Height: 6.400 cm
Presented by Mrs P.M. Bergin, in memory of her husband, the late Mr J.A. Bergin, CB
P&EE 1995 7-2 1
Prehistory and Europe
Bronze figurine of Aesculapius
Roman Britain, 1st-4th century AD
From near Chichester, West Sussex
The most powerful healer-god in the Greek and Roman world
The figure is Aesculapius, son of Apollo and Coronis, and the most important Roman god of healing. He wears a travellers' cloak and leans on his wooden staff, his 'attribute', that symbolizes the support he gave to the sick. Traces of a snake entwined around the staff can be seen. A snake is a symbol of restored youth and vitality (it regularly sheds it skin and appears to be born again). The staff of Aesculapius with a coiled snake has became the symbol of the modern medical profession. This is the first figurine of Aesculapius to have been found in Britain.
T.W. Potter, Roman Britain, 2nd edition (London, The British Museum Press, 1997)
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