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| CHRIST THE PHYSICIAN: The caduceus is used as a common symbol of the medical profession. That is because of its early connections to two elements of Greek mythology: the staff of Hermes and the rod of Asclepius. Both Hermes and Asclepius were Greek gods connected with healing. The rod of Asclepius is usually pictured as a single rod with one snake entwined around it, while the earliest versions of the staff of Hermes pictured it as a staff topped with wings and sometimes with ribbons wrapped around it. These two images eventually became combined to form the caduceus as we most often see it pictured today. Although it began as a pagan image, Christians soon began to see how the symbol was an especially fitting one for Christ. It came to be used in Christian art as a symbol for Christ for Healer, particularly because of its similarity to the staff mounted with a bronze serpent which God instructed Moses to fashion in the book of Numbers (21:4). All who looked at the bronze serpent were saved and healed. In the gospel of John, Jesus tells his disciples, "As Moses lifted up the serpent in the desert, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that those who believe in him may not perish, but may have life everlasting." (Jn 3:14) Of course Jesus was “lifted up” on the cross, which is why the caduceus and the cross are often paired together in Christian art, like they are on this window. |  |
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