A wide variety of legends and representations throughout history have been passed on or borrowed and redefined, continuing such portrayal in subsequent cultures. Snakes are widely used and portrayed for various reasons and with various meanings, a favorite of mine is often seen in medical symbols of the modern day.
With so many meanings, ideas, and attitudes regarding the
serpent it's easy to confuse these symbols from the visual impact of their
similarities. I have recently learned this to be the case for the snakes I so
often see in medicine.
As a prospective medical professional I myself have become
accustomed to snakes around wands referring to medicine, however in recent
classics courses and studying the Latin language I have learned more about
classical mythology and the roots of such symbols. I had never really pondered
on the connection much, but while translating Virgil's Aeneid for Latin class I encountered the mythological
character Mercury, a Roman god who, among other roles, was responsible for
guiding souls to the underworld. This role is a clear connection to the Greek
god from which he was adapted, Hermes, the messenger god that likewise could
travel between worlds (divine, mortal, & underworld). I became rather
curious as to why the caduceus of the god who led mortal souls to the
underworld is so often seen in medicine and also recalled reading something
about the relevance of the medical symbols to healing on the first page of my
herpetology book. I returned to my herpetology book to discover the mention of
a Greek god I was not familiar with, Aesculapius. When researching Aesculapius I
discovered that he was in fact the Greek god of healing, however he did not carry
the winged caduceus entwined by two snakes as described in the text, rather he
carried a staff with no wings and with a single snake wrapping around it.
In further
reading I came across an interesting survey that found that professional
medical associations were more likely to use the staff of Asclepius (62% of
those surveyed) while commercial organizations were more likely to use the
caduceus of Hermes/Mercury (76% of those surveyed), though of the hospitals
surveyed, only 37% used a staff of Asclepius versus 63% for the caduceus. From
this analysis it seems the use of the caduceus is for the visual impact, which
comes from the similarities to the appearance of the staff of Asclepius.
Another theory I came across was that origins in the use of the winged caduceus
of Hermes/ Mercury became linked to modern medicine through occult associations
with Hermes as he became linked with alchemy sometime around the seventh
century AD (apparently alchemists were referred to as sons of Hermes).
The symbols seen today are derived from the symbols of gods from
classical mythology, showing that classical culture associated snakes with divine
blessing and ability. To this day these same symbols, though for most part no
longer thought of as symbols of gods, have been chosen to represent the art of
healing; showing how these snakes still represent powerful ability, but of
medicine rather than gods. Just as so many went to the serpent filled temples
of Asclepius seeking healing from the gods, today so many seeking healing
travel to modern medical establishments that are marked by his influence.
Hermes Greek Art Musee du Louvre, Paris (Above)
Source: http://www.visualphotos.com/image/1x6733166/hermes_greek_art_musee_du_louvre_paris
Asclepius, God of Healing (above)
Source: http://www.classicsunveiled.com/mythnet/html/pics10.html
Above: Both the Caduceus of Hermes (left) and Staff of Asclepius (right)
Source:http://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/news/publications/hopkins_medicine_magazine/hopkins_medicine_magazine_spring_summer_2011/caution_caduceus_in_error
Ambulance with single snake (above)
Source: http://www.thetattooforum.com/tatt-design-male-nurse-need-artist-please-t22617.html
Medcorp symbol as Caduceus of Hermes/Mercury (above)
Source:http://drblayney.com/Asclepius.html#Friedlander
The Aesculapian Snake now known as Zamenis longissimus, previously Elaphe
longissima, is a member of the Colubrinae subfamily of family Colubridae. According to the 3rd edition F. Harvey Pough Herpetology text book, Isolated populations of this species exist in central Europe, far north of the other known native populations. The book suggests that perhaps these central European populations are the descendents of the snakes that were kept at shrines of Asclepius 2,000 years ago.
The Aesculapian Snake
Source:http://www.animal-messages.com/animal_encounters.htm
1 comment:
Very interesting! My favorite invertebrate biologist tells me that the Staff of Asclepius originally represented a guinea worm being removed from a patient by wrapping the worm around a stick.
Post a Comment