Panacea

   , HYGEIA

   The Roman god of medicine, Aesculapius, had seven daughters, among them Panacea and Hygeia, both of whose names have passed into common usage in English.

   Panaceas's name means "all-healing." The Greek form of her name was Panakeia, from pan, meaning all, and akeisthai, to heal. Hence the word panacea came to mean a cure-all, a universal medicine or remedy. In the Middle Ages the search for a panacea was one of the selfimposed tasks of the alchemists, which they conducted when they weren't busy transmuting a baser metal into gold. Fable tells of many panaceas, such as the Promethean Unguent, which rendered the body invulnerable; , Aladdin's ring; the balsam of Fierabras; and Prince Ahmed's apple, each reputed to be a cure for every disorder known to human beings. Hygeia, from the Greek hygies, means health. The English word hygiene can be traced directly to her name. Hygeia was endowed with the power to ward off pestilence and to promote health. The preamble of the Hippocratic Oath says: "I swear by Apollo the healer, Asklepios, and Hygeia and Panacea and all the gods and goddesses . . ."