Letter P

Panacea

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A universal remedy, a cure-all.

The word 'panacea' comes from the name of Panaceia, the daughter of Asklepios, the Greek god of medicine (whose staff with entwined snake is the symbol of medicine).

Asklepios (known to the Romans as Aesculapius) had a number of children including not only Panaceia but also Hygieia, the goddess of health (from whose name we have the word 'hygiene').

Panaceia also followed her father into medicine and became the patroness of clinical medicine.

The ancients sought (but never found) a universal remedy, a panacea.

(In Greek, 'pan', all + 'akos', remedy = remedy-all.)

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