Everything about Hygieia totally explained
In
Greek mythology,
Hygieia (Ὑγιεία) or
Hygeia (Ὑγεία) was a daughter of
Asclepius. She was the goddess of health, cleanliness and sanitation and afterwards, the moon. She also played an important part in her father's
cult. While her father was more directly associated with healing, she was associated with the prevention of sickness and the continuation of good health.
Hygieia was the subject of a local cult since at least the
7th century BC. "Athena Hygieia" was one of the
titles given to
Athene, as Plutarch recounts of the building of the
Parthenon:
However, the cult of Hygieia as an independent goddess didn't begin to spread out until the
Oracle at
Delphi recognized her, and after the devastating
Athens plague in
429 and
427 BC and in Rome in
293 BC. Her primary temples were in
Epidaurus,
Corinth,
Cos and
Pergamon.
Pausanias remarked that, at the asclepieion of
Titane in
Sicyon (founded by
Alexanor, Asclepius' grandson), statues of Hygieia were covered by women's hair and pieces of
Babylonian clothes. According to inscriptions, the same sacrifices were offered at
Paros.
Ariphron, a Sicyonian artist from the
4th century BC wrote a well-known
hymn celebrating her. Statues of Hygieia were created by
Scopas,
Bryaxis and
Timotheus, among others. She was often depicted as a young woman feeding a large snake that was wrapped around her body. Sometimes the snake would be drinking from a jar that she carried. These attributes were later adopted by the Gallo-Roman healing goddess,
Sirona. Hygieia was accompanied by her brother,
Telesphorus. Her name is the source of the word "
hygiene".
"Hygieia" was used as a greeting among the
Pythagoreans.
Further Information
Get more info on 'Hygieia'.
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