Have you ever gone to
hospital or pharmacy? Or have you ever passed by in front of it? Well then, my
next question that “Have you ever noticed the logo put up in the top of the
building or in the wall?
Hm…. Well you think
what the logo that I am talking about, don’t you? All right do you catch what
the logo I mean? That’s right. If your answer is the logo of pharmacy.
Well then, you ask
yourself why in earth I am asking about the logo of pharmacy. Hm,.. I myself
actually do not know why I am asking about the logo. Oh, I remember maybe it is
because I saw someone wearing a jacket while I was taking pray in mosque. He
wore a jacket at which there was written in the back part of the jacket
“Pharmacy 91” along with a picture of snake coming up from a glass. Then, a
curiosity was approaching my mind at that time and it whispered a question”
oi…humankind find out why a snake is used to symbolize a pharmacy”. “Wakata” I
said in a Naruto’s style. Haha.
Then, here it goes, I
ended up at Google searching why a snake is used to symbolize a pharmacy. The
result are:
History: The snake,
The Pharmacy, The logo, “How are they related?”
 |
| Asclepius |
According to an
article I read from Wikipedia, it is stated that the usage of a snake as a
symbol of pharmacy is based on Greek Mythology. In Greek Mythology, it is
believed that snake or what they called as “the Rod of Asclepius” is a deity or
a god that related to the healing and medicine. In Greek, it is symbolized then
as a serpent-entwined rod. “The Rod of Asclepius” takes its name from
Asclepius. Asclepius has attributes that are snakes and staff which are
combined as a symbol.
Temple had been built
to admire and worship Asclepius. The temple used to worship Asclepius then was
named as asclepion. The most famous temple of Asclepius was at Epidaurus in
north-eastern Peloponnese. Another famous healing temple is located in the
island of Kos. It is predicted that Hippocrates (a Greece medicine expert) had
begun his career in the island of Kos’ temple. Other temples are located in
Trikala, Gortys (Arcadia), and Pergamum (Asia).
In honor of
Asclepius, a particular type of non-venomous snake was often used in healing
rituals. The snakes then are called as Aesculapian snakes. Aesculapian snakes
which is native snake of Europe are still exist until now. As I have mentioned
before, the snake is non-venomous snake and it is able growing up to 2 meters
in full-length. It is often classified as the largest European snakes.
 |
| Asclepion |
In the Greece healing
tradition in the past, when there was a sick person, then the sick person will
be threated and healed using Aesculapian snakes. The snakes will be put around
the sick person. Then, they will crawled around freely on the floor in
dormitories where the sick and injured slept. The ritual of purification would
be followed by offerings or sacrifices to the god and the supplicant would
spend the night in the holiest part of the sanctuary. Any dreams or visions
would be reported to a priest who would prescribe the appropriate therapy by a
process of interpretation. Some healing also used a sacred dog to lick the
wound of the sick.
 |
| Aescluapian Snake |
Well, you have read
the description I write in the passage above. Then, I am sure that you has
already gained a little information about why a snake is used as a pharmacy
logo. The Geek mythology is related to it. The logos that is now widely used in
every hospital in the world comes from a Greece god named Asclepius or in
another word it is called as a god of health and medicine.
baru tau :D
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