“O Much-desir’d, prolific, gen’ral queen, hear me, life-bearing, Health [Hygeia], of beauteous mien, Mother of all; by thee diseases dire, of bliss destructive, from our life retire; And ev’ry house is flourishing and fair, if with rejoicing aspect thou art there: Each dædal art, thy vig’rous force inspires, and all the world thy helping hand desires;
Pluto life’s bane alone resists thy will, and ever hates thy all-preserving skill.

O fertile queen, from thee forever flows to mortal life from agony repose;
And men without thy all-sustaining ease, find nothing useful, nothing form’d to please; Without thy aid, not Plutus’ /Hades self can thrive, nor man to much afflicted age arrive; For thou alone of countenance serene, dost govern all things, universal queen.

Assist thy mystics with propitious mind, and far avert disease of ev’ry kind”.

(The Orphic Hymns 41-86, Translated by Thomas Taylor)

With this Orphic Hymn to Hygieia and on the occasion of the iconic exhibition “Healing. Hygieia, Illness, Treatment from Homer to Galen” that ran in 2014, the Museum of Cycladic Art welcomes adults to a series of online activities at cycladic.gr.

The exhibition presents the evolution of ancient therapeutic practices, examining the transition from magic-religious healing to rational, scientific medicine. Visitors can explore the world of Hygieia in ancient Greece from their home and discover practices and traditions, some of which continue to be implemented today, through a rich collection of texts and material. See here.

At the same time, visitors to cycladic.gr can do the following:

–Get acquainted with Cycladic, Ancient Greek and Cypriot culture (press here).

– Remember the big periodic exhibitions of the Cycladic Art Museum through videos on artists , curators and backstage material (press here).

– Explore the Museum collection (press here)

– Select a series of E-BOOKS (press here)