One of the most famous symbols of the greek mythology, which is used to the day, is the staff of Asclepus a.k.a. Aesculap. The snake curling around a stick is standing for doctors and other medical professions. 

As mentioned, the symbol is originated in the myths of ancient Greece. The son of Apollo (god of healing, truth and prophecy) known as Asclepius wasn't born a god. He was learning the art of healing and usage of herbs from his mentor Chiron, a centaur and also his father Apollo. Asclepius often used the knowledge of snakes, who knew everything about herbs and their effects, because they're living near the ground. To be always able to use this knowledge Asclepius would carry a snake with him, curled around his walking-staff. Soon he was a master in the art of healing, even able to resurrect the dead back to the living. But Zeus, father of the gods, wasn't amused about this fact, so he killed Asclepius with one of his thunderbolts. 

Nevertheless, Asclepius was later upraised into the status of a god immortal through his symbol to this day. 

The simple picture of the snake and the staff was giving me the opportunity to change and adjust it to the different fields of medicine. A short time later I've created different miniatures of the staff. 

When I was finished with the miniatures, another opportunity came up to train my artistic skills. I was enjoying the drawing of those little pictures, but I like to pay attention to details and drawing them as well. So I've started to change the little versions (created with colored pencils) into bigger versions (created with acrylic colors).