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Why did the snake become a symbol of both death and renewal?
How can you tell Asclepius's medical staff from the caduceus?
What did the skull mean in old images?
How old is the skull's meaning as a sign of danger?
What does the infinity symbol mean in mathematics?
Why is the ∞ symbol linked with eternity and love?
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Answers and explanations6 questions
- Why did the snake become a symbol of both death and renewal? It sheds its skin and returns from the groundIts shed skin resembles a body left behind, and its return from the ground resembles a return from the world of the dead.From “Why a snake means both death and healing”
- How can you tell Asclepius's medical staff from the caduceus? Asclepius's staff has one snake and no wingsThe medical symbol is a staff with one snake and no wings, while two snakes with wings belong to Hermes's staff.From “Why a snake means both death and healing”
- What did the skull mean in old images? A reminder that life is finiteIt appeared in paintings and on gravestones as a message to the viewer: life is short, so think about what you are doing.From “What the Skull Meant Before Pirates”
- How old is the skull's meaning as a sign of danger? It is the youngest of all its meaningsThe meaning of danger and the pirate flag appeared late, thousands of years after the reminder of death.From “What the Skull Meant Before Pirates”
- What does the infinity symbol mean in mathematics? A quantity growing without limitThe ∞ symbol is shorthand for growth without limit, not the name of an existing number.From “Where the infinity symbol came from”
- Why is the ∞ symbol linked with eternity and love? That meaning was added much laterWallis gave the symbol no mystical meaning - eternity and love were attached to it later.From “Where the infinity symbol came from”