Search results
Results from the WOW.Com Content Network
The caduceus is the traditional symbol of Hermes and features two snakes winding around an often winged staff.
It is relatively common, especially in the United States, to find the caduceus, with its two snakes and wings, (mis)used as a symbol of medicine instead of the Rod of Asclepius, with only a single snake.
Snake bites are generally bad news so the animal might seem ill-fitting as the symbol of the medical profession, but the ancient emblem actually has quite a story behind it.
Known as the symbol of medicine, the Caduceus depicts the image of two serpents wrapped around a staff with wings. It might seem ironical that destructive creatures like snakes are used to represent a healing purpose, but here’s the history behind it and the symbolism it represents.
This ancient symbol, also called the Staff of Hermes, depicts two snakes intertwining around a stick that is capped by wings.
Caduceus is a symbol with a short staff entwined by two serpents, sometimes surmounted by wings while the Rod of Asclepius is the one with a single snake. The similarity between both these symbols is the snake.
The Rod of Asclepius, also known as the Staff of Asclepius, a serpent-entwined rod wielded by the Greek god Asclepius is today associated with medicine and health care. It’s the symbol of medicine, but it’s often confused with the staff of the god Hermes, the caduceus.