A caduceus (/kəˈduːsiəs/, -ʃəs, -ˈdjuː-; kerykeion in Greek) is a winged staff with two snakes wrapped around it. It was an ancient astrological symbol of commerce and is associated with the Greek god Hermes, the messenger for the gods, conductor of the dead and protector of merchants and thieves. It was originally a herald's staff, sometimes with wings, with two white ribbons attached. The ribbons eventually evolved into snakes.
In the seventh century, the caduceus came to be associated with a precursor of medicine, based on the Hermetic astrological principles of using the planets and stars to heal the sick.
God bless you, Wikipedia.
3.31.2007
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I learned this in microbio, and found it on a SUNY site:
"The medical symbol, the caduceus, of a snake or snakes wrapped around a pole, most likely is taken from one of the few effective devices ancient doctors had, a worm-removal stick (worm, snake; remember, in ancient classification schemes not much distinction was made among long wriggly things)."
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