Discussion - Member to Member Sales - Research Center
Discussion - Member to Member Sales - Research Center
Hermes (Mercury) is on myriad stamps (perhaps a topical list could provide an exact tally) and there is a lot going on with this fellow, and a lot of confusion presently in place because of the misuse of his Heraldic Staff (the famed Caduceus).
The son of Zeus and Maiia, he immediately became a juvenile delinquent, sneaking out of bed on the day of his birth to steal Apollo's cattle, and then lying about it. Apollo delivered the misunderstood youth to Zeus, whereupon Hermes made some deals to give his tortoise shell harp to Apollo, to become Zeus's herald, and to promise to stop stealing from the Gods. In return, Hermes received the Heraldic Staff (Caduceus), a silver cap with wings, and golden sandals with wings. The staff is often seen topped with wings as well.
Hermes, in addition to his heraldic duties, is the God of Making Treaties, Promotion of Commerce, and protector of travelers on all roads in the world.
Back to the Caduceus, and where the confusion begins (and persists). There is a similar looking staff called The Rod of Asclepius, named after the healer Asclepius, which is the designated symbol of Medicine. See stamp below.
Note that The Rod of Asclepius has only one snake, not two, and is not topped with wings.
At some point, the Caduceus, incorrectly, started to appear in places where The Rod of Asclepius should have. The emblem chosen in 1902 by the U.S. Army Medical Corps Branch did not help the cause. This was worn on the uniforms of Medical Corps officers. Wrong staff.
Indian stamp depicting the wrong staff. There are countless other examples of this error, on stamps and elsewhere.
Alas, Australia, a country I love, got it all wrong. Not only did it use the Caduceus instead of the Rod, it used Hermes! Hermes, including his staff, have no connection to Medicine. Once something inaccurate gets into the system, it is nigh unto impossible to get it out.
To compound everything, the great writer and scholar Robert Graves says that the two snakes wrapped around the Caduceus are from a later version of the myth of Hermes, and that earlier versions describe white ribbons on the staff -- not snakes. And so it goes.
Winedrinker
4 Members
like this post.
Login to Like.
Great commentary.
I believe the earliest reference to a rod and a snake is biblical.
"And the LORD said to Moses, 'Make a fiery serpent and set it on a pole, and everyone who is bitten, when he sees it, shall live.'"
2 Members
like this post.
Login to Like.
Very good Smauggie. As for the Rod of Asclepius, in ancient Greece certain snakes were thought to have magical healing powers, and healers would let the snakes roam around the floors of temples/hospitals in hopes of curing the sick. Hence the snake on the Rod.
The two snakes on the Caduceus are not "healing" snakes, they came about because Hermes, in addition to his role of Herald of Zeus, was also Herald to Hades. Hermes would gently usher the dying to the underworld by touching them with the Caduceus.
Snakes (in addition to their wonderful healing properties), are associated with Hades and the Underworld.
Eric
Login to Like
this post
04:53:21pm
And a large part of the US congress.
Not saying who.
1 Member
likes this post.
Login to Like.
"'Make a fiery serpent and set it on a pole, and everyone who is bitten, when he sees it, shall live.'""
Moses obviously didn't use a rattler!
Photo: Texas Parks and Wildlife
2 Members
like this post.
Login to Like.
"Alas, Australia, a country I love, got it all wrong. Not only did it use the Caduceus instead of the Rod, it used Hermes! Hermes, or his staff, have no association with Medicine."
Well spotted.
I wondered why someone with a broken leg would walk up a hill in a paddock full of weeds to look at a statue. And why is there a statue in the middle of a paddock anyway?
1 Member
likes this post.
Login to Like.
Eric
"Hermes, or his staff, have no association with Medicine"
au cointreau: Hermes simplex has long been a bane of medicine, but perhaps it passed over the Aussies who, having had their way with the sheep, painted their doors. I can only conjecture.
1 Member
likes this post.
Login to Like.
Had to delete a joke I momentarily posted -- then deleted. Would have taken the conversation down the wrong path. Hardly befitting a topic on staves. 
Login to Like
this post
A decidedly wise choice I am sure.
I wonder if the Greeks didn't borrow from Hebrew oral history and then make it their own. It is likely a mystery lost to prehistory.
I generally subscribe to the idea that even though their were a lot fewer people in the world 3000 years ago, a few of these people still had a tendency to get around.
2 Members
like this post.
Login to Like.
as we know from the Punic and Trojan Wars
Login to Like
this post
"I generally subscribe to the idea that even though their were a lot fewer people in the world 3000 years ago, a few of these people still had a tendency to get around."
That is the premise of a book by Graham Hancock, "Fingerprints of the Gods". He argues that there was an advanced seafaring group of people who took advanced ideas to peoples around the world.
Whilst a lot of the book can be picked to pieces, it is quite possible that different cultures were in contact with each other a lot longer than history gives them credit for.
Login to Like
this post
I read a book about the Druids and it spelled out in detail the connections between the Celtic and Hindu peoples. Fascinating stuff.
Login to Like
this post
Hermes (Mercury) is on myriad stamps (perhaps a topical list could provide an exact tally) and there is a lot going on with this fellow, and a lot of confusion presently in place because of the misuse of his Heraldic Staff (the famed Caduceus).
The son of Zeus and Maiia, he immediately became a juvenile delinquent, sneaking out of bed on the day of his birth to steal Apollo's cattle, and then lying about it. Apollo delivered the misunderstood youth to Zeus, whereupon Hermes made some deals to give his tortoise shell harp to Apollo, to become Zeus's herald, and to promise to stop stealing from the Gods. In return, Hermes received the Heraldic Staff (Caduceus), a silver cap with wings, and golden sandals with wings. The staff is often seen topped with wings as well.
Hermes, in addition to his heraldic duties, is the God of Making Treaties, Promotion of Commerce, and protector of travelers on all roads in the world.
Back to the Caduceus, and where the confusion begins (and persists). There is a similar looking staff called The Rod of Asclepius, named after the healer Asclepius, which is the designated symbol of Medicine. See stamp below.
Note that The Rod of Asclepius has only one snake, not two, and is not topped with wings.
At some point, the Caduceus, incorrectly, started to appear in places where The Rod of Asclepius should have. The emblem chosen in 1902 by the U.S. Army Medical Corps Branch did not help the cause. This was worn on the uniforms of Medical Corps officers. Wrong staff.
Indian stamp depicting the wrong staff. There are countless other examples of this error, on stamps and elsewhere.
Alas, Australia, a country I love, got it all wrong. Not only did it use the Caduceus instead of the Rod, it used Hermes! Hermes, including his staff, have no connection to Medicine. Once something inaccurate gets into the system, it is nigh unto impossible to get it out.
To compound everything, the great writer and scholar Robert Graves says that the two snakes wrapped around the Caduceus are from a later version of the myth of Hermes, and that earlier versions describe white ribbons on the staff -- not snakes. And so it goes.
Winedrinker
4 Members
like this post.
Login to Like.
re: Hermes The Master Thief and The Misuse of Staves
Great commentary.
I believe the earliest reference to a rod and a snake is biblical.
"And the LORD said to Moses, 'Make a fiery serpent and set it on a pole, and everyone who is bitten, when he sees it, shall live.'"
2 Members
like this post.
Login to Like.
re: Hermes The Master Thief and The Misuse of Staves
Very good Smauggie. As for the Rod of Asclepius, in ancient Greece certain snakes were thought to have magical healing powers, and healers would let the snakes roam around the floors of temples/hospitals in hopes of curing the sick. Hence the snake on the Rod.
The two snakes on the Caduceus are not "healing" snakes, they came about because Hermes, in addition to his role of Herald of Zeus, was also Herald to Hades. Hermes would gently usher the dying to the underworld by touching them with the Caduceus.
Snakes (in addition to their wonderful healing properties), are associated with Hades and the Underworld.
Eric
Login to Like
this post
Silence in the face of adversity is the father of complicity and collusion, the first cousins of conspiracy..
09 Jun 2016
04:53:21pm
re: Hermes The Master Thief and The Misuse of Staves
And a large part of the US congress.
Not saying who.
1 Member
likes this post.
Login to Like.
11:19:14pm
re: Hermes The Master Thief and The Misuse of Staves
"'Make a fiery serpent and set it on a pole, and everyone who is bitten, when he sees it, shall live.'""
Moses obviously didn't use a rattler!
Photo: Texas Parks and Wildlife
2 Members
like this post.
Login to Like.
re: Hermes The Master Thief and The Misuse of Staves
"Alas, Australia, a country I love, got it all wrong. Not only did it use the Caduceus instead of the Rod, it used Hermes! Hermes, or his staff, have no association with Medicine."
Well spotted.
I wondered why someone with a broken leg would walk up a hill in a paddock full of weeds to look at a statue. And why is there a statue in the middle of a paddock anyway?
1 Member
likes this post.
Login to Like.
re: Hermes The Master Thief and The Misuse of Staves
Eric
"Hermes, or his staff, have no association with Medicine"
au cointreau: Hermes simplex has long been a bane of medicine, but perhaps it passed over the Aussies who, having had their way with the sheep, painted their doors. I can only conjecture.
1 Member
likes this post.
Login to Like.
re: Hermes The Master Thief and The Misuse of Staves
Had to delete a joke I momentarily posted -- then deleted. Would have taken the conversation down the wrong path. Hardly befitting a topic on staves.
Login to Like
this post
re: Hermes The Master Thief and The Misuse of Staves
A decidedly wise choice I am sure.
I wonder if the Greeks didn't borrow from Hebrew oral history and then make it their own. It is likely a mystery lost to prehistory.
I generally subscribe to the idea that even though their were a lot fewer people in the world 3000 years ago, a few of these people still had a tendency to get around.
2 Members
like this post.
Login to Like.
re: Hermes The Master Thief and The Misuse of Staves
as we know from the Punic and Trojan Wars
Login to Like
this post
re: Hermes The Master Thief and The Misuse of Staves
"I generally subscribe to the idea that even though their were a lot fewer people in the world 3000 years ago, a few of these people still had a tendency to get around."
That is the premise of a book by Graham Hancock, "Fingerprints of the Gods". He argues that there was an advanced seafaring group of people who took advanced ideas to peoples around the world.
Whilst a lot of the book can be picked to pieces, it is quite possible that different cultures were in contact with each other a lot longer than history gives them credit for.
Login to Like
this post
08:13:53pm
re: Hermes The Master Thief and The Misuse of Staves
I read a book about the Druids and it spelled out in detail the connections between the Celtic and Hindu peoples. Fascinating stuff.
Login to Like
this post