あし

  • 紀元前3-紀元前2世紀
  • H-3.1 W-0.5
解説(古代バクトリア遺宝展)

前3―前2世紀

高3.1 cm 幅0.5 cm
 ギリシャ人ヒポクラテスは魔術や儀式と無縁の医学を創始したと言われるが、前6世紀頃には癒しの神アスクレピウスの信仰が始まり地中海世界に広まって行ったことを見ると、ギリシャ世界でも医療と宗教の関係は離れがたいものであった。ギリシャ、エトルリア(イタリア)そして小アジアにもその聖堂の址が見られるが、タフティ・サンギーンに移住した多くの小アジアの人々もそのような癒しの神の信仰を持ち込んだに違いない。この信仰では、治癒した感謝の表現にこのアスクレピウスが患者を癒す場面を浮彫で表したものを奉納する習わしがあったが、ヘレニズムの時代には患部を形象で表したものを奉納する習わしも見られた。眼、腕、足などはその代表的なもので、この患部が治癒した感謝を捧げたものか、あるいは治癒を祈願したものであろう。作品82~85に見られる金板に線刻と押し出しあるいは金塊の打ち出しで表現された眼、腕、脚は、このような願いと感謝が込められたものだったと思われる。

Catalogue Entry

3rd‐2nd century B.C.
Gold
H. 3.1 cm, W. 0.5 cm
The Greek Hippocrates is credited with founding the medical sciences unrelated to magic or ritual. And yet, as can be seen from the spread of the worship of the god of healing Asclepius in the Mediterranean world started around the 6th century BC, it was very hard for the Greek world to separate the medical sciences from religion. The ruins of temples to this god can be found in Greece, Etruria (Italy) and in Asia Minor, and undoubtedly many of the people from Asia Minor who moved to Takht-I Sangin brought with them their beliefs in this god of healing. This belief included the practice of offering relief depictions of this god Asclepius healing the patient as thanks for that cure. During the Hellenistic period, this practice may have turned to the depiction of only the part that was healed. Thus eyes, arms, legs were used as representatives of the healed part, and they were offered as thanks by the patient healed. Or they were offered as prayers asking for such parts to be healed. As seen in cat. Nos. 82 through 85, gold sheets were either incised and pressed with these images, or gold lumps were pressed into gratitude-filled images of eyes, arms and legs.