The Lyre and The Staff: Symbols of Magico-Medicinal Sound

The Lyre and the Staff: Symbols of Magico-Medicinal Sound
Author(s): Linda Ardito

Source: International Journal of Musicology , 1999, Vol. 8 (1999), pp. 77-91
Published by: Peter Lang AG
Stable URL: https://www.jstor.org/stable/24621005
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International Journal of Musicology 8 1999 77
Linda Ardito (Dowling College)
The Lyre and the Staff: Symbols of Magico-Medicinal Sound
Summary: The concept of opposites within a greater unity permeated ancient

thought and is given considerable treatment in ancient mythologies. With the
Homeric Hymn "To Hermes" as a basis, the author adresses this concept, ex
ploring symbolic dimensions of two ordinary objects of the time that are focal
points in the Hymn: the lyre and the shepherd's staff. The symbolism of these in
struments is further considered from the standpoint of the often interrelated
realms of sound and medicine. Particular emphasis is placed upon the arche
typal imagery of the mythological god Hermes in the context of both domains as
well as the symbolic significance of the account of his reconciliation and union
with his half-brother Apollo.
The concept of opposites within a greater unity permeated ancient thought.

Anaximander, in his work, On Nature, put forth that a fundamental unity gov
erned the constant and dynamic flux of opposites within the world. The Pythago
rean dualism of the generative and divine forms of human nature,1 the Zoroas
trian principles of good and Evil, the principles of positive and negative in the
Chinese Book of Changes, Empedocles' forces of Love and Hate, and Plato's d
alism of the changeable and the unchangeable in the context of the real are other
instances. And, of course, the relationship of opposites to unity is given consider
able treatment in ancient lore. In the Homeric Hymn To Hermes, for example,
harmonious pairs of opposites are symbolized by two ordinary objects of th
time: the lyre and thfe shepherd's staff. With this tale as our basis, we shall ex
plore these symbols as they relate to two often interrelated realms: sound and
medicine. Despite growing interest, scholarly treatment pertaining to the affinity
of these domains in the context of myth is marginal. Yet, the Greeks have left u
with the certainty of their early belief in magico-medicinal sound and their notion
of the principle of harmony. Indeed, harmony - the condition arising from the
mediation of opposites - was a sought-after goal in the practice of music and of
medicine. Medicine, here, is not meant in the more narrow, modern-day sense.
Rather, in keeping with the notion of medicine in the pre-Hippocratic world of
the ancient Greeks, it is defined much more broadly to include that which is
1 See lamblichus: The Exhortation to Philosophy, trans, from the Greek by Thomas
M. Johnson (Grand Rapids, MI: Phanes Press, 1988), 21-95.

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78 International Journal of Musicology 8 1999
curative, reconcilatory, and/or 'magical' or luck-bringing. Thus it was that bot

music and the magico-medicinal were believed to be vitally important, powerfu
and often interrelated realms, with no less than the mythological gods Apollo an
Hermes each presiding over both domains. Our inquiry addresses this connectio
as symbolized in the Hymn To Hermes (hereafter cited as the Hymn). Our inve
tigative journey will touch upon, among other points, the complex archetypal im
agery of Hermes and the significance of his reconciliation and union with his
half-brother Apollo. What emerges from our study of Hermes' symbolic imagery
in the Hymn and other early sources is his less popularized but nonetheless pri
mary identification as musician and as healer. Apollo is well known in these ca
pacities and thus we shall focus upon Hermes in these contexts. Even so, in the
Hymn, the collective symbolism of Hermes and Apollo underscores the ancient
Greek belief that sound, particularly as organized in the form of words, either
sung or spoken, possesses inherent and potentially extraordinary magico
medicinal power. In addition to the lyre and the staff, the Hymn underscores th
medicinal by means of three other symbols including the unhewn stone and tw
medicinal plants: the laurel and the mandrake. These refer to the importance o
minerals and plants as vital sources of medicine in antiquity. I have made no at
tempt here to provide an historical account of the development of either music o
medicine; such additions are far beyond the scope and aim of this paper. And it i
not my intent to draw a singular, definitive conclusion with respect to the tale w
are about to explore. In the study of any myth, such an approach could never
yield entirely satisfactory results.
We begin with the tale's characterization of Apollo, son of Zeus and Leto. He
is god of shepherds, patron of flocks and pastures, and, himself, the owner of
herd of oxen. It is the shepherd's staff that symbolizes Apollo's capacity a
guardian of tender game, a role also shared by his twin sister Artemis. This as
pect of the staffs symbolism, however, necessarily reminds us of its counter
symbolism of destruction. Indeed, the staff was commonly regarded as weaponry
being of particular service in the slaying of ravenous beasts. In this capacity,
Apollo was named Lycoctonos ('wolf-slayer') for his pursuit of the most feared
enemy of the flock, the wolf. The staff thus symbolizes the polarized domains of
protection and destruction, unified under the radiating influence of Phoebu
Apollo.
We turn now to the personification of Hermes and the symbolism of the lyre.
Shortly after his birth on Mount Cyllene in Arcadia, Hermes, son of Zeus and
Maia, is said to have invented the lyre. To accomplish this, he takes the life of a
tortoise in anticipation of the beautiful tones that would resonate from its shell.
The notion of sweet sound is juxtaposed with the destructive force necessary to

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create the lyre. Thus, as with the shepherd's staff, the lyre, too, is a symbol of op
posing forces. Having killed the tortoise, Hermes then
... cut stalks of reed to measure and fixed them, fastening their ends across the back
and through the shell of the tortoise, and then stretched ox hide all over it by his skill.
Also he put in the horns and fitted a cross-piece upon the two to them, and stretched
seven strings of sheep-gut. But when he had made it he proved each string in turn with the
key, as he held the lovely thing. At the touch of his hand it sounded marvellously; and, as
he tried it, the god sang sweet random snatches, even as youths bandy taunts at festivals.2
After self-instruction on the art of playing upon his newly-invented lyre,

Hermes was said to have entered into some mischief by stealing Apollo's cattle.
Later appearing before the tribunal of Zeus on Mount Olympus, Hermes con
fessed to the theft and cunningly proceeded to enchant the angered Apollo with a
performance upon his sweet-sounding lyre:
[Hermes] took the lyre upon his left arm and tried each string in turn with the key, so
that it sounded awesomely at his touch. And Phoebus Apollo laughed for joy; for the
sweet throb of the marvellous music went to his heart, and a soft longing took hold on his
soul as he listened. Then the son of Maia, harping sweetly upon his lyre, took courage and
stood at the left hand of Phoebus Apollo; and soon, while he played shrilly on his lyre, he
lifted up his voice and sang, and lovely was the sound of his voice that followed.3
From this captivating performance, Apollo wished to possess the lyre. In re

turn, Apollo would permit Hermes to keep the cattle and, as an added bonus, he
would also give him his shepherd's staff:
... [Hermes] held out the lyre: and Phoebus Apollo took it, and readily put his shining
whip in Hermes' hand, and ordained him keeper of herds. The son of Maia received it
joyfully, while the glorious son of Leto, the lord far-working Apollo, took the lyre upon
his left arm and tried each string with the key. Awesomely it sounded at the touch of the
god, while he sang sweetly to its note.4
The exchange of the lyre and staff draws particular attention to their parallel
symbolism in this context - namely, the widely held belief among the ancients in
2 Homeric Hymn, To Hermes in Hesiod, Homeric Hymns, Epic Cycle, Homerica,

English trans., Hugh G. Evelyn-White, The Loeb Classical Library (Cambridge,
MA: - Harvard University Press, 1995; first publ. 1914), IV.47-56. In some other
accounts, Hermes strung either three or four strings to make the lyre and Apollo ad
ded the remaining strings needed to make the seven-stringed lyre.
3 Ibid., IV.417-26.
4 Ibid., IV.496-504.

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the power of sound, particularly as organized in the form of words, to remedy

ills. From the lyre would emanate well-ordered tones that would serve as accom
paniment to the carefully considered and articulated words of song. Indeed, He
mes declares to Apollo, 'Sing well with this clear-voiced companion in you
hands; for you are skilled in good, well-ordered utterance.' The lyre thus become
a symbol of song, an important archetypal aspect of Apollo. Similarly, as Apoll
ordains Hermes as 'keeper of herds,' the staff becomes a symbol of speech, an
important archetypal aspect of Hermes. Moreover, Apollo tells Hermes that the
staff will keep him 'scatheless' and enable him to accomplish all tasks, whether
they be of words or actions that are 'good' and these are known by Apollo throug
the 'utterance' of Zeus, the fundamental source of word.
In general, speech and song were often associated with enchantment and bot
were thought to require 'Inspiration.' Thus it was that the Muses typically em
powered the lyre and the staff. Theocritus, for example, refers to the gift of a staff
as 'a pledge of brotherhood in the Muses.'5 And in Theogony, Hesiod says of the
Muses that 'they plucked and gave me a rod, a shoot of sturdy laurel ...'6 In the
Hymn, the symbolic exchange of lyre and staff inextricably bind both song an
speech. Whether by means of Hermes' 'artful words' or by Apollo's 'sweet' singing
to the lyre, both attributes are symbols of the potential beneficence of sound. N
surprisingly, therefore, the domains of music and of the magico-medicinal are
common to both Apollo and Hermes as underscored by the symbolism of their
shared attributes, the lyre and the staff. And though it appears that, by the ex
change of their gifts, Apollo and Hermes each give away their domain to th
other, the lyre and the staff each recall both domains. Indeed, though the lyre is
more immediately associated with music, its sound, even from the beginnin
when the instrument was in the hands of its creator Hermes, is associated with th
magico-medicinal. The shepherd's staff, too, though it recalls protection in a lit
eral sense, is magico-medicinal when activated by the sound of well chosen
words. And the staff is a true symbol of music as well as speech. Consider that
music has always been a recreation of shepherds. Apollo and Hermes, both
whom have authority over flocks and herds, are thus naturally associated with th
realm of music. Indeed, Hermes is not only said to have invented the lyre but als
the shepherd's pipe7 whose "sound is heard afar."8 Recall, too, that the cattle st
Theocritus, "The Song of Simichidas" from Idyl VII in Theocritus, Bion and Mo
schus, English trans., A. Lang (London: Macmiilan & Co., Ltd., 1932), 44.
Hesiod, The Theogony in Hesiod, Homeric Hymns, Epic Cycle, Homerica, English
trans., Hugh G. Evelyn-White, The Loeb Classical Library (Cambridge, Mass.: Har
vard University Press, 1995; first publ., 1914), 30-31.
Hymn To Hermes, op. cit., IV.508-511.
Ibid., IV.401.

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len by Hermes pastured near Pieria, a spring on the slopes of Mount Olympus
where the Muses and Orpheus were born.
Though Apollo and Hermes are musical icons, the latter is often associated
with music's more chaotic, Dionysian dimension while the former is more popu
larly identified with its classical and rational counterpart. We also find this dual
ism in their musician sons, Orpheus and Pan, respectively. Unlike Orpheus, who
was trained by the Muses, Pan had no formal musical training. Instead, the goat
legged satyr was said to have invented his own musical pipes which he played in
rural and mountainous regions, alcoves and desolate places. In this context, the
Apollonian, well-ordered music of Orpheus contrasts the Dionysian, spontaneous
music of Pan. In this sense, Apollo and Hermes symbolize musical polar oppo
sites as do their respective sons Orpheus and Pan. Though in an immediate sense
the symbolic relationship of these icons appears antithetical, collectively they
symbolize a harmony that spans the whole of the musical spectrum.
As mentioned earlier, Apollo's identification with the realms of music and
medicine is commonly known. Hermes, however, is more popularly identified as
herald of the gods, protector of travelers, and guide of souls. Nonetheless, as in
ventor of the lyre, Hermes can be understood as an early, if not the first, posses
sor of musical power. As Kerényi observed, Apollo and Hermes were "conceived
as figures in all their purity and perfection."9 Tales recount their nearly immedi
ate musical expertise as new-borns, symbolizing a basic connection to the ele
mental power of music. Hermes was not only said to have presented this power to
his son Pan, but to the Muses as well.
Traversing beyond the Hymn, let us consider additional references that sup
port Hermes' identification as a god of music. Recall that it was Hermes' relation
ship to all-powerful and primordial music that enabled Amphion to build the
walls of Thebes:
And Amphion, inasmuch as the Thebes of his day was not yet a walled city, has di
rected his music to the stones, and the stones run together when they hear him. This is the
subject of the painting ... And what is Amphion saying? Certainly he keeps his mind in
tent on the harp, and shows his teeth a little, just enough for a singer. No doubt he is
singing a hymn to Earth because she, creator and mother of all things, is giving him his
walls, which already are rising of their own accord.10
9 Carl Kerényi, "The Primordial Child in Primordial Times," in C.G. Jung and C.
Kerényi, Essays on a Science of Mythology: The Myth of the Divine Child and the
Mysteries of Eleusis, trans. R.F.C. Hull, Bollingen Series XXII (Princeton: Prince
ton University Press, 1978; first published 1949), 25.
10 Philostratus The Elder, Imagines, in Philostratus The Elder, The Younger: Imagi
nes, Callistratus: Descriptions, English trans. Arthur Fairbanks, Litt.D. (Cambridge,

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The etymology of Hermes' name is typically held to be herma, meaning 'rock'

or 'stone.'11 Amphion, by directing his music to the stones, is symbolically ap
pealing to Hermes to build the Theban walls. And, in the papyrus-fragments of
Euripides' play Antiope (5th century B.C.), Hermes declares to Amphion that all
things will yield to a performance upon the lyre with song and that this, itself,
originates from him:
I command Amphion arm his hand with the lyre, and celebrate the gods in song: and
mighty rocks shall follow you, spellbound by your music, and trees shall leave their
abodes in Mother Earth, making light labour for the builder's hand. This honour, King
Amphion, you owe to Zeus, and to me also, the inventor of your gift.12
In the former Amphion myth, there is perhaps yet another allusion to Hermes'
identification with music. Recall that Amphion's hymn is directed to Mother
Earth. Though not widely held, one possible origin of Hermes' name is derived
MA: Harvard University Press, 1979), 1-10, 41, 43. Also, Clement of Alexandria
writes that "Amphion of Thebes and Arion of Methymna were both minstrels. Both
are celebrated in legend, and to this day the story is sung by a chorus of Greeks how
their musical skill enabled the one to lure a fish and the other to build the walls of
Thebes." See Clement of Alexandria, "The Exhortation to the Greeks," in Clement of
Alexandria, ed. G.P. Goold, trans, by G.W. Butterworth, Loeb Classical Library,
(Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1982; first printed, 1919), 3. As clari
fied by Goold on page 2 of the source presently cited, "Arion was returning from Si
cily to Greece laden with prizes and presents. The sailors thought to kill him for his
wealth, but after playing his lyre he jumped into the sea. Dolphins, charmed by the
music, gathered round him, and one of them took the bard on its back to Corinth."
Goold also adds that "the stones were said to have moved into their proper places at
the sound of Amphion's music."
11 Though Hermes' name has Greek origins, it is quite probable that Hermes' associati
on with stones, particularly the hermaion or cairn, originated in the pre-Greek reli
gious customs and traditions of Mycenae and Minoan Crete. See W.K.C. Guthrie,
The Greeks and Their Gods (Boston: Beacon Press, 1955; first published 1950), 87
94. Guthrie's thorough account of Hermes' identification with the stone-heap before
the arrival of the Greeks includes Jacqueline Chittenden's thesis from her article
"The Master of Animals" in Hesperia, xvi (1947), 89 ff. Chittenden cites evidence
from the Bronze Age in which there survives many representations from both My
cenae and Crete depicting heaps of stones which also have religious import. One ex
ample she cites is a glass plaque from a rock-cut tomb at Mycenae. The plaque de
picts two animal-headed daemons holding libation jugs over a large unhewn stone
which itself is on top of a heap of smaller stones. From this Guthrie remarks that the
parallel with the Greek hermaion is "exact".
12 Euripides, Antiope, papyrus-fragment, 5th century B.C. in Select Papyri Poetry,
trans. D.L. Page, Loeb Classical Library (Cambridge, MA: Harvard University
Press, 1941), 69, 71.

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from era ('earth'), after his mother, Maia, who was traditionally regarded as
'Mother of the Earth.' Hermes' intimate connection to the Earth is also understood
by the obvious fact that stones permeate the planet and are themselves constituted
of various earthly raw materials. Stones have often been regarded as the very
bones of Mother Earth, capable of becoming the fertile seeds of new life. The
myth of Deucalion and Pyrrha, recounted in the first book of Ovid's Metamor
phoses, illustrates this point.13 Linked to Hermes, the primordial power of music
would thus be efficacious in appealing to Mother Earth, regarded as the 'eldest of
all beings,'14 to accomplish the seemingly miraculous task of moving heavy
stones into place. Once fully constructed, the Theban walls would stand in honor
of Hermes who was typically worshipped by stone heaps, walls, and other such
structures.
Unlike Apollo, whose reputation as healer and bringer of disease is well

known, Hermes' identification as god of healing is less apparent. Nonetheless,
Hermes is identified as such on many levels. In the Hymn, it is noteworthy that
Apollo "ordains" Hermes "keeper of herds." Apollo transfers this power of pro
tection to Hermes through the magical staff, declaring that it will keep him
'scatheless' and enable him to accomplish all tasks.
As mentioned, song and the spoken word, both archetypes of Apollo and of
Hermes, were believed to have medicinal power. And common to both mediums
was their need of 'inspiration' - that is, the inhaling of the divine breath of the
Muses. Of course, the realization of both song and speech also requires the more
literal breath of the lungs. On this level, the Greeks also observed that the
sounded word, whether spoken or sung, cannot be retracted. Thus, the proper
content and articulation of either speech or song was of primary importance in
order to avoid a potentially destructive influence. In the Hymn, content and ar
ticulation are a focus in terms of performing upon the lyre. Hermes declares to
Apollo:
13 Due to their innocence and piety, Deucalion, son of Prometheus and king of Phthia
and his wife Pyrrha, daughter of Epimetheus and Pandora, were spared the flood
brought about by Zeus to extinguish the evil human race and became the intended
founders of a new race. After the flood, Deucalion thanked the gods for his safety
and prayed to Themis that the earth be repopulated. Through an oracle, Themis in
structed Deucalion and Pyrrha to cast the bones of their mother over their shoulders
behind them. This directive was interpreted by Deucalion to mean that their mother
was the earth and that stones were her bones. Stones cast by Deucalion transformed
into men while those thrown by Pyrrha became women. The earth was soon repo
pulated with what was hoped to be a better race of humans and all manner of ani
mals, birds and insects grew up from the earth.
14 Homeric Hymn, To Earth the Mother of All, op. cit., XXX.2.

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Whoso with wit and wisdom enquires of it cunningly, him it teaches through its sound
all manner of things that delight the mind, being easily played with gentle familiarities,
for it abhors toilsome drudgery; but whoso in ignorance enquires of it violently, to him it
chatters mere vanity and foolishness.
Later tales tell how Hermes, armed with his magical staff, encounters two
serpents engaged in a deadly fight. With staff in hand and speaking in an elo
quent manner, Hermes ends the discord. The serpents subsequently become har
moniously intertwined upon the staff to form the caduceus, the modern-day sym
bol of the medical profession. The symbolism of the serpent, while it has a long
and varied history in different cultures, generally centers around regeneration and
healing. Indeed, the serpent was commonly associated with doctors in ancient
times. This, of course, is due in large measure to the snake's skin-shedding, and,
therefore, youth-renewing ability. Even today, the poisonous venom of some
snakes continues to be associated with medicinal virtue.
Speech was also believed to be a potentially powerful medicine. On this
point, Gorgias of Leontini, an early teacher of rhetoric, said:
The effect of speech bears the same relation to the constitution of the mind as the pre
scribing of drugs does to the nature of the body. For just as various drugs expel various
humours from the body, some ending disease and some ending life, so some speeches
give pain, some pleasure, some fear, some confidence, while others again poison and be
witch the mind with a malevolent persuasiveness.15
The potent and magical potential of speech is also alluded to in Plato's Phile
bus. Protarchus, speaking about Gorgias, says to Socrates:
On the many occasions when 1 used to listen to Gorgias, he regularly said ... that the
art of persuasion was greatly superior to all others, for it subjugated all things not by vio
lence but by willing submission, and was far and away the best of all arts ,..16
Though Hermes' staff was the tangible instrument that separated the fighting
serpents, his words, persuasive tone, and eloquent speaking manner were behind
its reconciliatory power. Similarly, in the Hymn, though the lyre was a necessary
component, it was its tones in conjunction with song that became the true agents
15 G. Gorgias, A Defence of Helen, cited in D.A. Russell and M. Winterbottom, eds.

"Gorgias: the power of Logos (Helena 8-14)" in Ancient Literary Criticism: The
Principal Texts in New Translations (New York: Oxford University Press, 1972), 8.
16 Plato, Philebus in The Collected Dialogues of Plato, Edith Hamilton and Hunting
ton Cairns, eds., Bollingen Series LXXI (Princeton: Princeton University Press,
1961), 1140.

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of enchantment and reconciliation. Indeed, both the lyre and the staff may be per
ceived as apotropaic charms17 and both may be placed under Gorgias' category o
'inspired charms which use speech.' According to Gorgias, charms of this type are
'summoners of pleasure and banishers of pain.'18 As mentioned earlier, the shep
herd's staff is at once a weapon of destruction and an instrument of protection and
guidance. In the presence of the spoken word as inspired by the Muses, however,
it was said to remedy ills and bring about good luck. The lyre, too, was a symbol
of divine harmony, particularly when accompanying song. Of course, its musical
tones could serve as weapons if not inspired by the Muses and articulated ac
cording to notions analogous to the later Platonic principles of the doctrine of
ethos.
Apollo and Hermes are also identified with two medicinal plants of the an
cient world: the laurel and the mandrake, respectively. Indigenous to the Mediter
ranean region, the laurel tree (Laurus nobilis) was thought to have curative and
inspiratory powers. Ingested laurel berries were thought to avert disease an
bring about an easy labor. Also known as the bay tree, the laurel was sacred to
Apollo as the metamorphosis of Daphne. She is, of course, the nymph who trans
formed herself into a laurel to avoid Apollo's ardent embrace. Most commonly
known today as a culinary flavoring, bay leaves, when burned, were said to emi
intoxicating fumes. The Delphic priestesses inhaled these vapors to induce the
ecstatic seizures that were said to bring about enhanced clairvoyance. It is b
lieved that these women also chewed laurel leaves to bring about oracular abili
ties.19 An infusion of the leaves was said to be a good emetic and purgative, and,
in powdered form, it was said to cure venereal disease. Moreover, bathing in a
solution of laurel leaves was said to relieve female disorders and abdominal dis
comforts. Whether eaten, drunk, inhaled, added to bath water, or applied topi
cally, it was the god Apollo who was identified with the medicinal virtue of lau
rel.
In Homer's Odyssey, Hermes is charged with administering the medicinal
plant moly, commonly known as mandrake or mandragora,20 to Odysseus so that
he will be able to escape the enchantments of Circe:
17 Such a charm was thought to divert evil and bring good luck.
18 G. Gorgias, op. cit., 1.
19 Cherry laurel contains 0.1% hydrogen cyanide. Ingesting this plant can cause toxi
city and delirium such as the Delphic Pythonesses are said to have experienced.
20 Mandrake has been cited by the famous 17th-century astrologer-physician, Nicholas
Culpeper, as astrologically governed by Hermes' planet Mercury. See Nicholas Cul
peper, Culpeper's Complete Herbal: consisting of a Comprehensive Description of
Nearly all Herbs with their Medicinal Properties and Direction for Compounding
the Medicines Extracted From Them (London: W. Foulsham & Co., Ltd., n.d.), 225.

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When that was said, he gave his herb to me; he plucked it from the ground and
showed what sort of plant it was. Its root was black; its flower was white as milk. It's mo
for the gods; for mortal men, the mandrake - very hard to pluck; but nothing holds again
the gods.21
In Homer, uprooting a mandrake (mandragora officinarum, or mandragora

officinalis)22 is said to be difficult; this is owing to its root system. The plant's
medicinal virtue appears to have been sufficient motivation for exerting the ef
fort, however. Indeed, mandrake, of the Nightshade family, though containing a
number of poisonous hallucinogens,23 is included in various ancient magico
medicinal recipes. It even appears in the later medical treatises ascribed to Hip
pocrates, for example, where the plant's root, taken early in the morning, is rec
ommended for 'those who are troubled and ill and want to hang themselves.'24 In
Pliny's Natural History, mandrake, taken in drink, is said to be an antidote for
snake-bites, an anaesthetic, and a cure for insomnia.25 It was also said to be an ef
fective emetic, purgative, and antispasmodic. In the pharmacopoeia written by
the Greek Dioscorides who travelled as surgeon with Nero's armies, mandragora
(mandrake) is listed along with opium and numerous other drugs as a surgical an
esthetic.
Perhaps no other plant has had a more fanciful and fabled history than the
mandrake. This, no doubt, was due to the plant's anthropomorphic root and the
ancient belief in the 'doctrine of signatures' (Similia similibus). It was also be
lieved that the plant's root possessed aphrodisiac properties and that its leaves
enhanced fertility. The mandrake was thus associated with Aphrodite, the
Greek26 goddess of love and fertility. Hermes was not only said to be one of her
many lovers, he was, himself, an early fertility god. Mandrake grows typically in
uncultivated and stony places. Perhaps the Dionysian, uncultivated, side of Her
mes and the etymological origin of his name from, herma, meaning stone, are
21 Homer, Odyssey, trans. Allen Mandelbaum (Berkeley: University of California

Press, 1990), X.302-307.
22 Botanists differ as to whether the varieties of this plant should be classified as sub
species or as completely different species. The North American May apple (Podo
phyllum peltalum) is sometimes erroneously referred to as "mandrake."
23 These include atropine, hyoscyamine, and scopolamine.
24 Hippocrates, Places in Man, in Hippocrates, Vol. VIII, ed. and trans. Paul Potter,
The Loeb Classical Library (Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press, 1995),
39.
25 Pliny the Elder, "The Nature of Wild Plants," Natural History, XXV. 150.
26 The name Aphrodite appears to be of oriental origin, probably Phoenician. Her cult
then went to Cythera, a Phoenician trading post, and then to Cyprus. It ultimately
spread throughout Greece and parts of Sicily.

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added indications of his identification with this plant. Hermes' bond with his
mother Maia,27 also originally associated with fertility, is yet another possible
connection.
Many references to mandrake's magico-medicinal power are found in the an
cient literature. The book of Genesis 30:14-17 refers to mandrakes as having en
abled Leah to conceive and bear her fifth son Jacob. In Theophrastus' Enquiry
into Plants we find the following advice concerning the procurement of a man
drake:
... it is said that one should draw three circles round mandrake with a sword, and cut it
with one's face towards the west; and at the cutting of the second piece one should dance
round the plant and say as many things as possible about the mysteries of love.28
Pliny the Elder advised keeping to wind-ward to avoid the horrible stench of
the uprooted plant. Interestingly, by the Middle Ages, European folklore about
the mandrake developed the notion that the plant was not only potent with medi
cine, but with destructive sound as well. Its supposed shrill and horrifying scream
was said to be potent enough to kill or drive insane anyone who attempted its re
moval from the Earth. So feared was the destructive sound of this plant that if one
could not find a god to secure it, then a dog29 would be given the deadly task of
pulling up the plant. The plant's stem would be tied to a hungry dog with food left
just beyond its reach. The person would then run swiftly away with ears covered.
27 Maia became integrated with Cybele, the Phrygian goddess, and the Roman Bona
Dea. At one time, Maia was thought of as Mother of the Earth. Her realms included
plants, animals, and all of nature. To add to the earlier discussion of Maia in the
context of the Mother-Earth principle, Ma and Maia are among the names of the
Great Mother-Goddess Cybele. These terms have been associated with Maya, the
name of the once thriving and great empire in South America. In the ruins of the ci
ties of Mexico, traces of this empire exist and there are some who maintain that it
was the "fertile parent" from which emerged the civilisations of Egypt and Assyria.
See Harold Bayley, The Lost Language of Symbolism: The Origins of Symbols,
Mythologies & Folklore, 2 vols. (London: Bracken Books, 1996; first published
1912), vol. 1, 198.
28 Theophrastus, Enquiry into Plants, Eng. trans. Arthur F. Hort, The Loeb Classical
Library (Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press, 1916), Vol. 2, IX.viii.8.
29 This was typically a black dog, often referred to as hell's creature due to its early as
sociation with pestilence. Apollonius of Tyana, for example, was said to have rid a
long-standing plague from Ephesus by transforming an old beggar into a black dog,
the creature thought to be the cause of the plague.

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The uprooting and its supposed consequences would then be left to 'man's best
friend,' a title more than well-deserved in this context.30
Finally, Hermes is also identified as a healing god in the context of his asso
ciation with stones. Stones themselves, from earliest times, have universally been
thought to possess curative powers.31 Though it was often thought that only p
cious stones had medicinal properties, stones, in general, were believed to p
sess restorative and energizing potential. We should bear in mind that bot
Apollo and Hermes, before their respective complex portrayals in human form
were worshiped as healing gods symbolized by the unhewn stone. Hermes-lore i
connection with stones appears to have very early roots and still exists at presen
in some cultures. As god of roads, Hermes was honored by the manner in whic
stones demarcated paths, entries to homes, or other buildings. Found typically
cross-roads, the hermaia, an upright stone pillar with a cairn or heap of stones a
its base, was another expression of the worship of Hermes. A wayfarer or one
simply walking past would typically add a stone to the heap for protection and
good luck.32 Hermes was often thought to be the daemon or spirit of stone heaps
The custom associated with Hermes of throwing stones on cairns also applied to
grave-sites. Hermoe or stones were placed on graves and a heap of stones often
stood in place of a formal tomb.33 Hermes, though generally accorded the inter
mediary position between the upper and lower worlds, was as much recognized
by the gods of the lower world, as conductor of the soul's of the dead (Psycho
pompos), as he was by the world above in his role of the winged messenger. In
cantations and oracles of the dead honoured Hermes in the realm of the lower
world. Hermes, as symbolized by the stone, can thus be understood as a product
of the earth's very bones. Indeed, it may be said that like the roots of the man
30 See Richard Rudgley, Essential Substances: a cultural history of intoxicants in so

ciety (New York: Kodansha International, 1993), 113-117.
31 The Mayans, for example, had a god of medicine named Cit Bolon Tun, or, "the Ni
ne Precious Stones." See Donald A. Mackenzie, Pre-Columbian America: Myths
and Legends (Senate, 1996; this edition is an imprint of Random House, London;
first published 1923 as Myths of Pre-Columbian America by The Gresham Publi
shing Co., London), 59.
32 This custom is no doubt derived from the Greek myth that explains the derivation of
Hermes' name. Brought to trial by the gods for killing the many-eyed monster Argus,
Hermes was acquitted and a heap of stones grew up around him as each of the god's
voting pebble was thrown at his feet. Even now, a belief in the spirit of the cairn is
occasionally found, particularly in parts of Europe.
33 Guthrie provides some specific examples of interest. See W.K.C. Guthrie, The
Greeks and Their Gods (Boston: Beacon Press, 1955; originally published 1950),
89, 3ff

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drake, Hermes acquired his early nourishment and medicinal potential from be
neath the earth's surface.
The association of stones with healing is also found in Philostratus' account of
the Neo-Pythagorean philosopher Apollonius of Tyana.34 Ephesus was success
fully rid of a deadly and long-standing plague by the creation of a mound of
stones, suggestive of the healing daemon of Hermes. As it was told, Apollonius
of Tyana rid plague in Ephesus by denouncing an Ephesian beggar, declaring him
to be the cause of the pestilence. At Apollonius' urging, people stoned the beggar
to death, ultimately covering him with a mound of stones. Upon removal of the
stones, no beggar could be found. Instead there was a huge black dog, identified
as the cause of the plague. The mound of stones that covered the beggar and drew
out the pestilence may thus be a reference to the "stone heap" or hermaion identi
fied with the healing god Hermes.
Of course, stones were not only metaphors for the lifeless and immutable;
they were symbols of life,35 with Hermes often identified as their daemon. In this
sense, the barrier formed by the stone walls of Thebes, for example, may be seen
as a metaphor for Hermes' role as protector.
The symbolism of Hermes in connection with the medicinal plant moly and
with stones underscores the importance of plants and minerals as medicinal
sources in antiquity. It is hardly surprising, for example, that the Hippocratic
medical treatises cite a vast array of medicines from plant and mineral sources.
Hermes may also be associated with the largest of earth's medicinal plants,
namely, trees. This brings us back to Hermes' staff which was originally made of
wood. In the Hymn, Apollo declares to Hermes:
... by this shaft of comel wood I will surely make you a leader renowned among the
deathless gods, and fortunate, and will give you glorious gifts and will not deceive you
from first to last.36
Apollo later describes the staff as having three branches. It is sometimes de

picted as having leaves, a reference to its infusion with life. Recall that the staff
mentioned in Hesiod's Theogony was a 'shoot of sturdy laurel,' 'plucked' by the
34 Philostratus, The Life of Apollonius of Tyana, trans. F.C. Conybeare, The Loeb
Classical Library (Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1912), IV.X, 363-67.
Contemporary with Christ, Apollonius, educated at Tarsus and at the Temple of As
klepios at Egae, became an adherent of the sect of Pythagoras. As a result of his
training, Apollonius was said to perform miracles wherever he went.
35 Recall the account of Deucalion and his wife Pyrrha who strewn stones from which
life sprang.
36 Hymn To Hermes, op. cit., IV.459-63.

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Muses.37 In this context, the staff may be regarded similarly to that of the tree or
the staff of life. Various tales refer to Hermes' staff as a simple olive branch
whose stems later formed into the two snakes that entwined it.
Historically, the staff has always been associated with magic and leadership.
In Homer, Hermes touches the souls of the dead with it and so lulls them to sleep
before carrying them to the underworld. It is also seen in the hands of Ares,
Dionysos, Heracles, Demeter, and Aphrodite. The staff of Moses is, of course,
another example. At various points throughout recorded history, the staff or mace
was carried by heralds and ambassadors in time of war as a sign of power. Sym
bolism of the staff is indeed far-reaching. It would not be an exaggeration to say
that even the modern day musical conductor's baton has a faint reference to the
symbolism of the staff. We should remember that in its relative infancy, the con
ductor's baton was actually a large wooden staff, held vertically.38 Of course, un
like the musical conductor whose purpose it is to bring music to life, Hermes
conducts the souls of the dead to their final resting place.
In keeping with the ancient Greek notion of opposites, it is not surprising that
references to the staff and to stones in the context of Hermes as healer are coun
tered by allusions to their destructive potential. In Hesiod's somewhat different
account of the theft of Apollo's cattle, Hermes uses his staff in a destructive man
ner. Battus lives on top of a rock which is, in itself, symbolic if we consider the
outcome of Hermes' destructive action against him. He witnesses Hermes' theft of
the cattle but promises the god that he will not divulge what he has seen. Hermes
37 Hesiod, op. cit., 30-31.

38 The history of musical conducting likely extends back to the origins of organized
sound. It is believed that ancient Egyptian and Greek choruses had a principal singer
who established the tempo in addition to singing the solos in antiphonal music. The
tempo was probably audibly stamped out or indicated by strokes of the hand. Quite
probably, conducting would have required the 'inspiration' of the Muses in order to
properly bring forth the sounded music. Symbolic gestures of conducting no doubt
conjured up the magic of musical tones which are at once more abstract and more
direct than spoken words. The vertical staff of the conductor appeared in the seven
teenth century, replacing the sol-fa, a paper roll which came into use in the fifteenth
century. The sol-fa had been used to direct the Sistine Choir at Rome and became
standard usage in the sixteenth century during the era of Palestrina and polyphonic
music. The Baroque conductor's staff was highly ornamented in the true manner of
the times. The conductor's staff gradually fell out favor. This was due mostly to the
objectionable nature of audible conducting, though perhaps Lully's accident with the
instrument in 1687 aided its downfall. Recall that Lully, Louis XIV's favorite court
composer and conductor, was said to have misdirected a beat with his staff,
inadvertently stabbing his gouty foot which subsequently required amputation that
later proved fatal. The staff was largely replaced by the violin bow in eighteenth
century orchestras.

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then disguises himself and offers a reward to Battus for information regarding the
stolen cattle. Due to Hermes' anger at Battus' betrayal, the positive healing prop
erties of the staff and of stones, both identified with Hermes, are replaced by de
structive ones:
And Battus took the robe and told him about the cattle. But Hermes was angry be
cause he was double-tongued, and struck him with his staff and changed him into a rock.
And either frost or heat never leaves him.39
Contrary to Hesiod's account, in the Hymn, the staff is curative. Indeed, the
staff and the lyre are both magico-medicinal when empowered by the sounded
word, either in speech or in song. By the exchange of their respective attributes,
Apollo and his half-brother Hermes form the most intimate of bonds. And their
gifts - the lyre and the staff-join to become symbols of reconciliation and har
mony, ultimate goals in the practices of music and of medicine.
39 Hesiod, The Great Eoiae, op. cit., 16.

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The Lyre and The Staff: Symbols of Magico-Medicinal Sound

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The Lyre and the Staff: Symbols of Magico-Medicinal Sound

Author(s): Linda Ardito

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Linda Ardito (Dowling College)