Hygeia - Aberdeen, Scotland
Posted by: creg-ny-baa
N 57° 07.878 W 002° 06.089
30V E 554389 N 6332359
Statue of Hygeia, goddess of good health, on top of a column commemorating the opening of Duthie Park in the Scottish city of Aberdeen, and its benefactor, Miss Elizabeth Crombie Duthie.
Waymark Code: WM168TY
Location: Northern Scotland, United Kingdom
Date Posted: 06/03/2022
Views: 1
This statue of the goddess Hygeia can be found atop a monument in Duthie Park, a large municipal park south of the city centre of Aberdeen in north-east Scotland. The park was given to the city by Miss Elizabeth Crombie Duthie in memory of her late uncle Walter and brother Alexander, and was opened by Princess Beatrice in 1883.
This monument was erected towards the north-east of the park in 1898, and was made from granite by Arthur Taylor of Aberdeen to an original design by the sculptor John Cassidy of Manchester. It features the statue in white-grey granite on a plinth atop a Corinthian Column, holding a serpent who is drinking from a cup. The column has four lions in pink granite at its foot, and was influenced by Nelson's Column, which was erected in London sixty years earlier.
Hygeia is the goddess from Greek and also Roman mythology of good health, who from the 18th century onwards was associated with the prevention of sickness. She was also seen as the patron saint of fresh air and healthy living. Her name is given to the word 'hygiene'.