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Caduceus

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

The caduceus (☤; /kəˈdjuːʃəs, -siəs/; Latin: cādūceus, from ‹See Tfd›Greek: κηρύκειον kērū́keion "herald's wand, or staff")[b] is the staff carried by Hermes in Greek mythology and consequently by Hermes Trismegistus in Greco-Egyptian mythology. The same staff was borne by other heralds like Iris, the messenger of Hera. The short staff is entwined by two serpents, sometimes surmounted by wings. In Roman iconography, it was depicted being carried in the left hand of Mercury, the messenger of the gods.

Some accounts assert that the oldest imagery of the caduceus is rooted in Mesopotamia with the Sumerian god Ningishzida; 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 represents Hermes (or the Roman Mercury), and by extension trades, occupations, or undertakings associated with the god. In later Antiquity, the caduceus provided the basis for the astronomical symbol for planet Mercury. Thus, through its use in astrology, alchemy, and astronomy it has come to denote the planet Mercury and by extension the eponymous planetary 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 from classical antiquity to modernity.[9][10] The caduceus is also a symbol of printing, by extension of the attributes of Mercury associated with writing and eloquence.

Although the Rod of Asclepius, which has only one snake and no wings, is the traditional and more widely used symbol of medicine, the caduceus is sometimes used by 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]


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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. ^ "Miscellaneous Symbols". Unicode Consortium. Archived from the original on 2012-12-04. Retrieved 2021-09-14. U+269A ⚚ STAFF OF HERMES signifies 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, since Mercury is 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 word merx, 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. ^ Cite error: The named reference Engle was invoked but never defined (see the help page).

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