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<p>[QUOTE="Ocatarinetabellatchitchix, post: 3990914, member: 99554"]I was lately classifying my Roman coins by iconographic elements ; patera, paludamentum, cornucopiae, standards, etc...and <b>caduceus</b>. I have never noticed I own half a dozen of them. They say “curiosity killed the cat”. But the cat has 9 lives, hasn’t it ? So I was wondering where this staff comes from. Did some research, lots of reading and here’s the results:</p><p><br /></p><p>The <b>caduceus</b> is a rod, entwined at one end by 2 snakes, each of whose bodies folds again in the form of two half-circles, whilst the head passes above the wand. It is derived from the Greek karykeion or "herald's staff", itself based on the word "<i>eruko</i>" meaning restrain, control.</p><p><br /></p><p><img src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/8a/Longane%2C_Sicily.JPG/460px-Longane%2C_Sicily.JPG" class="bbCodeImage wysiwygImage" alt="" unselectable="on" /> </p><p><br /></p><p>Prudence is generally supposed to be symbolized by these two serpents, and the wings which are sometimes added to the <b>caduceus</b>, are the representation of diligence. It was an attribute peculiar to the Roman god <i>Mercury</i>. But centuries before that time, the <b>caduceus</b> was one of the attributes of the god <i>Hermes</i> in Greek mythology. Besides Hermes, the goddess <i>Iris</i> was also represented with a caduceus because she was the messenger of Hera, female counterpart of Hermes, messenger of Zeus.</p><p><br /></p><p><img src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/c3/Achilles_embassy_Louvre_G264_n3.jpg/1920px-Achilles_embassy_Louvre_G264_n3.jpg" class="bbCodeImage wysiwygImage" alt="" unselectable="on" /> </p><p>Detail on a vase, Hermes holding caduceus (5th century BC)</p><p>Musée du Louvres</p><p><br /></p><p><img src="https://www.louvre.fr/sites/default/files/medias/medias_images/images/louvre-vase-dit-quotsosibiosquot.jpg" class="bbCodeImage wysiwygImage" alt="" unselectable="on" /> </p><p>Another vase, Hermes holding caduceus (4th century BC)</p><p>British Museum</p><p><br /></p><p>But the famous staff seems to get his origin in Mesopotamia back to 4000 BC to 3000 BC. The Sumerian god <i>Ningishzida</i> is often depicted holding a staff with two snakes intertwined around it. Originally it was only a stick decorated with ribbons that floated in the wind, replaced over time by the famous snakes.</p><p><br /></p><p><img src="https://ferrebeekeeper.files.wordpress.com/2012/06/7983272.jpg" class="bbCodeImage wysiwygImage" alt="" unselectable="on" /> </p><p>Vase depicting The god Ningishzida (21st century BC?)</p><p><br /></p><p>The <b>caduceus</b> symbolizes everything related to trade and transport, even alchemy:another hypothesis explains that the two serpents facing each other symbolize the elementary substances that are sulfur and mercury when they are in perfect balance...</p><p>The <b>caduceus</b> should not be confused with the staff of Asclepius (or Aesculapius, in its Roman version) around which only <b>one</b> snake coils, symbolizing the snake that this ancient god walked. While the staff of Asclepius is a symbol of medicine in Europe, the <b>caduceus</b> of Hermes represents medicine in America. So in conclusion, the “roman caduceus” was in fact borrowed from several other ancient cultures.</p><p><img src="https://research.britishmuseum.org/collectionimages/AN00426/AN00426522_001_l.jpg" class="bbCodeImage wysiwygImage" alt="" unselectable="on" /> </p><p>4th century BC, Phoenicia. British Museum</p><p><br /></p><p>Please search your collection and show us your <b>caduceus</b> coins !</p><p><br /></p><p>Philip I</p><p>[ATTACH=full]1050738[/ATTACH] </p><p><br /></p><p>Tacitus</p><p>[ATTACH=full]1050739[/ATTACH][/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>
[QUOTE="Ocatarinetabellatchitchix, post: 3990914, member: 99554"]I was lately classifying my Roman coins by iconographic elements ; patera, paludamentum, cornucopiae, standards, etc...and [B]caduceus[/B]. I have never noticed I own half a dozen of them. They say “curiosity killed the cat”. But the cat has 9 lives, hasn’t it ? So I was wondering where this staff comes from. Did some research, lots of reading and here’s the results: The [B]caduceus[/B] is a rod, entwined at one end by 2 snakes, each of whose bodies folds again in the form of two half-circles, whilst the head passes above the wand. It is derived from the Greek karykeion or "herald's staff", itself based on the word "[I]eruko[/I]" meaning restrain, control. [IMG]https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/8a/Longane%2C_Sicily.JPG/460px-Longane%2C_Sicily.JPG[/IMG] Prudence is generally supposed to be symbolized by these two serpents, and the wings which are sometimes added to the [B]caduceus[/B], are the representation of diligence. It was an attribute peculiar to the Roman god [I]Mercury[/I]. But centuries before that time, the [B]caduceus[/B] was one of the attributes of the god [I]Hermes[/I] in Greek mythology. Besides Hermes, the goddess [I]Iris[/I] was also represented with a caduceus because she was the messenger of Hera, female counterpart of Hermes, messenger of Zeus. [IMG]https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/c3/Achilles_embassy_Louvre_G264_n3.jpg/1920px-Achilles_embassy_Louvre_G264_n3.jpg[/IMG] Detail on a vase, Hermes holding caduceus (5th century BC) Musée du Louvres [IMG]https://www.louvre.fr/sites/default/files/medias/medias_images/images/louvre-vase-dit-quotsosibiosquot.jpg[/IMG] Another vase, Hermes holding caduceus (4th century BC) British Museum But the famous staff seems to get his origin in Mesopotamia back to 4000 BC to 3000 BC. The Sumerian god [I]Ningishzida[/I] is often depicted holding a staff with two snakes intertwined around it. Originally it was only a stick decorated with ribbons that floated in the wind, replaced over time by the famous snakes. [IMG]https://ferrebeekeeper.files.wordpress.com/2012/06/7983272.jpg[/IMG] Vase depicting The god Ningishzida (21st century BC?) The [B]caduceus[/B] symbolizes everything related to trade and transport, even alchemy:another hypothesis explains that the two serpents facing each other symbolize the elementary substances that are sulfur and mercury when they are in perfect balance... The [B]caduceus[/B] should not be confused with the staff of Asclepius (or Aesculapius, in its Roman version) around which only [B]one[/B] snake coils, symbolizing the snake that this ancient god walked. While the staff of Asclepius is a symbol of medicine in Europe, the [B]caduceus[/B] of Hermes represents medicine in America. So in conclusion, the “roman caduceus” was in fact borrowed from several other ancient cultures. [IMG]https://research.britishmuseum.org/collectionimages/AN00426/AN00426522_001_l.jpg[/IMG] 4th century BC, Phoenicia. British Museum Please search your collection and show us your [B]caduceus[/B] coins ! Philip I [ATTACH=full]1050738[/ATTACH] Tacitus [ATTACH=full]1050739[/ATTACH][/QUOTE]
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