Antall József szerk.: Orvostörténeti közlemények 64-65. (Budapest, 1972)

KISEBB KÖZLEMÉNYEK - Varannai, Gyula: Aszklepiosz a magyar éremművészetben (angol nyelven)

KISEBB KÖZLEMÉNYEK ASKLEPIOS IN HUNGARIAN MEDALLIC ART by GYULA VARANNA I Tn nearly all the branches of art the appearance of Asklepios is contemporaneous with the cult of the god of medicine. The spread of his cult was most effectively facilitated by coins bearing his figure. His first silver coin minted, in 350 B. C, shows Asklepios with his commonest attribute, the serpent twined round a rod. In Hungarian numismatic art one meets his figure rather late but in a rich and varied form, written in the Latinized version Aesculapius, and not only as a symbol, an allegory, but expressing deeper ideas adequate to the purpose of the coin in question. The figure of Asklepios first appears in Hungary on a medal minted for the itinerary congress of Hungarian Physicians and Naturalists held in 1847 in Sopron. It was the work of József Dániel Böhm, a native of Hungary, in contemporary classicist style. His composition shows a female figure representing the town of Sopron joining her hands with those of Asklepios, who is standing for the physicians. (Fig. J

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