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33-412: The island is boat-shaped, approximately 270 metres (890 feet) long and 67 metres (220 feet) wide, and has been connected with bridges to both sides of the river since antiquity. Being a seat of the ancient temple of Asclepius and later a hospital, the island is associated with medicine and healing. The Fatebenefratelli Hospital founded in the 16th century, and the church of San Bartolomeo all'Isola (on

66-425: A mountain called Tittheion (from τίτθη "wet nurse", τιτθεύω "to suckle, breastfeed"). The child was given milk by one of the goats that pastured about the mountain, and was guarded by the watch-dog of the herd. Aresthanas, the owner of goats and the guard dogs found the child. As he came near, he saw lightning that flashed from the child, and thinking of it to be a sign of the divine, he left the child alone. Asclepius

99-572: A snake with a "head of linen" was an incarnation of Asclepius. The Greek language rhetorician and satirist Lucian produced the work Alexander the False Prophet to denounce the swindler for future generations. He described Alexander as having a character "made up of lying, trickery, perjury, and malice; [it was] facile, audacious, venturesome, diligent in the execution of its schemes, plausible, convincing, masking as good, and wearing an appearance absolutely opposite to its purpose." In Rome,

132-538: A son, Aratus , with Aristodeme . Asclepius once started bringing back to life the dead people like Tyndareus, Capaneus, Glaucus, Hymenaeus, Lycurgus and others. Others say he brought Hippolytus back from the dead on Artemis's request, and accepted gold for it. It is the only mention of Asclepius resurrecting the dead. In all other accounts he is said to use his skills simply as a physician. However, Hades accused Asclepius of stealing his subjects and complained to his brother Zeus about it. According to others, Zeus

165-417: Is a hero and god of medicine in ancient Greek religion and mythology . He is the son of Apollo and Coronis , or Arsinoe , or of Apollo alone. Asclepius represents the healing aspect of the medical arts; his daughters, the "Asclepiades", are: Hygieia ("Health, Healthiness"), Iaso (from ἴασις "healing, recovering, recuperation", the goddess of recuperation from illness), Aceso (from ἄκεσις "healing",

198-649: Is staffed by the Hospitaller Order of St. John of God or " Fatebenefratelli ". The hospital was not built on the same spot as the temple, but stands on the western half of the island. During the 1930s, almost all the houses on the island were demolished to allow for the enlargement of the hospital. During WWII, when the Nazis occupied Rome in September 1943 and started rounding up the Jews, Dr. Borromeo, head of

231-474: The Aesculapian snake ( Zamenis longissimus ) is named for the god. He was originally called Hepius but received his popular name of Asclepius after he cured Ascles, ruler of Epidaurus who suffered an incurable ailment in his eyes. Asclepius became so proficient as a healer that he surpassed both Chiron and his father, Apollo. Asclepius was therefore able to evade death and to bring others back to life from

264-586: The College of Aesculapius and Hygia was an association ( collegium ) that served as a burial society and dining club that also participated in the Imperial cult . The botanical genus Asclepias (commonly known as milkweed) is named after him and includes the medicinal plant A. tuberosa or "Pleurisy root". Asclepius was depicted on the reverse of the Greek 10,000 drachmas banknote of 1995–2001. At

297-484: The Therapeutae of Asclepius . The etymology of the name is unknown. In his revised version of Frisk's Griechisches etymologisches Wörterbuch ( Greek Etymological Dictionary ), R. S. P. Beekes gives this summary of the different attempts: Beekes suggested a Pre-Greek proto-form *(a)-s klap- . His name may mean "to cut open" from a story about his birth. Asclepius was the son of Apollo and, according to

330-463: The "prow". After the Temple of Aesculapius, shrines dedicated to other deities were also erected after the 2nd century BC, namely: In time, the obelisk was removed and replaced with a cross-topped column. After it was destroyed in 1867, Pope Pius IX had an aedicula , called "Spire", put in its place. This monument, designed by Ignazio Jacometti , is decorated with statues of four saints related to

363-472: The Greek god of healing, and sent a delegation to Epidauros to obtain a statue of the deity. The delegation went on board a ship to sail out and obtain a statue. Following their belief system, they obtained a snake, closely associated and dear to the God, from a temple and put it on board their ship. It immediately curled itself around the ship's mast and this was deemed as a good sign by them. Upon their return up

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396-636: The Island) dating from the 10th century, are located on the island. The island has been linked to the rest of Rome by two bridges since antiquity , and was once called Insula Inter-Duos-Pontes which means "the island between the two bridges". The Ponte Fabricio , the only original bridge in Rome, connects the island from the northeast to the Field of Mars in the rione Sant'Angelo (left bank). The Ponte Cestio , of which only some original parts survived, connects

429-463: The Tiber river, the snake slithered off the ship and swam onto the island. Believing this was an incarnation of the God himself, a temple to Aesculapius was erected just where the serpent landed. The island may have been chosen as the site for the temple to distance it from the rest of the city, as well as for access to flowing water for use in the temple. The island eventually became so identified with

462-529: The Tiber, where it eventually became the foundation of the island. Prior to the 3rd century BC, Roman use of the island is not mentioned by any sources. Tiber Island was once the location of an ancient temple to Aesculapius , the Greek god of medicine and healing. In 293 BC, there was a great plague in Rome. Upon consulting the Sibyl , the Roman Senate was instructed to build a temple to Aesculapius ,

495-522: The appropriate therapy by a process of interpretation. Some healing temples also used sacred dogs to lick the wounds of sick petitioners. In honor of Asclepius, a particular type of non-venomous snake was often used in healing rituals, and these snakes—the Aesculapian Snakes —slithered around freely on the floor in dormitories where the sick and injured slept. These snakes were introduced at the founding of each new temple of Asclepius throughout

528-475: The art of medicine. It is said that in return for some kindness rendered by Asclepius, a snake licked Asclepius's ears clean and taught him secret knowledge (to the Greeks snakes were sacred beings of wisdom, healing, and resurrection). Asclepius bore a rod wreathed with a snake, which became associated with healing. Another version states that when Asclepius (or in another myth Polyidus ) was commanded to restore

561-617: The brink of death and beyond. This caused an excessive abundance of human beings, and Zeus resorted to killing him to maintain balance in the numbers of the human population. At some point, Asclepius was among those who took part in the Calydonian Boar hunt. Also, he was one of the Argonauts . Asclepius was married to Epione , with whom he had five daughters: Hygieia , Panacea , Aceso , Iaso , and Aegle , and three sons: Machaon , Podaleirios and Telesphoros . He also sired

594-481: The classical world. The original Hippocratic Oath began with the invocation "I swear by Apollo the Physician and by Asclepius and by Hygieia and Panacea and by all the gods ...". Epidauria (τὰ Ἐπιδαύρια) was a festival at Athens in honour of Asclepius. Some later religious movements claimed links to Asclepius. In the 2nd century AD the controversial miracle-worker Alexander claimed that his god Glycon ,

627-403: The cult of Asclepius grew very popular and pilgrims flocked to his healing temples ( Asclepieia ) to be cured of their ills. Ritual purification would be followed by offerings or sacrifices to the god (according to means), and the supplicant would then spend the night in the holiest part of the sanctuary– the abaton (or adyton). Any dreams or visions would be reported to a priest who would prescribe

660-524: The earliest accounts, a mortal woman named Koronis (Coronis), who was a princess of Tricca in Thessaly. When she displayed infidelity by sleeping with a mortal named Ischys , Apollo found out with his prophetic powers and killed Ischys. Coronis was killed by Artemis for being unfaithful to Apollo and was laid out on a funeral pyre to be consumed, but Apollo rescued the child by cutting him from Coronis' womb. According to Delphian tradition, Asclepius

693-656: The goddess of the healing process), Aegle (the goddess of good health) and Panacea (the goddess of universal remedy). He has several sons as well. He was associated with the Roman/Etruscan god Vediovis and the Egyptian Imhotep . He shared with Apollo the epithet Paean ("the Healer"). The rod of Asclepius , a snake-entwined staff similar to the caduceus , remains a symbol of medicine today. Those physicians and attendants who served this god were known as

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726-854: The hospital, invented an imaginary deadly and highly contagious illness he dubbed “Il Morbo di K” to keep the SS away and protect those Jews hiding inside the wards, just a stone's throw from the Ghetto. During summer, the island hosts the Isola del Cinema film festival. The island serves as the player's headquarters in the 2010 action-adventure stealth video game Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood . 41°53′27″N 12°28′38″E  /  41.89083°N 12.47722°E  / 41.89083; 12.47722 Asclepius Asclepius ( / æ s ˈ k l iː p i ə s / ; ‹See Tfd› Greek : Ἀσκληπιός Asklēpiós [asklɛːpiós] ; Latin : Aesculapius )

759-447: The island to Trastevere on the south (right bank). There is a legend which says that after the fall of the hated tyrant Tarquinius Superbus (510 BC), the angry Romans threw his body into the Tiber. His body then settled onto the bottom where dirt and silt accumulated around it and eventually formed Tiber Island. Another version of the legend says that the people gathered up the wheat and grain of their despised ruler and threw it into

792-582: The island: St. Bartholomew the Apostle , St. Paulinus of Nola , St. Francis of Assisi and St. John of God . Parts of the obelisk are now in the museum in Naples . In 998 Emperor Otto III had a basilica , that of San Bartolomeo all'Isola , built over the Aesculapius temple's ruins on the eastern side (downstream end) of the island. This was dedicated to his friend, the martyr Adalbert of Prague ;

825-481: The life of Glaucus, he was confined in a secret prison. While pondering on what he should do, a snake crept near his staff. Lost in his thoughts, Asclepius unknowingly killed it by hitting it again and again with his staff. Later, another snake came there with an herb in its mouth, and placed it on the head of a dead snake, which soon came back to life. Seeing this, Asclepius used the same herb, which brought Glaucus back. A species of non-venomous pan-Mediterranean serpent,

858-572: The most famous temples of Asclepius was at Epidaurus in north-eastern Peloponnese , dated to the fourth century BC. Another famous asclepeion was built approximately a century later on the island of Kos , where Hippocrates , the legendary "father of medicine", may have begun his career. Other asclepieia were situated in Gortys (in Arcadia), and Pergamum in Asia . From the fifth century BC onwards,

891-625: The name of St. Bartholomew was added only later. In the early 20th century, prior to the Fascist regime's restoration of ancient place names, the Tiber Island was called the Isola di S. Bartolomeo. Likewise, Cestius' Bridge was called the Ponte S. Bartolomeo. The island is still considered a place of healing because a hospital, founded in 1584, was built on the island and is still operating. It

924-570: The sake of Apollo, put among the stars." Asclepius was killed by Zeus, and by Apollo 's request, was subsequently immortalized as a star. The most ancient and the most prominent asclepeion (or healing temple) according to the geographer of the 1st century BC, Strabo, was situated in Trikala . The 1st century AD Pool of Bethesda , described in the Gospel of John , chapter 5, was found by archaeologists in 1964 to be part of an asclepeion. One of

957-450: The temple it supported that it was modeled to resemble a ship in reference to the story of the temple's founding. Travertine facing was added in mid or late first century by the banks to resemble a ship's prow and stern, and an obelisk was erected in the middle, symbolizing the vessel's mast. Walls were put around the island, and it came to resemble a Roman ship. Faint vestiges of Aesculapius' rod with an entwining snake are still visible on

990-440: Was afraid that Asclepius would teach the art of resurrection to other humans as well. Concerning the fate of Asclepius, Ovid writes that "the youth [Asclepius] blasted by ancestral bolts [of Zeus] soars from earth [rising as the constellation Ophiuchus] and flings his hands coiled with double snakes." Later accounts read "The Serpent-Holder. Many astronomers have imagined that he is Aesculapius [Asclepius], whom Jupiter [Zeus], for

1023-535: Was born in the temple of Apollo, with Lachesis acting as a midwife and Apollo relieving the pains of Coronis. Apollo named the child after Coronis' nickname, Aegle. Phoenician tradition maintains that Asclepius was born of Apollo without any woman involved. According to the Roman version, Apollo, having learned about Coronis' betrayal with the mortal Ischys through his raven Lycius , killed her with his arrows. Before breathing her last, she revealed to Apollo that she

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1056-472: Was later taken by Apollo. According to Strabo and other traditions, the birthplace of Asclepius is considered to be Tricca (modern Trikala city in Thessaly ). Apollo named the rescued baby "Asclepius" and reared him for a while and taught him many things about medicine. However, like his half-brother, Aristaeus , Asclepius had his formal education under the centaur Chiron who instructed him in

1089-408: Was pregnant with his child. He repented his actions and unsuccessfully tried to save her. At last, he removed their son safely from her belly before she was consumed by the fire. In yet another version, Coronis who was already pregnant with Apollo's child, had to accompany her father to Peloponnesos . She had kept her pregnancy hidden from her father. In Epidaurus , she bore a son and exposed him on

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