Showing posts with label Caduceus. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Caduceus. Show all posts

Friday, January 14, 2011

Rod Of Asclepius

On the course of reading about Ophiuchus (my last post.) I came around this symbol:
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For the past months or so I've been asking my friends why the sign on ambulances or hospitals is a snake. None of them knew why (probably because I never asked friends in the medicinal field.) I didn't bother researching because....-.- But since I came across this while reading about the new zodiac sign, I found out that this is actually the Rod of Asclepius (god of medicine and healing-Greek mythology.) Interesting.  One other thing I thought about was this symbol:
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I see this on some medical stuff too. Maybe it's a pimped out rod for Asclepius! ;-P Turns out it's Caduceus. It's a staff linked to Hermes - messenger of the gods, guide of the dead and protector of merchants, shepherds, gamblers, liars and thieves. So absolutely nothing to do with medicine. I think some hospitals may need to rethink their symbols. ;) Maybe there's something I'm missing. Is it acceptable to use this as a symbol for medicine and healing too? I'm tired of reading. If anyone knows why this 'mistake' is commonly made, tell me about it. Thanks!
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Update:

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