Introducing
Your new presentation assistant.
Refine, enhance, and tailor your content, source relevant images, and edit visuals quicker than ever before.
Trending searches
7
Caduceus: a bridge between modern and historic depiction of snakes
By
Bareerah Ismail
Vibhash Devanathan
Proto-Hermes and Ningishzida
Ningishzida
- Before Hermes the proto-Hermes was Ningishzida, a mesopotamian snake god/diety
- They symbol of the Caduceus appeared on Mesopotamian cylinder seals between 3000-4000 BC
- Ningishzida represented fertility, vegetation, the underworld
- He spent his time in both the underworld and earth
The Caduceus, symbol of God Ningishzida, on the libation vase of Sumerian ruler Gudea, circa 2100 BCE.
The Caduceus, symbol of God Ningishzida, on the libation vase of Sumerian ruler Gudea, circa 2100 BCE.
Hermes
Hermes in Delos, Attic red-figure pyxis, 450-440 BC, discovered in the necropolis of Spina, Ferrara Museum
Hermes
- Pyxis Jewelry/cosmetic box
- God Hermes wears a winged helmet and holds the Caduceus
- Hermes first appeared in Illiad by Homer and the proto Hermes was the snake god Ningishzida
- He was known as the God of good luck/wealth and would transport souls so could be seen as an anchor between this world and the afterlife
- The Caduceus depicts life/death, rebirth as seen with the two intertwined snakes
Picture
Hermes in Delos, Attic red-figure pyxis, 450-440 BC, discovered in the necropolis of Spina, Ferrara Museum
This is a more modern caduceus. Just like the greek one, there are two snakes intertwined with another curled around it. However, unlike the previous two, it has wings, which is still a greek symbol, but is meant to differentiate it from the staff of asclepius, who was the god of medicine. The modern cauduceus’s snakes do hold the same symbology as they did back in greece more or less but there’s additional things to it now. For example, Snakes tend to have a link to knowledge, and that’s key to saving people as a doctor. They also tend to be associated with salvation, due to Moses saving the Israelites from snake bites with a brass serpent. In addition, snake venom has been used since the age of the Romans as medicine, both to treat regular illnesses and poisons.
Modern Description
Reference
References
- https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/manual/old-testament-stories-2022/moses-and-the-brass-serpent?lang=eng
- https://symbolsage.com/caduceus-symbol-meaning/#:~:text=during%20an%20emergency.-,In%20Brief,and%20cure%20in%20various%20contexts.
- http://polyxenia.eklablog.com/les-attributs-d-hermes-p1323150
- https://caccl-elcamino.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/permalink/01CACCL_ELCAMINO/9pkf6q/cdi_proquest_journals_2495391491
- A.L. Frothingham, "Babylonian Origins of Hermes the Snake-God, and of the Caduceus", in American Journal of Archaeology, Vol. 20, No. 2, pp. 175–211