Greeks and Romans knew two divine helpers when ot came to human health. One of them was Asklepios, who was called upon to cure acute diseases. The other one was his daughter Hygeia, a female goddess, who is always shown feeding a snake from a patera. Here, we see her on a dupondius of Emperor Hadrian (118-138).
Hygeia was not responsible for curing, her task was to maintain health. According to antique believe, diseases derived from a discordance of the divine world order and the individual. Hygeia helped to preserve harmony by showing people what was needed to keep divine favor: namely permanent contact with supernatural powers and regular maintenance of the traditional sacrifices.