liars and thieves.

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This article is about the Greek symbol. For the usage as a medical symbol, see Caduceus as a symbol of medicine. For the medical symbol with one snake, often mistakenly referred to as a caduceus, see Rod of Asclepius. For the counterfactual "moon" of the planet Mercury, see Mercury's moon.

For other uses, see Caduceus (disambiguation).





Modern depiction of the caduceus as the symbol of commerce




Hermes Ingenui[1] carrying a winged kerykeion upright in his left hand, Roman copy reflecting an unknown Greek original of the 5th century BCE. (Museo Pio-Clementino, Rome).
The caduceus (☤; /kəˈduːsiːəs/ or /kəˈdjuːʃəs/; from Greek ???ύ????? kērukeion "herald's staff"[2] ) is the staff carried by Hermes in Greek mythology. The same staff was also borne by heralds in general, for example by Iris, the messenger of Hera. It is a short staff entwined by two serpents, sometimes surmounted by wings. In Roman iconography it was often depicted being carried in the left hand of Mercury, the messenger of the gods, guide of the dead and protector of merchants, shepherds, gamblers, liars, and thieves.[3]