Wikipedia

Caduceus

This article is about a staff entwined with two serpents. Not to be confused with theRod of Asclepius,entwined with one serpent.

Thecaduceus(☤;/kəˈdjuːʃəs,-siəs/;Latin:cādūceus,fromGreek:κηρύκειονkērū́keion"herald's wand, or staff" )[b]is the staff carried byHermesinGreek mythologyand consequently byHermes Trismegistusin Greco-Egyptian mythology. The same staff was borne by other heralds likeIris,the messenger ofHera.The short staff is entwined by twoserpents,sometimes surmounted by wings. In Roman iconography, it was depicted being carried in the left hand ofMercury,themessenger of the gods.

Modern depiction of the caduceus as the symbol of logistics
Hermes Ingenui[a]carrying a winged caduceus upright in his left hand. A Roman copy after a Greek original of the 5th century BCE (Museo Pio-Clementino,Rome)

Some accounts assert that the oldest imagery of the caduceus is rooted in Mesopotamia with the Sumerian godNingishzida;his symbol, a staff with two snakes intertwined around it, dates back to 4000 BC to 3000 BC.[3]This iconography may have been a representation of two snakes copulating.[4]

As a symbol, it representsHermes(or the Roman Mercury), and by extension trades, occupations, or undertakings associated with the god. In laterAntiquity,the caduceus provided the basis for theastronomical symbolforplanet Mercury.Thus, through its use inastrology,alchemy,andastronomyit has come to denote the planet Mercury and by extension the eponymousplanetary metal.It is said that the wand would wake the sleeping and send the awake to sleep. If applied to the dying, their death was gentle; if applied to the dead, they returned to life.[5]

By extension of its association with Mercury and Hermes, the caduceus is also a symbol of commerce and negotiation, two realms in which exchange balanced by reciprocity is recognized as an ideal.[6][7][8]This association is ancient, and consistent fromclassical antiquityto modernity.[9][10]The caduceus is also a symbol of printing, by extension of the attributes of Mercury associated with writing and eloquence.

Although theRod of Asclepius,which has only one snake and no wings, is the traditional and more widely used symbol of medicine, thecaduceus is sometimes usedby healthcare organizations. Given that the caduceus is primarily a symbol of commerce and other non-medical symbology, many healthcare professionals disapprove of this use.[11]

Classical antiquity

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The Caduceus in classical imagery
  • Fresco fromPompeiiofthe punishment ofIxion:in the center isMercuryholding the caduceus
  • Iris with the caduceus in detail from an Atticred-figurepelike,middle of fifth century BC (Agrigento,Sicily)
  • Coin fromSardis(Turkey) with caduceus (c. 140-144 CE)

Mythology

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TheHomeric hymnto Hermes relates how his half brotherApollowas enchanted by Hermes's music from his lyre fashioned from a tortoise shell, which Hermes kindly gave to him. Apollo in return gave Hermes the caduceus as a gesture of friendship.[12]The association with the serpent thus connects Hermes toApollo,as later the serpent was associated withAsclepius,the "son of Apollo".[13]

The association of Apollo with the serpent is a continuation of the olderIndo-Europeandragon-slayer motif.Wilhelm Heinrich Roscher(1913) pointed out that the serpent as an attribute of both Hermes and Asclepius is a variant of the "pre-historic semi-chthonic serpent hero known at Delphi asPython",who in classical mythology is slain by Apollo.[14]

One Greekmyth of originof the caduceus is part of the story ofTiresias,[15]who found two snakes copulating and killed the female with his staff. Tiresias was immediately turned into a woman, and so remained until he was able to repeat the act with the male snake seven years later. This staff later came into the possession of the god Hermes, along with its transformative powers.

Another myth suggests that Hermes (or Mercury) saw two serpents entwined in mortal combat. Separating them with his wand he brought about peace between them, and as a result the wand with two serpents came to be seen as a sign of peace.[16]

In Rome,Livyrefers to thecaduceatorwho negotiated peace arrangements under the diplomatic protection of the caduceus he carried.[17]

Iconography

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In some vase paintings ancient depictions of the Greekkerukeionare somewhat different from the commonly seen modern representation. These representations feature the two snakes atop the staff (or rod), crossed to create a circle with the heads of the snakes resembling horns. This old graphic form, with an additional crossbar to the staff, seems to have provided the basis for the graphicalsign of Mercury(☿) used inGreek astrologyfrom Late Antiquity.[18]

Origin and comparative mythology

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Further information:Serpent worship
Hermes hastens bearing hiskerukeion,on anAtticlekythos,c. 475 BC,attributed to theTithonos Painter

The termkerukeiondenoted any herald's staff, not necessarily associated with Hermes in particular.[19]

In his study of the cult of Hermes,Lewis Richard Farnell(1909) assumed that the two snakes had simply developed out of ornaments of the shepherd's crook used by heralds as their staff.[20]This view has been rejected by later authors pointing to parallel iconography in the Ancient Near East. It has been argued that the staff or wand entwined by two snakes was itself representing a god in the pre-anthropomorphic era. Like thehermorpriapus,it would thus be a predecessor of the anthropomorphic Hermes of the classical era.[21]

Ancient Near East

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The Caduceus, symbol of GodNingishzida,on the libation vase ofSumerianrulerGudea,c. 2100 BCE
Caduceus symbol on apunch-marked coinof kingAshokainIndia,third to second century BC

William Hayes Ward(1910) discovered that symbols similar to the classical caduceus sometimes appeared onMesopotamian cylinder seals.He suggested the symbol originated some time between 3000 and 4000 BC, and that it might have been the source of the Greek caduceus.[22]A.L. Frothingham incorporated Ward's research into his own work, published in 1916, in which he suggested that the prototype of Hermes was an "Oriental deity of Babylonian extraction" represented in his earliest form as a snake god. From this perspective, the caduceus was originally representative of Hermes himself, in his early form as the Underworld godNingishzida,"messenger" of the "Earth Mother".[23] The caduceus is mentioned in passing byWalter Burkert[24]as "really the image of copulating snakes taken over from Ancient Near Eastern tradition".

In Egyptian iconography, theDjedpillar is depicted as containing a snake in a frieze of theDendera Temple complex.

India

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The caduceus also appears as a symbol of thepunch-marked coinsof theMaurya Empirein India, in the third or second century BC. Numismatic research suggest that this symbol was the symbol of the Buddhist kingAshoka,his personal "Mudra".[25]This symbol was not used on the pre-Mauryan punch-marked coins, but only on coins of the Maurya period, together with thethree arched-hill symbol,the "peacock on the hill", thetriskelisand theTaxilamark.[26] It also appears carved in basalt rock in few temples of western ghats.

Early modern use

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During theearly modern period,the caduceus was used as a symbol ofrhetoric(associated with Mercury's eloquence).[27]

  • Engraving by Hendrik Goltzius (1558–1617)
  • La Retorique(1633–35)
  • Allegory of Rhetoric(1650)

Modern use

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Symbol of commerce

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A simplified caduceus is found in dictionaries, as a "commercial term" entirely in keeping with the association of Hermes with commerce. In this form the staff is often depicted with two winglets and the snakes omitted or reduced to a small ring in the middle.[6]The customs service of the formerGerman Democratic Republicdemonstrated the caduceus' association with thresholds, translators, and commerce in the service medals issued to their staff. The caduceus is also the symbol of the customs agency ofBulgariaand of the financial administration of theSlovakia[28](Tax and Customs administration). The emblems ofBelarusCustoms[29][30]and China Customs[31]are a caduceus crossing with a golden key. The emblem of theFederal Customs Service of Russiahas a caduceus crossing with a torch on the shield. The coat of arms ofKyiv National University of Trade and EconomicsofUkrainehas two crossed torches surmounted by a caduceus on the shield.

Confusion with Rod of Asclepius

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Main article:Caduceus as a symbol of medicine
TheUS Army Medical Corpsplaque. The adoption, in 1902, of the caduceus for US Army medical officer uniforms popularized the (mis)use of the symbol throughout the United States' medical field
Rod of Asclepius

It is relatively common, especially in the United States, to find the caduceus, with its two snakes and wings, (mis)used as a symbol of medicine instead of theRod of Asclepius,with only a single snake. This usage was popularized by the adoption of the caduceus as its insignia by theU.S. Army Medical Corpsin 1902 at the insistence of a single officer (though there are conflicting claims as to whether this was Capt. Frederick P. Reynolds or Col. John R. van Hoff).[32][11]

The Rod of Asclepius is the dominant symbol for professional healthcare associations in the United States. One survey found that 62% of professional healthcare associations used the rod of Asclepius as their symbol.[33]The same survey found that 76% of commercial healthcare organizations use the caduceus. The author of the study suggests that professional associations are more likely to have a historical understanding of the two symbols, whereas commercial organizations are more likely to be concerned with the visual impact a symbol will have on its sales.[33]

The long-standing historical association of the caduceus with commerce has engendered significant criticism of its use in medicine. Medical professionals argue that the Rod of Asclepius better represents the field of medicine.[34]Writing in the journalScientific Monthly,Stuart L. Tyson said of the Staff of Hermes (the caduceus):

As god of the high-road and the market-place Hermes was perhaps above all else the patron of commerce and the fat purse: as a corollary, he was the special protector of the traveling salesman. As spokesman for the gods, he not only brought peace on earth (occasionally even the peace of death), but his silver-tongued eloquence could always make the worse appear the better cause.[35]From this latter point of view, would not his symbol be suitable for certain Congressmen, all medical quacks, book agents and purveyors of vacuum cleaners, rather than for the straight-thinking, straight-speaking therapeutist? As conductor of the dead to their subterranean abode, his emblem would seem more appropriate on a hearse than on a physician's car.

— Stuart L. Tyson, "The Caduceus", in theScientific Monthly,1932[36]

Computer coding

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☤
Caduceus
InUnicodeU+2624☤CADUCEUS
Different from
Different fromU+2695⚕STAFF OF AESCULAPIUS
U+1F54F🕏BOWL OF HYGIEIA
Related
See also
U+263F☿MERCURY
U+269A⚚STAFF OF HERMES
U+1F750🝐ALCHEMICAL SYMBOL FOR CADUCEUS
U+2BDA⯚HYGIEA

For use in documents prepared on computer, the symbol hascode pointinUnicode,atU+2624☤CADUCEUS.There is a similar glyph encoded atU+269A⚚STAFF OF HERMES,analchemical symbolatU+1F750🝐ALCHEMICAL SYMBOL FOR CADUCEUS,and an astrological one atU+2BDA⯚HYGIEA.[For information on how to enter the symbol, seeUnicode input(or copy/paste it directly).] These symbols arenot provided in all fonts,especially older ones.

Coats of arms and flags

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The symbol is depicted on multiplecoats of armsandflags.

Caduceus in coats of arms and flags

See also

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Notes

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  1. ^It is unclear whether the inscription refers to a patron who paid for the statue, or to the sculptor of the statue.
  2. ^The Latin wordcādūceusis an adaptation of the Greek word, itself derived fromκῆρυξkêrux"messenger, herald, envoy".[1][2]

References

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  1. ^Liddell and Scott,Greek–English Lexicon
  2. ^Tyson (1932),p. 493.
  3. ^Gary Lachman, "The Quest for Hermes Trismigestus", 2011, Chapter 3, p. x.
  4. ^Lisman (2013),p. 34.
  5. ^William Godwin (1876)."Lives of the Necromancers".p. 37.
  6. ^ab"Miscellaneous Symbols".Unicode Consortium.Archivedfrom the original on 2012-12-04.Retrieved2021-09-14.U+269A⚚STAFF OF HERMESsignifies a commercial term or commerce
  7. ^Friedlander (1992),p. 83.
  8. ^Howey, M. Oldfield (1955).The Encircled Serpent: A Study of Serpent Symbolism in All Countries And Ages.New York: Arthur Richmond Co. p. 77.In modern times the caduceus figures as a symbol of commerce, sinceMercuryis the god of commerce
  9. ^Bonnefoy, Yves, ed. (1992).Roman and European Mythologies.Translated by Wendy Doniger. University of Chicago Press. p. 135.The name of the god Mercury cannot be disassociated from the wordmerx,which means merchandise. Such was the sentiment of the ancients.
  10. ^Bakich, Michael E. (2000).The Cambridge Planetary Handbook.Cambridge University Press. p. 85.Mercury was the Roman name for the Greek god Hermes. His Latin name was apparently derived from merx or mercator, a merchant.
  11. ^abEngle, Bernice (Dec 1929). "The Use of Mercury's Caduceus as a Medical Emblem"".The Classical Journal.25(1): 205.
  12. ^Tyson (1932),p. 494.
  13. ^Deldon, Anne McNeely (1996).Mercury rising: women, evil, and the trickster gods.Spring Publications. p. 90.ISBN978-0-88214-366-8.Homer tell us that Hermes' caduceus, the golden wand, was acquired by Hermes from Apollo in exchange for the tortoise-lyre; later the caduceus changed hands again from Hermes to Apollo's son, Asclepius.
  14. ^Davis, S (1953). "Argeiphontes in Homer – The Dragon-Slayer".Greece & Rome.22(64): 33–38.doi:10.1017/S0017383500011712.JSTOR640827.S2CID163106261.(citing W. H. Roscher,Omphalos(1913))
  15. ^Blayney, Keith (September 2002)."The Caduceus vs the Staff of Asclepius".Archivedfrom the original on 2019-10-16.Retrieved2007-06-15.
  16. ^Tyson (1932),p. 495.
  17. ^Livy:Ab Urbe Condita Libri,31,38,9–10
  18. ^"Signs and Symbols Used In Writing and Printing", p 269, inWebster's New Twentieth Century Dictionary of the English Language,unabridged, New York, 1953. Here the symbol of the planet Mercury is indicated as "the caduceus of Mercury, or his head and winged cap".
  19. ^Oxford Classical Dictionary,third edition, ed. Hornblower and Spawforth,s.v."Hermes".
  20. ^Farnell,The Cults of the Greek States,vol. 5, p. 20, cited in Tyson 1932:494.
  21. ^A. L. Frothingham (1916). "Babylonian Origin of Hermes the Snake-God, and of the Caduceus I".American Journal of Archaeology.20, No. 2 (April–June, 1916) (2): 175–211.doi:10.2307/497115.JSTOR497115.Frothingham characterizes Farnell's simplistic view of the origin of the symbol as a "frivolous and futile theory".
  22. ^William Hayes Ward,The Seal Cylinders of Western Asia,Washington, 1910
  23. ^A.L. Frothingham, "Babylonian Origins of Hermes the Snake-God, and of the Caduceus", inAmerican Journal of Archaeology,Vol. 20, No. 2, pp. 175–211
  24. ^Burkert,Greek Religion1985: II.2.8, p. 158; Burkert notes H. Frankfort, inIraq,1(1934:10) and E.D. van Buren, inArchiv für Orientforschung,10(1935/36:53-65).
  25. ^Damodar Dharmanand Kosambi,Indian Numismatics,Orient Longman, New Delhi 1981, p. 73 (online).
  26. ^Kailash Chand Jain,Malwa Through the Ages. From the Earliest Time to 1305 A.D.,Motilal Banarsidass, Delhi et al. 1972, p. 134 (online).
  27. ^Noldus, B.; Roding, J., eds. (2007).Pieter Isaacsz (1569-1625): Court Painter, Art Trader and Spy.Brepol. pp. 280, 288.ISBN9782503524665.
  28. ^"Logo of the Financial Administration of the Slovak Republic"(PDF).Archived fromthe original(PDF)on 2019-02-20.Retrieved2019-02-20.
  29. ^Belarus Customs."Customs heraldy".Archived fromthe originalon 2020-09-20.Retrieved2020-08-12.
  30. ^"Belarus - Customs Flag".FOTW.Archivedfrom the original on 2020-08-11.Retrieved2020-08-12.
  31. ^Hải quan quan huyArchived2018-10-14 at theWayback Machine.
  32. ^F.H. Garrison, "The Use of the Caduceus in the Insignia of the Army Medical Officer", inBull. Med. Lib. Assoc.IX (1919-20), 13-16
  33. ^abFriedlander, Walter J (1992).The Golden Wand of Medicine: A History of the Caduceus symbol in medicine.Greenwood Press.ISBN0-313-28023-1.
  34. ^Bohigian, George (2019). "The Caduceus vs. Staff of Aesculapius - One Snake or Two?".Missouri Medicine.116(6): 476–477."The Staff of Aesculapius has represented medicine since 800 BCE and most authorities support its use as the symbol of medicine
  35. ^An allusion toJohn Milton's description ofBelialinParadise LostII.113-114.
  36. ^Tyson, Stuart L (1932). "The Caduceus".Scientific Monthly.34(6): 495.
  37. ^"Brisbane City Council: Symbols used by Council".Brisbane City Council.Archivedfrom the original on 2023-03-26.Retrieved2022-01-11.

Sources

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  • Friedlander, Walter J. (1992).The Golden Wand of Medicine: A History of the Caduceus Symbol in Medicine.Greenwood Press.ISBN978-0-313-28023-8..
  • Lisman, J.W. (2013).Cosmogony, Theogony and Anthropogeny in Sumerian texts.Ugarit-Verlag.
  • Tyson, Stuart L. (1932). "The Caduceus".The Scientific Monthly.34(6): 492–498.Bibcode:1932SciMo..34..492T.

Further reading

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Look upcaduceusin Wiktionary, the free dictionary.
Wikimedia Commons has media related toCaduceus.
Wikisourcehas the text of the1911Encyclopædia Britannicaarticle "Caduceus".
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