Today as part of my Reading Ancient Rome class we took a field trip to the only island on the Tiber within the city of Rome. The story about this city is that once upon a time, there was plague throughout the city the Romans went to Greece to get a statue of the god of healing and medicine, Asclepius. The god decided that he wanted to go check out Rome so he boarded their ship in the form of a snake. When they reached Rome, the snake jumped out of the boat and the Roman decided that meant a temple should be built in that spot. But first they had to build an island to put it on.
His serpent entwined staff is still a symbol used in medicine today. I carry the symbol every time I am on call with the EMTs back at Hamilton. Here's me with my patron Roman god:
Unfortunately, somebody took a good chunk out of his visage so all that's really left is his shoulder, a wisp of hair and his staff.
Today the island houses a church (built on the original temple), a hospital, and some nice restaurants. During the summer the city hosts cultural events on the island such as film festivals and concerts. Hopefully they will start before I leave.
With any luck I wont need to consult Asclepius while I'm here, but my EMT director Diann would be proud to know my pocket CPR kit is attached to my keys and always with me.
Ciao
J
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