Thread by @jeysundhar_d

This is a classic example of a great idea ruined by half-knowledge.

The sculpture is Keeping Away Death by Julian Hoke Harris.
We know that the depiction on the left is of the Grim Reaper, commonly recognised as a symbol of death.

What about the figure on the right? #Thread

https://twitter.com/AssumeNormality/status/1539278404368965632

It is of a male with a bare torso, stopping the advance of the Reaper.
Thus far, captures "Keeping Away Death".
But who is he?

Let's look at the staff he's holding.

It is of a straight stick capped with wings and with two snakes winding around it.

This is the Caduceus.

Caduceus, is the staff of Hermes, the messenger of the Gods in Greek mythology.

Here's a popular depiction of Hermes with the Caduceus.

The Caduceus has a winged capital, indicative of the need for speed in his main task as the messenger.

By extension, Hermes was also associated with trade, commerce and negotiations.

So, the caduceus came to represent those professions.

Hermes, however was not a deity associated with medicine.

That was Asklepius, the son of Apollo. HE was the Greek God of medicine.

Reinforcing his position were his daughters Hygieia (from who we get Hygiene) and Panacea (the Goddess of universal remedy)

Now, Asklepius also had similar iconography.
He is depicted with a rod/staff, called the Asklepian.

However, the Asklepian had only one snake around it.

Here's a sculpture of Asklepius that originally stood at his temple at Epidaurus, a temple that people thronged, seeking to be healed.

Notice the single snake.

A species of non-venomous snake from the Mediterranean region Zamenis longissimus is commonly known as the Aesculapian snake.

But returning to Asklepius, his association with medicine can be seen from the fact that the original oath of Hippocrates began thus,

"I swear by Apollo, the Healer, by Asklepius, by Hygieia, by Panacea, and by all the gods and goddesses, making them my witnesses"

The oath begins by mentioning 3 generations of the Asklepius family by name, reinforcing the close association with medicine.

In fact, it is believed that Hippocrates himself was trained at another Asklepius temple (not the one in Epidaurus) in the island of Kos.

How did this happen then?

Why did the Caduceus replace the Asklepian to represent medicine?

Perhaps, some felt two snakes and wings looked more impressive than one?

What do you think?

One of the major "influencers" in popularising the use of the Caduceus could be the US Army Medical Corps.

Once this became part of the uniform (Check lapels), it gained currency rapidly, and there was no going back.

However, not all jumped on to the Caduceus bandwagon.

The World Health Organisation's logo clearly shows the Asklepian, with a single snake.

The Dental Council of India has a very interesting logo, with an elephant's tusks extending into two Asklepians, one from each side.

Interestingly, Julian Hoke Harris, who made the sculpture Keeping Away Death, also made another sculpture Keeping Away Old Age.

Here.
Who do we have here?

On the right we have a representation of Old Age, carrying a sand clock for time, and a mask of tragedy.

On the left is a woman, holding a staff capped with a statue of another woman.

This is Hygieia (the daughter of Asklepius, as we saw here)

https://twitter.com/jeysundhar_d/status/1539512174321750016

As we can see, Hygieia holds a bowl/cup/chalice, presumably with a potion/medicine, and a SINGLE snake winds around her body.

The single snake iconography is a continuation of that we see with Asklepius.

So, while Julian Hoke Harris got it right with Hygieia, he somehow replaced the Asklepian with the Caduceus.

By replacing Asklepius with Hermes, whether the sculptor implied a substitution of medicine with commerce, I leave to you to contemplate and interpret.

Thank you for reading.
@threadreaderapp please compile.