summary
- The staff with a single snake is the symbol of Asclepius, the Greek god of healing, and consequently came to represent the medical profession.
- The staff with two snakes is the Caduceus symbol of Hermes, who was a messenger and not associated with healing.
- The Caduceus was adopted by medieval alchemists who venerated Hermes and became erroneously used to represent medicine, creating the medical Caduceus.
- While the two symbols are different, they are often conflated, and both are often seen as symbols of medicine.
The snake and staff symbol is one that many of us might recognize today. Universally associated with medicine and healing, it appears in a variety of different locations, from ambulances to pharmaceutical packaging and staff uniforms, and even on the World Health Organization (WHO) logo. Interestingly, there are two versions of this symbol, one with a staff surrounded by two interwoven snakes and a pair of wings, known as the Caduceus symbol, and another with a single snake coiling around the staff, known as the rod of Asclepius. But why do we associate snakes with medicine when their bites are so deadly? Both snake and staff symbols have roots in ancient Greek mythology but reference different sources. Let’s look into the history of each.
Rod of Asclepius: Single Snake and Staff
The symbol featuring one snake coiled around a staff comes from Asclepius, the ancient Greek god of medicine and healing. We often call it the Aesculapian rod or the staff of Aesculapius (the Roman version of Asclepius). Ancient Greeks revered Asclepius for his amazing skills in healing and medicine. According to Greek and Roman mythology, he could restore health and even bring the dead back to life! Throughout his life, Asclepius had a close connection to snakes.
According to ancient mythology, Asclepius learned some of his healing powers from snakes. In one story, he deliberately killed a snake so he could watch as another snake used herbs to bring it back to life. From this interaction, Asclepius learned how to revive the dead. In another story, Asclepius saved a snake’s life. To say thanks, the snake quietly whispered its healing secrets into Asclepius’s ear. The Greeks also believed Asclepius had the ability to heal people from a deadly snakebite. There were a lot of snakes in ancient Greece, so this skill came in pretty handy.
Ancient Greeks believed snakes were sacred beings with healing powers. This was because their venom had remedial powers, while their ability to shed their skin seemed like an act of regeneration, rebirth, and renewal. So, it makes sense that their god of healing was linked to this amazing animal.
Caduceus of Hermes: Winged Snake and Staff
The second snake and staff symbol features two serpents and a pair of wings above them. It is called a Caduceus. The staff in the center belonged to the Greek god Hermes, the messenger between the gods and the humans. The wings are a reference to Hermes’ ability to fly between the heavens and the earth. According to one myth, the Greek god Apollo gave Hermes the golden wand. In another myth, it was Zeus who gave Hermes the Caduceus, surrounded by two swirling white ribbons. When Hermes used the staff to separate two fighting snakes, they coiled around his staff in perfect harmony, replacing the ribbons and creating the famous logo.
Modern Use of the Snake and Staff Symbol
Unlike Asclepius, Hermes wasn’t actually able to heal or bring anyone back to life, but his snake and staff logo still became a popular medical emblem. This was perhaps because a group of 7th-century alchemists who claimed to be the sons of Hermes adopted his logo, even though their practice was more concerned with the occult than actual medical healing. Later, the U.S. Army adopted Hermes’s logo for their medical corps, and various subsequent medical organizations followed their lead, such as the American Medical Association, making it a universally recognizable symbol in modern medicine.
It is also possible that somewhere along the line, Hermes’s Caduceus was simply confused with the Aesculapian rod and the confusion was passed down through history. More recently, the Aesculapian rod has become the more common medical symbol, although Hermes’s Caduceus still pops up from time to time. It is a pretty striking and instantly recognizable logo, as you can see in the U.S. Army memorabilia.
