cAduceus

Greek The wingtopped staff with two snakes winding around it, carried by Hermes and, in Roman mythology, Mercury. Two snakes intertwined is an ancient symbol, associated since Babylonian times (third millennium b.c.) with fertility, wisdom, and healing. Greek heralds and ambassadors carried this staff as a symbol of peace and neutrality. In later times, the staff became the emblem of Asclepius, god of healing. Today the caduceus is the insignia of the medical profession in many countries, including the United States and Great Britain.