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> >There's an especially fine one from St Mary's Abbey, York, I think now in > >the York Museum where he is not only horned but carries the caduceus, the > >rod twined with serpents. > It is not the caduceus -which would be a very odd motif for Moses- > but an allusion to the brazen serpent, interpreted as a symbol of Christ's > passion. > > Carlos there's no necessarily mutually exclusive relationship. wasn't the caduceus an egyptian symbol of healing? one (obviously heretical) reading of the mosaic tale is that moses regressed to egyptian idol-worship at this point (which was why he wasn't allowed in the promised land). as for the serpent as a symbol of xt's passion -- other than hanging on a pole, what's the connection? rlandes %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%