The Temples and Cult of Asclepius, from "The History of Medicine" / Robert Thom
About this Item
Record Details
- Accession Number
- UMHS.5
- Title
- The Temples and Cult of Asclepius, from "The History of Medicine"
- Artist
- Robert Thom
- Artist Life Dates
- 1915-1979
- Medium and Support
- oil on canvas
- Object Creation Date
- circa 1952
- Object Creation Place
- North and Central America (continent)
- United States (nation)
- Michigan (state)
- Creation Place 1
- North and Central America (continent)
- Creation Place 2
- United States (nation)
- Creation Place 3
- Michigan (state)
- Dimensions
- 170.82 cm x 120.65 cm (67 1/4 in. x 47 1/2 in.)
- Century
- 20th century
- Primary Object Classification
- Painting
- Physical Description
- Every night for nearly a thousand years (500 B.C. - 500 A.D.), sick and afflicted pilgrims flocked to the Grecian Temples of Asclepius to take part of a ritual called incubation. The ancient kindly god of medicine was expected to visit them during a dream state and either heal or prescribe drugs, diet, and modes of treatment. Only requisites were that they should be clean and "think pure thoughts." To show their appreciation, recipients of Asclepius' favor caused votives (stone or terra cotta images of the afflicted parts which supposedly had been healed) to be made, suitably inscribed, and presented to be hung as testimony on the temple walls. More than 200 such temples existed.
- Secondary Keywords
- disciplines
- health sciences
- people
- people (agents)
- people and culture
- people by occupation
- people in health and medicine
- people in science-related occupations
- science and related disciplines
- scientists and people in science-related occupations
- Rights
- If you are interested in using an image for a publication, please visit https://umma.umich.edu/about/services/request-image/ for more information and to fill out the online Image Rights and Reproductions Request Form.
Technical Details
- Collection
- University of Michigan Museum of Art
- Record
- UMHS.5
- Link to this Item
-
https://quod.lib.umich.edu/m/musart/x-umhs.5/umhs.5.jpg
Rights and Permissions
Cite this Item
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- Full citation
-
"The Temples and Cult of Asclepius, from "The History of Medicine"; Robert Thom." In the digital collection University of Michigan Museum of Art. https://quod.lib.umich.edu/m/musart/x-umhs.5/umhs.5.jpg. University of Michigan Library Digital Collections. Accessed April 30, 2025.
