclepius found on the island of Milos in Greece. It was acquired by the British Museum along with the rest of the Blacas collection in 1867. [1] [2]

Contents

Discovery

The head was found in the mid nineteenth century at the shrine of Asclepius on the island of Milos in the Cyclades, Greece. It was later acquired by the French diplomat and collector Louis, Duke of Blacas. The Blacas collection was purchased in its entirety by the British Museum in 1867.

Description

The head is made from Parian marble and was once part of a twice life-size cult statue of the ancient Greek god of medicine and healing Asclepius (or Asklepios). It was made from three pieces, only two of which are extant. Around the head are drill holes and lead pegs for a now missing gold wreath that once crowned the statue. The serene expression on the deity's face is typical of Hellenistic sculpture from this period. Asclepius would probably have been shown standing semi-nude, clasping a staff of Asclepius, a staff with a serpent wrapped around it, as was typical of late-Hellenistic and Roman representations of the god. [1]

See also

Related Research Articles

<i>Venus de Milo</i> Ancient Greek marble statue of the goddess Aphrodite

The Venus de Milo or Aphrodite of Melos is an ancient Greek marble sculpture that was created during the Hellenistic period. Its exact dating is uncertain, but the modern consensus places it in the 2nd century BC, perhaps between 160 and 110 BC. It was rediscovered in 1820 on the island of Milos, Greece, and has been displayed at the Louvre Museum since 1821. Since the statue's discovery, it has become one of the most famous works of ancient Greek sculpture in the world.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Asclepius</span> Ancient Greek god of medicine

Asclepius is a hero and god of medicine in ancient Greek religion and mythology. He is the son of Apollo and Coronis, or Arsinoe, or of Apollo alone. Asclepius represents the healing aspect of the medical arts; his daughters, the "Asclepiades", are: Hygieia, Iaso, Aceso, Aegle and Panacea. He has several sons as well. He was associated with the Roman/Etruscan god Vediovis and the Egyptian Imhotep. He shared with Apollo the epithet Paean. The rod of Asclepius, a snake-entwined staff, remains a symbol of medicine today. Those physicians and attendants who served this god were known as the Therapeutae of Asclepius.

In Greek mythology, Caerus was the personification of opportunity, luck and favorable moments. He was shown with only one lock of hair. His Roman equivalent was Occasio or Tempus. Caerus was the youngest son of Zeus. Caerus and Tyche became lovers after Caerus neglected to overthrow his father as everyone thought he would.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hygieia</span> Ancient Greek goddess of good health and cleanliness

Hygieia is a goddess from Greek mythology. Hygieia is a goddess of health, cleanliness and hygiene. Her name is the source for the word "hygiene".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rod of Asclepius</span> Symbol of medicine

In Greek mythology, the Rod of Asclepius, also known as the Staff of Aesculapius and as the asklepian, is a serpent-entwined rod wielded by the Greek god Asclepius, a deity associated with healing and medicine. In modern times, it is the predominant symbol for medicine and health care, although it is sometimes confused with the similar caduceus, which has two snakes and a pair of wings.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Milos</span> Island in Greece

Milos or Melos is a volcanic Greek island in the Aegean Sea, just north of the Sea of Crete. Milos is the southwestern-most island in the Cyclades group.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Scopas</span> 4th century BCE Greek sculptor

Scopas was an ancient Greek sculptor and architect, most famous for his statue of Meleager, the copper statue of Aphrodite, and the head of goddess Hygieia, daughter of Asclepius.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ancient Greek sculpture</span>

The sculpture of ancient Greece is the main surviving type of fine ancient Greek art as, with the exception of painted ancient Greek pottery, almost no ancient Greek painting survives. Modern scholarship identifies three major stages in monumental sculpture in bronze and stone: the Archaic, Classical (480–323) and Hellenistic. At all periods there were great numbers of Greek terracotta figurines and small sculptures in metal and other materials.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Aphrodite of Knidos</span> Sculpture by Praxiteles of Athens from the 4th century BC

The Aphrodite of Knidos was an Ancient Greek sculpture of the goddess Aphrodite created by Praxiteles of Athens around the 4th century BC. It was one of the first life-sized representations of the nude female form in Greek history, displaying an alternative idea to male heroic nudity. Praxiteles' Aphrodite was shown nude, reaching for a bath towel while covering her pubis, which, in turn leaves her breasts exposed. Up until this point, Greek sculpture had been dominated by male nude figures. The original Greek sculpture is no longer in existence; however, many Roman copies survive of this influential work of art. Variants of the Venus Pudica are the Venus de' Medici and the Capitoline Venus.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hellenistic art</span> Art movement

Hellenistic art is the art of the Hellenistic period generally taken to begin with the death of Alexander the Great in 323 BC and end with the conquest of the Greek world by the Romans, a process well underway by 146 BC, when the Greek mainland was taken, and essentially ending in 30 BC with the conquest of Ptolemaic Egypt following the Battle of Actium. A number of the best-known works of Greek sculpture belong to this period, including Laocoön and His Sons, Venus de Milo, and the Winged Victory of Samothrace. It follows the period of Classical Greek art, while the succeeding Greco-Roman art was very largely a continuation of Hellenistic trends.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Antalya Museum</span> Archaeology museum in Muratpaşa, Turkey

The Antalya Museum or Antalya Archeological Museum is one of Turkey's largest museums, located in Muratpaşa, Antalya. It includes 13 exhibition halls and an open-air gallery. It covers an area of 7,000 m2 (75,000 sq ft) and 5000 works of art are exhibited. In addition, a further 25,000–30,000 artifacts which cannot be displayed are in storage. As a museum exhibiting examples of works, which illuminate the history of the Mediterranean and Pamphylia regions in Anatolia, Antalya Museum is one of the most important of Turkey's museums. The Museum won the "European Council Special Prize" in 1988.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dion, Archaeological Museum</span> Archaeological museum in Central Macedonia, Greece.

The Archaeological Museum of Dion is a museum in Dion in the Pieria regional unit of Central Macedonia, Greece.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sanctuary of Asclepius, Epidaurus</span> UNESCO World Heritage Site

The Sanctuary of Asclepius was a sanctuary in Epidaurus dedicated to Asclepius. Especially in the Classical and Hellenistic periods, it was the main holy site of Asclepius. The sanctuary at Epidaurus was the rival of such major cult sites as the Sanctuary of Zeus at Olympia and Apollo at Delphi. The temple was built in the early 4th century BC. If still in use by the 4th century AD, the temple would have been closed during the persecution of pagans in the late Roman Empire, when the Christian Emperors issued edicts prohibiting non-Christian worship. In 1988, the temple was inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List because of its exceptional architecture and its importance in the development and spread of healing sanctuaries (asclepeion) throughout Classical Antiquity.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Blacas Cameo</span> Large Ancient Roman cameo

The Blacas Cameo is an unusually large Ancient Roman cameo, 12.8 cm (5.0 in) high, carved from a piece of sardonyx with four alternating layers of white and brown. It shows the profile head of the Roman emperor Augustus and probably dates from shortly after his death in AD 14, perhaps from AD 20–50. It has been in the British Museum since 1867, when the museum acquired the famous collection of antiquities that Louis, Duke of Blacas had inherited from his father, also including the Esquiline Treasure. Normally it is on display in Room 70.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Meroë Head</span> 27–25 BC bronze statue of Roman Emperor Augustus

The Meroë Head, or Head of Augustus from Meroë, is a larger-than-life-size bronze head depicting the first Roman emperor, Augustus, that was found in the ancient Nubian site of Meroë in modern Sudan in 1910. Long admired for its striking appearance and perfect proportions, it is now part of the British Museum's collection. It was looted from Roman Egypt in 24 BC by the forces of queen Amanirenas of Kush and brought back to Meroë, where it was buried beneath the staircase of a temple.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Apollo of Cyrene</span> Roman statue

The Apollo of Cyrene is a colossal Roman statue of Apollo found at the ancient city of Cyrene, Libya. It was unearthed at the site along with a large number of other ancient sculptures and inscriptions which were presented to the British Museum in 1861.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Poseidon of Melos</span> Ancient Greek statue

The Poseidon of Melos is a statue of Poseidon in the National Archaeological Museum, Athens (NAMA), with an inventory number 235, which is dated to the last quarter of the second century BC, thus to the Hellenistic Period.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bolu Museum</span> Museum in Bolu, Turkey

Bolu Museum is a museum in Bolu, Turkey. Bolu was a leading city of the Bithynia kingdom in antiquity.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Asclepieion of Athens</span>

The Asclepieion of Athens was the sanctuary built in honour of the gods Asclepius and Hygieia, located west of the Theatre of Dionysos and east of the Pelargikon wall on the southern escarpment of the Acropolis hill. It was one of several asklepieia in the ancient Greek world that served as rudimentary hospitals. It was founded in the year 419–18 BCE during the Peloponnesian War, perhaps as a direct result of the plague, by Telemachos Acharneas. His foundation is inscribed in the Telemachos Monument, a double-sided, marble column which is topped by reliefs depicting the arrival of the god in Athens from Epidaurus and his reception by Telemachos. The sanctuary complex consisted of the temple and the altar of the god as well as two galleries, the Doric stoa which served as a katagogion for overnight patients in the Asklepieion and their miraculous healing by the god, and the Ionic Stoa that served as a dining hall and lodging for the priests of Asclepius and their visitors.

<i>Armed Aphrodite</i> (NAMA 262) Sculpture of Aphrodite Areia

Armed Aphrodite is a first-century AD Roman marble sculpture depicting Aphrodite Areia, or the war-like aspect of the Greek goddess Aphrodite, who was more commonly worshipped as a goddess of beauty and love. It is modelled after a lost Greek original of the fourth century BC made by Polykleitos the Younger, and is now kept in the National Archaeological Museum of Athens in Greece with accession number 262.

References

Further reading