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Exploring the History of Medicine, Part 51: Florence, Part 31
November 1, 2024
Uffizi Gallery
9. Zeus
"Zeus" is the supreme god in Greek mythology and an omnipotent deity.
He is the god of the sky who rules the entire universe and weather, and protects the order of both humanity and the gods.
Zeus is the king of the gods, including the twelve Olympian gods.
He wields a powerful thunderbolt, capable of destroying the entire universe, and is a unique god-like figure even within polytheism, possessing immense and absolute power.
In Roman mythology, Zeus is known as "Juppiter."
The English name for Juppiter is "Jupiter," which became the name of the largest planet in the solar system.
Because Jupiter is the largest, it was named after the all-powerful god Zeus (Juppiter).
Zeus released two eagles from the ends of the world to establish the center of the world.
The two eagles flew across the world and intersected at Delphoi (Delphi.)
Delphoi (Delphi) corresponded to the “Omphalos” (navel) of the earth goddess Gaia.
Gaia had placed an oracle here to convey the future to humans.
Since the oracle was a significant place for both Gaia and humans, Gaia had her son, the great serpent (dragon) “Python,” guard it.
Zeus intended to convey and guide his will to humans from the center of the world.
Therefore, he ordered his son Apollo to seize Gaia's oracle.
Apollo rode to Delphoi (Delphi) in a chariot drawn by swans, killed the great serpent Python with a golden arrow, and threw it into a fissure in the earth.
He then sealed the fissure with a sacred stone and built the Temple of Apollo on top of it.
For centuries thereafter, priestesses conveyed the will of the gods to humans here, becoming famous as the "Oracle of Delphi" or the "Oracle of Apollo."
The stone that sealed the great serpent Python is still known today as the "Omphalos (navel) Stone."
The Latin word "umbilicus," originally meaning "center," became an anatomical term meaning "navel" due to this story of Zeus's "center of the world."
Terms such as "umbilical cord" and "umbilical hernia" are derived from this.
In Greek, the navel is called "omphalos," in Latin, it is "umbilicus," but in English, it is referred to as "belly button."
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