Editing Caduceus (section)

==Classical antiquity==
{{gallery|title=The Caduceus in classical imagery
|File:Pompeii - Casa dei Vettii - Ixion.jpg
|alt1=Fresco from Pompeii of ''the punishment of Ixion'', showing the god Mercury holding a Caduceus 
|Fresco from [[Pompeii]] of ''the punishment of [[Ixion]]'': in the center is [[Mercury (mythology)|Mercury]] holding the caduceus
|File:Winged goddess Cdm Paris 392.jpg
|alt2=Iris with the caduceus 
|Iris with the caduceus in detail from an Attic [[red-figure]] [[pelike]], middle of fifth century BC ([[Agrigento]], Sicily)
|File:Münze aus Sardes mit Hermesstab.jpg
|alt3=Coin from Sardis with caduceus
|Coin from [[Sardis]] (Turkey) with caduceus ({{Circa|140-144 CE}})
}}

===Mythology===
The ''[[Homeric Hymn]] to Hermes'' relates how his half brother [[Apollo]] was enchanted by Hermes's music from his lyre fashioned from a tortoise shell, which Hermes kindly gave to him. Apollo in return gave Hermes the caduceus as a gesture of friendship.{{sfnp|Tyson|1932|page=494}} The association with the serpent thus connects Hermes to [[Apollo]], as later the serpent was associated with [[Asclepius]], the "son of Apollo".<ref>{{cite book |last=Deldon |first=Anne McNeely |title=Mercury rising: women, evil, and the trickster gods |publisher=Spring Publications |date=1996 |isbn=978-0-88214-366-8 |page=90 |quote=Homer tell us that Hermes' caduceus, the golden wand, was acquired by Hermes from Apollo in exchange for the tortoise-lyre; later the caduceus changed hands again from Hermes to Apollo's son, Asclepius.}}</ref>

The association of Apollo with the serpent is a continuation of the older [[Indo-European mythology|Indo-European]] [[dragon]]-slayer motif. [[Wilhelm Heinrich Roscher]] (1913) pointed out that the serpent as an attribute of both Hermes and Asclepius is a variant of the "pre-historic semi-chthonic serpent hero known at Delphi as [[Python (mythology)|Python]]", who in classical mythology is slain by Apollo.<ref>{{cite journal|first=S |last=Davis |title=Argeiphontes in Homer – The Dragon-Slayer|journal=Greece & Rome|volume=22|issue=64|year=1953|pages=33–38|doi=10.1017/S0017383500011712|jstor= 640827|s2cid=163106261 }} (citing W. H. Roscher, ''Omphalos'' (1913))</ref>

One Greek [[Etiology|myth of origin]] of the caduceus is part of the story of [[Tiresias]],<ref name=blayney>{{cite web|url=http://drblayney.com/Asclepius.html|title=The Caduceus vs the Staff of Asclepius|last=Blayney|first=Keith|date=September 2002|access-date=2007-06-15|archive-date=2019-10-16|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191016050753/http://www.drblayney.com/Asclepius.html|url-status=live}}</ref> who found two snakes copulating and killed the female with his staff.  Tiresias was immediately turned into a woman, and so remained until he was able to repeat the act with the male snake seven years later.  This staff later came into the possession of the god Hermes, along with its transformative powers.

Another myth suggests that Hermes (or Mercury) saw two serpents entwined in mortal combat. Separating them with his wand he brought about peace between them, and as a result the wand with two serpents came to be seen as a sign of peace.{{sfnp|Tyson|1932|page=495}}

In Rome, [[Livy]] refers to the ''caduceator'' who negotiated peace arrangements under the diplomatic protection of the caduceus he carried.<ref>Livy: [[Ab Urbe Condita Libri (Livy)|Ab Urbe Condita Libri]], 31,38,9–10</ref>

===Iconography===
In some vase paintings ancient depictions of the Greek ''kerukeion'' are somewhat different from the commonly seen modern representation. These representations feature the two snakes atop the staff (or rod), crossed to create a circle with the heads of the snakes resembling horns. This old graphic form, with an additional crossbar to the staff, seems to have provided the basis for the graphical [[sign of Mercury]] (☿) used in  [[Greek astrology]] from Late Antiquity.<ref>"Signs and Symbols Used In Writing and Printing", p 269, in ''Webster's New Twentieth Century Dictionary of the English Language'', unabridged, New York, 1953. Here the symbol of the planet Mercury is indicated as "the caduceus of Mercury, or his head and winged cap".</ref>