Figure 1: Saint Apollonia by Vincenzo Luccardi, 1865. University of Pennsylvania Art Collection.
The Evans Collection at Penn Dental includes objects that have various ties to dental history. For example, many of you may be familiar with the Saint Apollonia statue that currently resides by the Leon Levy Library entrance (see Figure 1). Her presence at Penn Dental is fitting since, in Christianity, she is the patron saint of dentists and tooth ailments.
In Christianity, patron saints act as protectors and intermediaries between humans and God by interceding on behalf of individuals who pray to them for specific causes. In other religions, this role is usually filled by national or local gods. For example, K’uei Hsing, in Chinese religion, is a patron of scholars (Encylopaedia Britannica).
Patron saints are often martyrs – people who chose death over recanting their beliefs – who were later declared saints through canonization. These saints often became associated with their area of patronage via the story of their martyrdom.
According to Apollonia’s story, she was a deaconess in Alexandra, Egypt, during Roman rule in the 3rd-century CE[1]. During this time, there were many violent acts being committed against people of Christian faith because they did not follow the polytheistic state religion. Because of her status and her commitment to her faith, she was beaten by a group of men who broke all of her teeth. Before they could burn her at the stake, she most likely was requested to perform rites to the Roman gods like other martyrs of her time. Rather than going against her faith, she threw herself into the flame. Her broken teeth are why she is now known as the patron saint of dentistry.
Patron saints are usually depicted with specific attributes and other symbolism that represent their area of patronage. Apollonia’s attributes include pliers and also a martyr’s palm or crown (see Figure 2). Oftentimes there is a tooth held in her pliers, such as seen below. While our statue is missing her typical attributes, she does appear to have a bandage around her jaw which alludes to the pain caused by her missing teeth.
Figure 2: St. Apollonia. Oil painting by a follower of Francisco de Zurbaran. Obtained on Wikimedia Commons with a CC BY 4.0 license. Image from Wellcome Trust.
Relics of Saint Apollonia, including parts of her jaw and teeth, are scattered throughout Europe. One such holding place is the Porto Cathedral in Portugal, where a tooth of the saint sits on display in an ornately decorated metal holder.
Our statue of Saint Apollonia, like much of the artwork at Penn Dental, sheds light on an example of dentistry in history. Next time you visit the second floor of Evans, consider paying her a visit!
References
De Voragine, Jacobus, et al., The Golden Legend : Readings on Saints. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2012.
Encyclopaedia Britannica. “Patron saint,” last updated 2008. https://www.britannica.com/topic/patron-saint
Encyclopaedia Britannica. “Martyr,” last updated 2017. https://www.britannica.com/topic/martyr
Science Museum, London: Brought to Life. “Saint Apollonia,” accessed in 2017. http://www.sciencemuseum.org.uk/broughttolife/people/saintapollonia
Skrobonja, Rotschild, and Culina, “Saint Apollonia’s Tooth – a Relic in the Cathedral Treasury of Rab (Croatia).” British Dental Journal 207 (2009): 499-502, accessed 2017. doi:10.1038/sj.bdj.2009.1012
[1] CE stands for Common Era, also known as AD or Anno Domini.
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