“Pandora & the Caduceus II.”

“Pandora & the Caduceus II.” (6”x12” encaustic & mixed media on wood, 2024 July)

It’s a sketch because I might upscale her to mural size someday. I took some in progress photos for your amusement - a 2:1 size ratio will probably not be ideal for this, project but otherwise, how do you like her vs. skateboard Pandora I.? Fun detail: I “stole” the serpent design from my own aquarium drawing that I made when I was 14.

The piece was inspired by the fact that the Caduceus (two serpents winding around a winged staff) has been used as a symbol of medicine incorrectly (thanks Richard Grannon!).

Greek god Hermes carried a winged staff entwined with two snakes. The staff of Aesculapius, the god of healing, had one snake and no wings. Logically, the staff of Aesculapius should be the symbol of the medical profession—and indeed, that is the symbol used by the American Medical Association. But the true caduceus is also frequently seen as a medical symbol.

Hermes saw two serpents entwined in mortal combat. Separating them with his wand he brought about peace between them, and the wand with two serpents became a sign of peace and negotiation.
Pandora, in Greek mythology was the first woman who had a jar containing all manner of misery and evil. After she opened the jar, the evils flew out over the Earth. Hope alone remained inside, the lid having been shut down before it could escape.
In my fiction story, Pandora opened the box and let the serpents out – then Hermes threw his staff to separate them and keep them at peace. However, the Hope serpent was too slow to escape and got killed. The message: (false) hope must die in the process of keeping our destructive feelings of cognitive dissonance – love and resentment – at peace.