This is the symbol of Aescalipius, a major symbolical statuette representing a greco roman God found on the lower corner of the Yates Memorial’s frame. It represents Zeus’ thunderbolt, and a snake which represents life and longevity. From the 5th century BC, the cult of Aescalipius spread widely. Pilgrims used to visit healing temples and make sacrifces to him and his daughter, in the hopes of being cured of their illnesses. Triqueti used this imagery to celebrate the idea of sacrifice for the scope of well being.

IMAGE FROM: https://www.healthcaresuccess.com/blog/branding/why-caduceus-doesnt-belong-in-your-branding.html 

This is the Greco-Roman god Aescalipius. In mythology, he represents the art of healing, which he learned from the centaur Chiron. His fate was tragic: Zeus was fearful that he would render all men immortal, so he slew him with a thunderbolt. Aescalipius represents the mythological sacrifice for the human desire for the ability to heal. 

Daughter of Aescalipius, Hygiene. She represents health and sanitation.

Herodotus, the ancient historian, documented the lives of ancient populations of Greece, Rome and Egypt. In his Histories he wrote about women’s involvement in religious practices. They were allowed great responsibility during ceremonies, could become priestesses and also said to have had important duties to fulfil. Going into detail about the practices that take place before marriage, it is explained that ‘women must go to the temple of Aphrodite and wait there until a man throws a silver coin’ (of any amount) into their laps: the initiation of a sacred sexual rite. The act of offering one’s body to the stranger in exchange for capital serves to honour the goddess, support the temple and inhibit the woman from ever being tempted to stray from her vows. The temples were made rich, and not only full of statues, these were also the owners of  thousands of ‘temple-slaves’, courtesans whom both men and women had dedicated to the Goddess.

Sir Edward Poynter’s roundel design for ‘Rhodopis’ tiles in South Kensington Museum, Grill Room. Courtesy of the V&A.

As she was bathing one day at Naucratis, the sandal of Rhodopis was stolen by an eagle, flown to Memphis and dropped into the lap of the Egyptian King who subsequently did not rest until he had tracked down the fair owner of the shoe to make her his queen…it is a familiar story – referred to as the earliest version of Cinderella – however is one with a past more complex. Having lived most of her life as a sex slave, this woman was sold and passed between proprietors. Once liberated, ransomned by a migrant merchant, Rhodopis is said to have chosen to continue her life as a heteaera (high class prostitute) saving the profit from her income to send iron spits to Delphi. These are said to have been seen by Herodotus and serve as another example of how the body is sacrificed for religion as offerings to the oracle.

The finger holds a very important place in the Christian tradition. Whether it stands as a symbol of creation or pain, it is invested with a strong meaning in biblical scriptures and especially in religious art. The finger’s imagery is found in paintings dating from the early medieval period during which the depiction of God was not tolerated. The Hand of God was initially represented as the Craftsman’s tool, as the source of his creation. The artistic shift which occurred throughout the Renaissance enabled the emergence of a darker, more realist painting, along which the symbolism of the finger shifted. Caravaggio and the “Baroque” transformed religious art, exaggerating dramatic effects as in the “the incredulity of St. Thomas” which portrays St. Thomas inserting his index in the Christ’s wound, realizing the Christ is standing in front of him. The emphasis on the painting’s gory aspect through Caravaggio’s interplay of lights reminds the Christ’s sacrifice, shifting the importance of the finger in religious imagery.

Caravaggio. 1601-1602. The Incredulity of Saint Thomas. Oil on canvas. Potsdam: Sansoussi Picture Gallery.

Fresco from Sant Climent de Taüll, Catalonia, Spain.

Early medieval religious paintings do not portray God as a human figure but only his hand, recalling the Creator’s craft. Such representations conveyed a symbolic religious meaning to the hand and its fingers. In Catholicism, the sign of the cross is made with the tip of the index and of the middle finger, preserving this important religious connotation associated to our fingers.