College of Aesculapius and Hygia

The College of Aesculapius and Hygia was an association (collegium) founded in the mid-2nd century AD by a wealthy Roman woman named Salvia Marcellina, in honor of her dead husband and the procurator for whom he had worked. It is known from a lengthy inscription, dated March 11, 153 AD, that preserves the statute (lex) under which the college was constituted. The college was located on the Appian Way on the outskirts of Rome, between the first and second milestones near the oldest Temple of Mars at Rome. In addition to its commemorative purpose, the college served as a burial society and dining club for its members.

The college was founded by Salvia Marcellina, the mater (female chief patron) of the college, to preserve the memory of her husband, Marcus Ulpius Capito, and the procurator Flavius Apollonius, for whom he had worked. Capito is commemorated in the inscription as maritus optimus piissimus, "best and most devoted husband". Apollonius had overseen the art galleries (pinacothecae) at the imperial palace.

According to the inscription, the building in which the college was housed took the form of a shrine (aedicula) and pergola, with an attached covered solarium. It had a marble statue of Aesculapius, a god of healing. The cult of Aesculapius and Hygia had come to Rome in 293 BC. Although Hygia had been officially recognized as the counterpart of Roman Salus ("Health, Wellbeing, Salvation, Security") in 180 BC, she was rarely cultivated apart from Aesculapius, and her devotees at Rome were typically Greek.

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