Known as the caduceus, the wand of Hermes, the Greek god of chance, is the most widely used symbol of the medical profession. The caduceus, two snakes entwined around a wooden rod, replaced the staff of Asclepius on the crest of the U.S. Surgeon General’s office in 1871 for aesthetic reasons (it is more symmetrical). The staff of the Greek god of medicine, having only one snake on a rod, had been adopted for the crest in the early nineteenth century. The Academic American Encyclopedia mentions that both symbols have ancient meanings, but it neglects to mention what they are. Why would the staff of the god of medicine carry a rod with a single snake entwining it, when, since the fall of man, the snake is a universal symbol of deceit and evil? Almost a thousand years before the rise of Greek civilization (and their myths), Moses wrote his Pentateuch. In the Book of Numbers it is written: “And the people began to be weary of their journey and labour: And speaking against God and Moses, they said: Why didst thou bring us out of Egypt, to die in the wilderness? There is no bread, nor have we any waters: our soul now loatheth this very light food. Wherefore the Lord sent among the people fiery serpents, which bit them and killed many of them. Upon which they came to Moses, and said: we have sinned, because we have spoken against the Lord and thee: pray that he may take away these serpents from us. And Moses prayed for the people. And the Lord said to him: make a bronze serpent, and set it up for a sign: whosoever being struck shall look upon it, shall live. Moses therefore made a brazen serpent, and set it up for a sign: which when they that were bitten looked upon, they were healed.” (21:4-9) The bronze serpent is a figure of the Divine Physician: Our Lord on the cross. “And I, if I be lifted up, will draw all men to Myself.” Saint Ambrose writes that it was a figure of Christ crucified, and of the efficacy of a lively faith in Him against the bites of the hellish serpent. And again: As the old serpent infected the whole human race, Jesus Christ gives life to those who look at Him with entire confidence.
Extra Info: Another Father writes: The brazen serpent was destitute of poison, though it resembled a most noxious animal; so Jesus Christ assumed our nature, yet without sin. [N.B. This event with the brazen serpent is a good apologetic for icons and statues. The fact that Ezechias later destroyed the serpent because it was being treated with superstitious honor only proves that even the best things can be misused.]
