Hermes motsvaras i den romerska mytologin av Merkurius och staven kallas även för hermesstav eller merkuriestav.
Det är vanligt att Hermes kaducé förväxlas med guden Asklepios attribut eskulapstaven. Eskulapstaven omtvinnas endast av en orm och saknar vingar. Asklepios är läkekonstens gud. I USA har flera sjukvårdsorganisationer av okunnighet valt kaducén som sin symbol.
Kaducén används i flera organisationers märken och emblem.
THE ROD OF ASCLEPIUS AND CADUCEUS: TWO ANCIENT SYMBOLS
The Rod of Asclepius is an ancient Greek symbol associated with medicine, consisting of a serpent coiled around a rod.
In ancient Greek religion and mythology, Asclepius was the god of medicine and healing.
His daughters are Hygieia (goddess of cleanliness), Iaso (goddess of recuperation from illness), Aceso (goddess of the healing process), Aglea (the goddess of splendor and adornment), and Panacea (goddess of universal remedy).
THE MYTH OF ASCLEPIUS
Asclepius is the god of Healing. He is the son of Apollo (god of healing, truth, and prophecy) and the nymph Coronis.
While pregnant with Asclepius, Coronis secretly took a second, mortal lover. When Apollo found out, he sent Artemis to kill her. While Coronis burned on the funeral pyre, Apollo felt pity and rescued the unborn child from the corpse. Asclepius was taught about medicine and healing by the wise centaur Cheiron and became so skilled in it that he succeeded in bringing one of his patients back from the dead. Zeus, king of the gods, felt that the immortality of the Gods was threatened and struck down the healer with a thunderbolt. At Apollo’s request, Asclepius was placed among the stars as Ophiuchus, the serpent-bearer.
In the Iliad, Homer mentions Asceplius only as a skillful physician and the father of two Greek doctors at Troy, Machaon, and Podalirius; in later times, however, he was honoured as a hero and eventually worshiped as a god. The cult began in Thessaly but spread to many parts of Greece. Because it was supposed that Asclepius effected cures of the sick in dreams, the practice of sleeping in his temples in Epidaurus in South Greece became common. In 293 B.C. his cult spread to Rome.
Asclepius was frequently represented standing and dressed in a long cloak with bare breast; his usual attribute was a staff with a serpent coiled around it. This staff is the only true symbol of medicine.
The Rod of Asclepius is the logo of the World Health Organization and the symbol of the American Medical Association.
THE CADUCEUS
The Rod of Asclepius symbol is often confused with the Caduceus, symbol of commerce associated with the Greek god Hermes.
The Rod of Asclepius combines the snake with a rod, a simple tool. The serpent with its change of skin symbolizes rebirth and fertility.
On the other hand, the Caduceus symbol consisted of a rod with two snakes coiled around it. The English word comes from the Latin caduceus, which echoes the ancient Greek kèrix, translated as herald.
The word was mainly used to indicate the rod assigned to the Greek god Hermes as herald (messenger) of the gods and patron of commerce.
This rod was represented with two wings on the top and two snakes to symbolize diligence and prudence, two characteristics very necessary in trading activities.
In Greek religion and mythology, Hermes was a god of transitions and boundaries. He was protector and patron of travelers, herdsmen, invention, and trade.
In the Roman adaptation of the Greek pantheon, Hermes was identified with the Roman god Mercury, who developed many similar characteristics, such as being the patron of commerce.
The Caduceus symbol alluded directly to the myth of Hermes, who saw two snakes fighting and touched them with his rod so that the two animals would stop fighting. Of course, peace is necessary for trade to flourish.
Originally, the Caduceus was a rod or olive branch ending in two shoots and decorated with garlands or ribbons. Later the garlands were interpreted as two snakes entwined in opposite directions with their heads facing each other. A pair of wings, in token of Hermes’ speed, was attached to the staff above the snakes.
As mentioned above, the Caduceus is often mistakenly used as a symbol of medicine because it is similar to the Rod of Asclepius.
Summarizing, the Caduceus has two snakes on the staff and wings at the top. The Rod of Asclepius has a single snake and no wings.
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