Serpent (symbolism) 58904 224055054 2008-07-07T02:56:35Z Editor2020 6046894 /* Judaic and Christian religion */ [[Image:L14cobra.jpg|thumb|right|300px|The Egyptian Cobra]] '''Serpent''' is a word of [[Latin]] origin (from ''serpens, serpentis'' "something that creeps, snake") that is commonly used in a specifically [[mythology|mythic]] or [[religion|religious]] context, signifying a [[snake]] that is to be regarded not as a mundane natural phenomenon nor as an object of scientific [[zoology]], but as the bearer of some symbolic value. ==Cross-cultural symbolic values== [[Image:YaxchilanDivineSerpent.jpg|thumb|right|200px|The Maya [[Vision Serpent]].]] The serpent is one of the oldest and most widespread mythological symbols. Considerable overlap exists in the symbolic values that serpents represent in various cultures. Some such overlap is due to the common historical ancestry of contemporary symbols. Much of the overlap, however, is traceable to the common biological characteristics of snakes. In some instances, serpents serve as positive symbols with whom it is possible to identify or to sympathize; in other instances, serpents serve as negative symbols, representing opponents or antagonists of figures or principles with which it is possible to identify. Serpents also appear as ambivalent figures, neither wholly positive nor wholly negative in valence. An example of a serpent used as a positive symbol is [[Mucalinda]], the king of snakes who shielded the [[Gautama Buddha|Buddha]] from the elements as the Buddha sat in meditation. An example of a serpent used as a negative symbol is the snake who tempted [[Adam and Eve]] in the [[Garden of Eden]], as described in the [[Book of Genesis]]. The following are some of the particular symbolic values frequently assiged to serpents in myth, legend, and literature: ===Deceitfulness=== In the [[Abrahamic religion]]s, serpents are connected with deceit, and are used to symbolize deceitfulness. An example is the serpent in the Garden of Eden, who tricks the Adam and Eve into partaking of the Fruit of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. The symbolic connection between serpents and deceit may depend in part on the observation that snakes have forked tongues. A forked tongue is a tongue which has not one end, but two, pointing in different directions. In humans, the tongue is an essential tool in speech, and the presence of only one tip signifies the unity of truthful speech, and corresponds to the unity of the truth itself. There is only one truth, but there are many lies. The forked tongue represents the disunity of deceitful speech. ===Guardianship=== [[Image:Buddha shielded by Naga.jpg|right|thumb|This Cambodian statue, dated between 1150 and 1175 A.D., depicts the meditating Buddha being shielded by the naga Mucalinda.]] Serpents are represented as potent guardians of temples and other sacred spaces. This connection may be grounded in the observation that when threatened, some snakes (such as [[rattlesnakes]] or [[cobras]]) frequently hold and defend their ground, first resorting to threatening display and then fighting, rather than retreat. Thus, they are natural guardians of treasures or sacred sites which cannot easily be moved out of harm's way. At [[Angkor]] in [[Architecture of Cambodia|Cambodia]], numerous stone sculptures present hooded multi-headed [[naga]]s as guardians of temples or other premises. A favorite motif of Angkorean sculptors from approximately the 12th century A.D. onward was that of the [[Gautama Buddha|Buddha]], sitting in the position of meditation, his weight supported by the coils of a multi-headed naga that also uses its flared hood to shield him from above. This motif recalls the story of the Buddha and the serpent king [[Mucalinda]]: as the Buddha sat beneath a tree engrossed in meditation, Mucalinda came up from the roots of the tree to shield the Buddha from a tempest that was just beginning to arise. The [[Gadsden flag]] of the American Revolution depicts a [[rattlesnake]] coiled up and poised to strike. Below the image of the snake is the legend, "Don't tread on me." The snake symbolized the willingness of the colonists to fight for their rights and homeland. ===Poison and medicine=== Serpents are connected with poison and medicine. The snake's venom is associated with the chemicals of plants and fungi<ref>{{cite book | title = [[Vergil]] [[Aenid]] 2.471 }}</ref><ref> {{cite book | title = [[Nicander]] Alexipharmaca 521 }}</ref> <ref>{{cite book | title = [[Pliny the Elder|Pliny]] [[Pliny's Natural History|Natural History]] 9.5 }}</ref> that have the power to either heal, poison or provide expanded consciousness (and even the elixir of life and immortality) through divine intoxication. Because of its herbal knowledge and [[entheogen]]ic association the snake was often considered one of the wisest animals, being (close to the) divine. Its divine aspect combined with its habitat in the earth between the roots of plants made it an animal with [[chthonic]] properties connected to the afterlife and immortality. ===Renewal, rebirth, regeneration=== Serpents are connected with renewal or regeneration. This trait is connected with the practice of snakes of shedding their old skin and growing a new one. ===Vengefulness and vindictiveness=== Serpents are connected with vengefulness and vindictiveness. This connection depends in part on the experience that poisonous snakes often deliver deadly defensive bites without giving prior notice or warning to their unwitting victims. Although a snake is defending itself from the encroachment of its victim into the snake's immediate vicinity, the unannounced and deadly strike may seem unduly vengeful when measured against the unwitting victim's lack of blameworthiness. [[Edgar Allan Poe]]'s famous short story "[[The Cask of Amontillado]]" invokes the image of the serpent as a symbol for petty vengefulness. The story is told from the point of view of the vindictive Montressor, who hatches a secret plot to murder his rival Fortunato in order to avenge real or imagined insults. Before carrying out his scheme, Montresor reveals his family's coat-of-arms to the intended victim: "A huge human foot d'or, in a field azure; the foot crushes a serpent rampant whose fangs are imbedded in the heel." Fortunato, not suspecting that he has offended Montressor, fails to understand the symbolic import of the coat-of-arms, and blunders onward into Montresor's trap. ==Mythological serpents== ===Dragons=== Sometimes serpents and [[dragon]]s are used interchangeably, having similar symbolic functions. The venom of the serpent is thought to have a [[Fire (classical element)|fiery quality]] similar to a fire spitting dragon. The Greek [[Ladon]] and the Norse [[Níðhöggr]] are sometimes described as serpents and sometimes as dragons. In [[Germanic mythology]], ''serpent'' ([[Old English]]: ''wyrm'', [[Old High German]]: ''wurm'', [[Old Norse]]: ''ormr'') is used interchangeable with the Greek borrowing ''[[dragon]]'' (OE: ''draca'', OHG: ''trahho'', ON: ''dreki''). In China, the Indian serpent [[nāga]] was equated with the lóng or [[Chinese dragon]]. The [[Aztec]] and [[Toltec]] serpent god [[Quetzalcoatl]] also has dragon like wings, like its equivalent in [[Mayan mythology]] [[Gukumatz]] ("feathered serpent"). ===Sea serpents=== [[Sea serpent]]s were giant [[cryptozoological]] creatures once believed to live in water, whether [[sea monster]]s such as the [[Leviathan]] or [[lake monster]]s such as the [[Loch Ness Monster]]. If they were referred to as "[[sea snake]]s", they were understood to be the actual snakes that live in Indo-Pacific waters (Family [[Hydrophiidae]]). ===Cosmic serpents=== The serpent, when forming a ring with its tail in its mouth, is a clear and widespread symbol of the "All-in-All", the totality of existence, infinity and the cyclic nature of the cosmos. The most well known version of this is the Aegypto-Greek [[Ourobouros]]. It is believed to have been inspired by the [[Milky Way]] as some ancient texts refer to a serpent of light residing in the heavens. The Ancient Egyptians associated it with Wadjet, one of their oldest deities as well as another aspect, Hathor. [[Image:Anantavishnu.jpg|thumb|200px|left|[[Vishnu]] resting on Ananta-Shesha, with [[Lakshmi]] massaging his "lotus feet."]]In [[Norse mythology]] the World Serpent (or Midgard serpent) known as [[Jörmungandr]] encircled the world in the ocean's abyss biting its own tail. In [[Hindu mythology]] [[Vishnu]] is said to sleep while floating on the cosmic waters on the serpent [[Shesha]]. In the [[Puranas]] Shesha holds all the planets of the universe on his hoods and to constantly sing the glories of Vishnu from all his mouths. He is sometimes referred to as "Ananta-Shesha" which means "Endless Shesha." In the [[Samudra manthan]] chapter of the Puranas, Shesha loosens [[Mount Mandara]] for it to be used as a churning rod by the [[Asuras]] and [[Deva (Hinduism)|Devas]] to churn the [[ocean of milk]] in the heavens in order to make [[Soma]] (or [[Amrita]]), the divine elixir of immortality. As a churning rope another giant serpent called [[Vasuki]] is used. In pre-Columbian Central America Quetzalcoatl was sometimes depicted as biting its own tail. The mother of Quetzalcoatl was the Aztec goddess [[Coatlicue]] ("the one with the skirt of serpents"), also known as Cihuacoatl ("The Lady of the serpent"). [[Quetzalcoatl]]'s father was [[Mixcoatl]] ("Cloud Serpent"). He was identified with the Milky Way, the stars and the heavens in several Mesoamerican cultures. The demi-god Aidophedo of the West African [[Ashanti]] is also a serpent biting its own tail. In [[Dahomey mythology]] of [[Benin]] in West Africa, the serpent that supports everything on its many coils was named Dan. In the [[Vodou]] of Benin and [[Haiti]] [[Ayida-Weddo]] (a.k.a. Aida-Wedo, Aido Quedo, "Rainbow-Serpent") is a spirit of fertility, rainbows and snakes, and a companion or wife to Dan, the father of all spirits. As Vodou was exported to Haiti through the slave trade Dan became [[Damballah|Danballah]], Damballah or Damballah-Wedo. Because of his association with snakes, he is sometimes disguised as Moses, who carried a snake on his staff. He is also thought by many to be the same entity of [[Saint Patrick]], known as a snake banisher. The serpent [[Hydra (constellation)|Hydra]] is a star [[constellation]] representing either the serpent thrown angrily into the sky by [[Apollo]] or the [[Lernaean Hydra]] as defeated by [[Heracles]] for one of his Twelve Labours. The constellation [[Serpens]] represents a snake being tamed by [[Ophiuchus]] the snake-handler, another constellation. The most probable interpretation is that Ophiuchus represents the healer Asclepius. ===Chthonic serpents and sacred trees=== In many myths the [[chthonic]] serpent (sometimes a pair) lives in or is coiled around a [[Tree of Life]] situated in a divine garden. In the [[Genesis]] story of the [[Torah]] and Biblical [[Old Testament]] the [[Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil]] is situated in the [[Garden of Eden]] together with the [[Tree of Life|tree of immortality]]. In Greek mythology [[Ladon]] coiled around the tree in the garden of the [[Hesperides]] protecting the entheogenic golden apples. [[Image:Nidhogg.png|thumb|right|300px|Níðhöggr gnaws the roots of Yggdrasill in this illustration from a 17th century Icelandic manuscript.]]Similarly [[Níðhöggr]] the dragon of Norse mythology eats from the roots of the [[Yggdrasil]] the World Tree. Under yet another Tree (the [[Bodhi tree]] of Enlightenment), the [[Gautama Buddha|Buddha]] sat in ecstatic meditation. When a storm arose, the mighty serpent king [[Mucalinda]] rose up from his place beneath the earth and enveloped the Buddha in seven coils for seven days, not to break his ecstatic state. The [[Vision Serpent]] was also a symbol of rebirth in [[Mayan mythology]], fuelling some cross-Atlantic cultural contexts favored in [[pseudoarchaeology]]. The Vision Serpent goes back to earlier Maya conceptions, and lies at the center of the world as the Mayans conceived it. "It is in the center axis atop the [[World Tree]]. Essentially the World Tree and the Vision Serpent, representing the king, created the center axis which communicates between the spiritual and the earthly worlds or planes. It is through ritual that the king could bring the center axis into existence in the temples and create a doorway to the spiritual world, and with it power". (Schele and Friedel, 1990: 68) [[Image:Ningizzida.jpg|thumb|left|200px|The Sumerian deity, [[Ningizzida]], is accompanied by two [[gryphons]]; it is the oldest known image of two snakes coiling around an axial rod, dating from before 2000 BCE.]] Sometimes the Tree of Life is represented (in a combination with similar concepts such as the World Tree and [[Axis mundi]] or "World Axis") by a staff such as those used by [[shamans]]. Examples of such staffs featuring coiled snakes in mythology are the [[caduceus]] of [[Hermes]], the [[Rod of Asclepius]], the staff of [[Moses]], and the papyrus reeds and deity poles entwined by a single serpent [[Wadjet]], dating to earlier than 3000 BCE. The oldest known representation of ''two'' snakes entwined around a rod is that of the [[Sumerian]] fertility god [[Ningizzida]]. Ningizzida was sometimes depicted as a serpent with a human head, eventually becoming a god of healing and magic. It is the companion of [[Dumuzi]] (Tammuz) with whom it stood at the gate of heaven. In the [[Louvre]], there is a famous green [[steatite]] vase carved for king [[Gudea]] of [[Lagash]] (dated variously [[22nd century BCE|2200]]&ndash;[[21st century BCE|2025 BCE]]) with an inscription dedicated to Ningizzida. Ningizzida was the ancestor of [[Gilgamesh]], who according to the [[Epic of Gilgamesh|epic]] dived to the bottom of the waters to retrieve the plant of life. But while he rested from his labor, a serpent came and ate the plant. The snake became immortal, and Gilgamesh was destined to die. [[Image:Featheredserpentnotchedplatevol2mississip86.png|thumb|right|Ancient North American serpent imagery often featured rattlesnakes.]] Ningizzida has been popularised in the 20th C. by Raku Kei [[Reiki]] (a.k.a. "The Way of the Fire Dragon") where "Nin Giz Zida" is believed to be a fire serpent of Tibetan rather than Sumerian origin. Nin Giz Zida is another name for the ancient [[Hindu]] concept of [[Kundalini]], a [[Sanskrit]] word meaning either "coiled up" or "coiling like a snake". Kundalini refers to the mothering intelligence behind yogic awakening and spiritual maturation leading to altered states of consciousness. There are a number of other translations of the term usually emphasizing a more serpentine nature to the word— e.g. 'serpent power'. It has been suggested by [[Joseph Campbell]] that the symbol of snakes coiled around a staff is an ancient representation of Kundalini physiology. The staff represents the spinal column with the snake(s) being energy channels. In the case of two coiled snakes they usually cross each other seven times, a possible reference to the seven energy centers called [[chakras]]. In [[Ancient Egypt]], where the earliest written cultural records exist, the serpent appears from the beginning to the end of their mythology. [[Ra]] and [[Atum]] ("he who completes or perfects") became the same god, ''Atum'', the "counter-Ra," was associated with earth animals, including the serpent: [[Nehebkau]] ("he who harnesses the souls") was the two headed serpent deity who guarded the entrance to the underworld. He is often seen as the son of the snake goddess [[Renenutet]]. She often was confused with (and later was absorbed by) their primal snake goddess [[Wadjet]], the [[Egyptian cobra]], who from the earliest of records was the patron and protector of the country, all other deities, and the pharaohs. Hers is the first known [[oracle]]. She was depicted as the [[uraeus|crown]] of Egypt, entwined around the [[staff (stick)|staff]] of papyrus and the pole that indicated the status of all other deities, as well as having the all-seeing [[eye of Horus|eye]] of wisdom and vengeance. She never lost her position in the Egyptian pantheon. The image of the serpent as the embodiment of the wisdom transmitted by ''[[Sophia (wisdom)|Sophia]]'' was an emblem used by [[gnosticism]], especially those sects that the more orthodox characterized as "[[Ophites]]" ("Serpent People"). The chthonic serpent was one of the earth-animals associated with the cult of [[Mithras]]. The [[Basilisk]], the venomous "king of serpents" with the glance that kills, was hatched by a serpent, [[Pliny the Elder]] and others thought, from the egg of a cock. Outside Eurasia, in [[Yoruba mythology]], [[Oshunmare]] was another mythic regenerating serpent. The [[Rainbow Serpent]] (also known as the Rainbow Snake) is a major [[mythology|mythological]] being for [[Indigenous Australians|Aboriginal]] people across [[Australia]], although the [[creation myth]] associated with it are best known from northern Australia. In Fiji [[Ratumaibulu]] was a serpent god who ruled the underworld and made fruit trees bloom. ==Serpents in other religious and cultural traditions== ===Hindu and Buddhist mythology=== {{main|Naga (mythology)}} ''{{IAST|Nāga}}'' ([[Sanskrit]]:{{unicode|नाग}}) is the [[Sanskrit]] and [[Pāli]] word for a deity or class of entity or being, taking the form of a very large snake, found in [[Hinduism]] and [[Buddhism]]. The use of the term '''nāga''' is often ambiguous, as the word may also refer, in similar contexts, to one of several human tribes known as or nicknamed "Nāgas"; to elephants; and to ordinary snakes, particularly the [[King Cobra]] and the [[Indian Cobra]], the latter of which is still called ''nāg'' in [[Hindi]] and other languages of India. A female nāga is a ''nāgī''. [[Image:Mami Wata poster.png|thumb|right|200px| [[Mami Wata]], who plays a major role in various [[African]] and [[African-American]] religions <ref>Jell-Bahlsen 1997, p. 105</ref><ref>Chesi 1997, p. 255)</ref>]] ===Cambodian mythology=== Serpents, or [[naga]]s, play a particularly important role in [[Cambodian]] mythology. A well-known story explains the emergence of the [[Khmer people]] from the union of Indian and indigenous elements, the latter being represented as [[nagas]]. According to the story, an Indian [[brahmana]] named Kaundinya came to Cambodia, which at the time was under the dominion of the naga king. The naga princess [[Soma]] sallied forth to fight against the invader but was defeated. Presented with the option of marrying the victorious Kaundinya, Soma readily agreed to do so, and together they ruled the land. The [[Khmer people]] are their descendants.<ref>Chandler, ''A History of Cambodia'', p.13.</ref> ===Greek mythology=== {{see also|Dragons in Greek mythology}} Serpents figured prominently in archaic Greek myths. According to some sources, [[Ophion]] ("serpent", a.k.a. Ophioneus), ruled the world with Eurynome before the two of them were cast down by Cronus and Rhea. The oracles of the Ancient Greeks were said to have been the continuation of the tradition begun with the worship of the Egyptian cobra goddess, [[Wadjet]]. The [[Minoan civilization|Minoan]] [[Snake Goddess]] brandished a serpent in either hand, perhaps evoking her role as source of wisdom, rather than her role as Mistress of the Animals (''Potnia theron''), with a [[leopard]] under each arm. She is a Minoan version of the [[Canaan]]ite fertility goddess [[Asherah]]{{Fact|date=September 2007}}. It is not by accident that later the infant [[Heracles]], a liminal hero on the threshold between the old ways and the new Olympian world, also brandished the two serpents that "threatened" him in his cradle. Classical Greeks did not perceive that the threat was merely the threat of wisdom. But the gesture is the same as that of the Cretan goddess. [[Typhon]] the enemy of the Olympian gods is described as a vast grisly monster with a hundred heads and a hundred serpents issuing from his thighs, who was conquered and cast into [[Tartarus]] by [[Zeus]], or confined beneath volcanic regions, where he is the cause of eruptions. Typhon is thus the chthonic figuration of volcanic forces. Amongst his children by Echidna are [[Cerberus]] (a monstrous three-headed dog with a snake for a tail and a serpentine mane), the serpent tailed [[Chimera (mythology)|Chimaera]], the serpent-like chthonic water beast [[Lernaean Hydra]] and the hundred-headed serpentine dragon [[Ladon]]. Both the Lernaean Hydra and Ladon were slain by [[Heracles]]. [[Pytho]]n was the earth-dragon of [[Delphi]], she always was represented in the vase-paintings and by sculptors as a serpent. Pytho was the chthonic enemy of [[Apollo]], who slew her and remade her former home his own oracle, the most famous in Classical Greece. [[Image:2005-12-28 Berlin Pergamon museum Statue of Asklepios.jpg|thumb|150px|left|Statue of Asclepius in the [[Pergamon Museum]], [[Berlin]].]] [[Amphisbaena]] a Greek word, from amphis, meaning "both ways", and bainein, meaning "to go", also called the "Mother of Ants", is a mythological, ant-eating serpent with a head at each end. According to Greek mythology, the mythological amphisbaena was spawned from the blood that dripped from [[Medusa]] the [[Gorgon]]'s head as [[Perseus]] flew over the Libyan Desert with her head in his hand. Medusa and the other Gorgons were vicious female monsters with sharp fangs and hair of living, venomous snakes whose origins predate the written myths of Greece and who were the protectors of the most ancient ritual secrets. The Gorgons wore a belt of two intertwined serpents in the same configuration of the [[caduceus]]. The Gorgon was placed at the highest point and central of the relief on the [[Parthenon]]. [[Asclepius]], the son of Apollo and Koronis, learned the secrets of keeping death at bay after observing one serpent bringing another (which Asclepius himself had fatally wounded) healing herbs. To prevent the entire human race from becoming immortal under Asclepius's care, Zeus killed him with a bolt of lightning. Asclepius' death at the hands of Zeus illustrates man's inability to challenge the natural order that separates mortal men from the gods. In honor of Asclepius, snakes were often used in healing rituals. Non-poisonous snakes were left to crawl on the floor in dormitories where the sick and injured slept. In [[Bibliotheca (Pseudo-Apollodorus)|The Library]], [[Apollodorus]] claimed that [[Athena]] gave Asclepius a vial of blood from the Gorgons. Gorgon blood had magical properties: if taken from the left side of the Gorgon, it was a fatal poison; from the right side, the blood was capable of bringing the dead back to life. However [[Euripides]] wrote in his tragedy [[Ion (play)|Ion]] that the Athenian queen Creusa had inherited this vial from her ancestor Erichthonios, who was a snake himself and receiving the vial from Athena. In this version the blood of Medusa had the healing power while the lethal poison originated from Medusa's serpents. [[Laocoön]] was allegedly a priest of [[Poseidon]] (or of Apollo, by some accounts) at [[Troy]]; he was famous for warning the Trojans in vain against accepting the Trojan Horse from the Greeks, and for his subsequent divine execution. Poseidon (some say [[Athena]]), who was supporting the Greeks, subsequently sent sea-serpents to strangle Laocoön and his two sons, Antiphantes and Thymbraeus. Another tradition states that Apollo sent the serpents for an unrelated offense, and only unlucky timing caused the Trojans to misinterpret them as punishment for striking the Horse. [[Olympias]], the mother of [[Alexander the Great]] and a princess of the primitive land of [[Epirus (region)|Epirus]], had the reputation of a snake-handler, and it was in serpent form that Zeus was said to have fathered Alexander upon her; tame snakes were still to be found at Macedonian [[History of Pella|Pella]] in the 2nd century AD ([[Lucian]], [http://www.tertullian.org/rpearse/lucian/lucian_alexander.htm ''Alexander the false prophet'']) and at [[Ostia Antica (archaeological site)|Ostia]] a bas-relief shows paired coiled serpents flanking a dressed altar, symbols or embodiments of the [[Lares]] of the household, worthy of veneration (Veyne 1987 illus p 211). [[Aeetes]], the king of [[Colchis]] and father of the sorceress [[Medea]], possessed the [[Golden Fleece]]. He guarded it with a massive serpent that never slept. Medea, who had fallen in love with [[Jason]] of the [[Argonauts]], enchanted it to sleep so Jason could seize the Fleece. ===Norse mythology=== {{see also|Jörmungandr}} [[Jörmungandr]], alternately referred to as the [[Midgard Serpent]] or [[Midgard Serpent| World Serpent]], is a [[sea serpent]] of the [[Norse mythology]], the middle child of [[Loki]] and the [[Jötunn| giantess]] [[Angrboða]]. According to the [[Prose Edda]], [[Odin]] took [[Loki]]'s three children, [[Fenrisúlfr]], [[Hel (being)| Hel]] and Jörmungandr. He tossed Jörmungandr into the great ocean that encircles [[Midgard]]. The [[serpent]] grew so big that he was able to surround the [[Yggdrasil| Earth]] and grasp his own tail, and as a result he earned the alternate name of the Midgard Serpent or World Serpent. Jörmungandr's arch enemy is the god [[Thor]]. ===Judaic and Christian religion=== [[Image:France Paris Notre-Dame-Adam and Eve.jpg|thumb|right|150px|[[Adam (Bible)|Adam]], [[Eve (Bible)|Eve]], and the (female) Serpent at the entrance to [[Notre Dame de Paris|Notre Dame Cathedral]] in Paris. Medieval Christian art often depicted the Edenic Serpent as a woman, thus both emphasizing the Serpent's seductiveness as well as its relationship to Eve. (This connection might be due do the influence of [[Lilith]], as well.) Several early [[Church Fathers]], including [[Clement of Alexandria]] and [[Eusebius of Caesarea]], interpreted the Hebrew "Heva" as not only the name of Eve, but in its aspirated form as "female serpent."]]In the [[Hebrew Bible]] (the ''[[Tanach]]'') of [[Judaism]], the speaking serpent (Hebrew ''nahash'') in the [[Garden of Eden]] brought forbidden knowledge, but was not identified with [[Satan]] in the ''[[Genesis|Book of Genesis]]''. "Now the serpent was more cunning than any beast of the field which the Lord God had made," ''Genesis'' 3:1 reminded its readers. Nor is there any indication in ''Genesis'' that the Serpent was a deity in its own right, aside from the fact that there are only two cases of animals that talk in the Pentateuch. ([[Balaam]]s` ass being the other) Although the identity of the Serpent as Satan is made explicit the Christian [[Book of Revelation]],<ref name ="Harris">[[Stephen L Harris|Harris, Stephen L.]], Understanding the Bible. Palo Alto: Mayfield. 1985.</ref> in ''Genesis'' the Serpent is merely portrayed as a deceptive creature promoting as good what God had directly forbidden, and particularly cunning in manipulating truth toward its deceptive ends. (cf. Gen. 3:4-5 and 3:22) Though it was cursed for its role in the Garden, this was not the end of the serpent, who continued to be venerated in the folk religion of Judah and was tolerated by official religion until the in time of king [[Hezekiah]]. A conversion of a rod to a snake and back was believed to have been experienced by [[Moses]] and later by his brother [[Aaron's rod|Aaron]] according to Islamic, Christian, and Jewish hagiography: [[Image:MosesandSnake.JPG|thumb|left|200px|Moses lifts up the brass snake, curing the Israelites from the venom of snake bites.]] :''And the Lord said unto him, What is that in thine hand? And he said, A rod. And he said, Cast it on the ground. And he cast it on the ground, and it became a serpent; and Moses fled from before it. And the Lord said unto Moses, Put forth thine hand, and take it by the tail. And he put forth his hand and caught it and it became a rod in his hand.'' ([[Exodus]] 4:2-4) The ''[[Book of Numbers]]'' provides an origin for an [[Nehushtan|archaic bronze serpent]] associated with Moses, with the following narratives: :"21.6. And the Lord sent fiery serpents among the people, and they bit the people; and much people of Israel died. 7. Therefore the people came to Moses, and said, We have sinned, for we have spoken against the Lord, and against thee; pray unto the Lord, that he take away the serpents from us. And Moses prayed for the people. 8. And the Lord said unto Moses, Make thee a fiery serpent, and set it upon a pole: and it shall come to pass, that every one that is bitten, when he looketh upon it, shall live. 9. And Moses made a serpent of brass, and put it upon a pole, and it came to pass, that if a serpent had bitten any man, when he beheld the serpent of brass, he lived." ([[Book of Numbers]] 21:6-9) When the young reforming king Hezekiah came to the throne of Judah in the late 8th century: :"He removed the high places, and brake the images, and cut down the groves, and brake in pieces the brasen serpent that Moses had made: for unto those days the children of Israel did burn incense to it: and he called it [[Nehushtan]]." {{bibleverse|2|Kings|18:4|KJV}}. In [[Christianity]], a connection between the Serpent and [[Satan]] is strongly made, and {{bibleref|Genesis|3:14}} where God curses the serpent, is seen in that light: "And the LORD God said unto the serpent, Because thou hast done this, thou art cursed above all cattle, and above every beast of the field; upon thy belly shalt thou go, and dust shalt thou eat all the days of thy life". Some feel that this seems to indicate that the serpent had legs prior to this punishment. But if the lying serpent was in fact Satan himself (as he is called THE serpent or dragon), rather than an ordinary snake simply possessed by Satan, then the reference to crawling and dust is purely symbolic reference to his ultimate humiliation and defeat. In the ''[[Gospel of Matthew]]'' 3:7, [[John the Baptist]] calls the [[Pharisee]]s and [[Saducees]] visiting him a "brood of vipers". Later in {{bibleref|Matthew|23:33}}, [[Jesus]] himself uses this imagery, observing: "Ye serpents, ye generation of vipers, how can ye escape the damnation of Gehenna?" ("Hell" is the usual translation of Jesus' word ''[[Gehenna]]''.) Although in the minority, there are at least a couple of passages in the New Testament that do not present the snake with negative connotation. When sending out the twelve [[Twelve Apostles|apostles]], Jesus exhorted them "Behold, I send you forth as sheep in the midst of wolves: be ye therefore wise as serpents, and harmless as doves" ({{bibleref|Matthew|10:16}}). Jesus made a comparison between himself and the setting up of the snake on the hill in the desert by Moses: :And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up: That whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life ({{bibleref|John|3:14-15}}). In this comparison Jesus was not so much connecting himself to the serpent, but showing the analogy of his being a divinely provided object of faith, through which God would provide salvation, just as God provided healing to those who looked in faith to the brass serpent. The other most significant reference to the serpent in the ''New Testament'' occurs in Revelation 12:9, where the identity of the serpent in ''Genesis'' is made explicit: :"The great dragon was hurled down -- that ancient serpent called the devil, or Satan, who leads the whole world astray..." This verse lends support to the view that of the serpent ''being'' Satan himself, which helps to explain, as well, why Eve was not surprised to be spoken to by the serpent -- it was not a talking snake, but a beautiful and intelligent (yet evil) angelic being. *Veyne, Paul, 1987. ''A History of Private Life : 1. From Pagan Rome to Byzantium'' [[Snake handling]] is a religious ritual in a small number of Christian churches in the U.S., usually characterized as rural and [[Pentecostal]]. Practitioners believe it dates to antiquity and quote the ''Bible'' to support the practice, especially: :"And these signs shall follow them that believe: In my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues. They shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover." ({{bibleref|Mark|16:17-18}}) :"Behold, I give unto you power to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy: and nothing shall by any means hurt you." ({{bibleref|Luke|10:19}}) According to Joseph Campbell's Occidental Mythology, Yahweh is believed to have originated as a serpent consort of the Jewish earth mother goddess Asherah. This is reflected in the identity of Yahweh with the Egyptian Set, and the similarity of practices between Egyptian Set worship and Judaism, such as the sacrifice of the red heifer (detailed in Plutarch's Isis and Osiris), as well the identity between Yahweh and the snake-legged Greek Typhon, whose snake-legged image appears with the name "Ia", "Iah" or "Yah" on many amulets and charms found among the graves of the Maccabees (also Campbell). ===Native North American mythology=== In one Native American story, an evil serpent kills one of the gods' cousins, so the god kills the serpent in revenge. But the dying serpent unleashes a great flood. People first flee to the mountains and then, when the mountains are covered, they float on a raft until the flood subsides. The evil spirits that the serpent god controlled then hide out of fear.[http://www.indians.org/welker/greatflo.htm] The [[Mound builder (people)|Mound Builders]] associated great mystical value to the serpent, as the [[Serpent Mound]] demonstrates, though we are unable to unravel the particular associations. ===Modern medicine=== [[Image:Star of life2.svg|thumb|100px|left|The [[Star of Life]] features a Rod of Asclepius]] Snakes entwined the staffs both of [[Hermes]] (the [[caduceus]]) and of [[Rod of Asclepius|Asclepius]], where a single snake entwined the rough staff. On Hermes' caduceus, the snakes were not merely duplicated for symmetry, they were paired opposites. (This motif is congruent with the [[phurba]].) The wings at the head of the staff identified it as belonging to the winged messenger, Hermes, the Roman Mercury, who was the god of magic, diplomacy and [[rhetoric]], of inventions and discoveries, the protector both of merchants and that allied occupation, to the mythographers' view, of thieves. It is however Hermes' role as [[psychopomp]], the escort of newly-deceased souls to the afterlife, that explains the origin of the snakes in the caduceus since this was also the role of the Sumerian entwined serpent god [[Ningizzida]], with whom Hermes has sometimes been equated. In [[Late Antiquity]], as the arcane study of [[alchemy]] developed, Mercury was understood to be the protector of those arts too and of arcane or occult "Hermetic' information in general. Chemistry and medicines linked the rod of Hermes with the staff of the healer Asclepius, which was wound with a serpent; it was conflated with Mercury's rod, and the modern medical symbol&mdash; which should simply be the rod of Asclepius&mdash; often became Mercury's wand of commerce. Another version is used in alchemy whereas the snake is crucified, known as [[Nicolas Flamel]]'s caduceus. Art historian Walter J. Friedlander, in ''The Golden Wand of Medicine: A History of the Caduceus Symbol in Medicine'' (1992) collected hundreds of examples of the caduceus and the rod of Asclepius and found that professional associations were just somewhat more likely to use the staff of Asclepius, while commercial organizations in the medical field were more likely to use the caduceus. ===Modern political propaganda=== Following the Christian context as a symbol for evil serpents are sometimes featured in political [[propaganda]]. They were used to represent Jews in [[Symbolic serpent|antisemite propaganda]]. Snakes were also used to represent the evil side of drugs in such films as ''[http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0121587/ Narcotic]'' and ''[http://www.archive.org/details/Narcotic1967 Narcotics: Pit of Despair]''. In another one a drug dealer [http://www.x-entertainment.com/halloween/2004/september27/ transforms into a snake]. ==References== *Burston, Daniel: 1994, "Freud, the Serpent & The Sexual Enlightenment of Children", International Forum of Psychoanalysis, vol. 3, pp. 205-219 *[[Joseph Campbell]], ''Occidental Mythology: the Masks of God'', 1964: Ch. 1, "The Serpent's Bride." *John Bathurst Deane, ''The Worship of the Serpent'', 1833. ([http://www.sacred-texts.com/etc/wos/ On-line text]) *[[David P. Chandler]], ''A History of Cambodia'', 1992. *Lewis Richard Farnell, ''The Cults of the Greek States'', 1896. * [[Joseph Eddy Fontenrose]], ''Python; a study of Delphic myth and its origins'', 1959. * [[Jane Ellen Harrison]], ''Themis: A Study of the Social Origins of Greek Religion'', 1912. cf. Chapter IX, p.329 especially, on the slaying of the Python. [http://www.lib.uchicago.edu/cgi-bin/eos/eos_page.pl?DPI=100&callnum=BL781.H32&object=454] [http://www.lib.uchicago.edu/cgi-bin/eos/eos_title.pl?callnum=BL781.H32] *Joseph Lewis Henderson and Maud Oakes, ''The Wisdom of the Serpent.'' The tribal initiation of the shaman, the archetype of the serpent, exemplifies the death of the self and a transcendent rebirth. Analytical psychology offers insights on the meaning of death symbolism and the serpent symbol. *[[Edgar Allan Poe]], [[The Cask of Amontillado]], available in an [http://www.literature.org/authors/poe-edgar-allan/amontillado.html online version] at literature.org. *[[Carl A. P. Ruck]], Blaise Daniel Staples & Clark Heinrich, ''The Apples of Apollo: Pagan and Christian Mysteries of the Eucharist'', 2001. ==See also== *[[Dragon]] *[[Naga (mythology)|Serpents in Hinduism and Buddhism]] *[[Snake worship]] *[[Ethnoherpetology]] *[[Glycon]] *[[Reptilian humanoid]] *[[Genius loci]] *[[Druids' glass]] *[[Ouroboros]] *[[Nahash]] *[[Nehushtan]] ==Notes== <!--This article uses the Cite.php citation mechanism. If you would like more information on how to add references to this article, please see http://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Cite/Cite.php --> {{reflist|2}} ==External links== *[http://drblayney.com/Asclepius.html#Friedlander The caduceus vs the staff of Asclepius] *[http://www.geocities.com/Athens/Delphi/5789/serpent.htm Dr Robert T. Mason, "The Divine serpent in myth and legend," 1999] *[http://www.mythinglinks.org/ct~dragons.html Links to further serpent myth] *[http://www.reptilianagenda.com/research/r073101a.shtml Nagas and Serpents] *[http://www.bible-snakes.de Snakes of the bible and the koran] *[http://mcdonaldroad.org/sermons/03/0201.htm Jesus Our Serpent] *[http://www.sciam.com/article.cfm?articleid=3FE89A86-E7F2-99DF-366D045A5BF3EAB1&chanId=sa027 Scientific American - Offerings to a Stone Snake Provide the Earliest Evidence of Religion] by J. R. Minkel 01/12/06 *[http://www.sacred-texts.com/etc/oph/index.htm Ophiolatreia - The Rites and mysteries connected with the origin, rise, and development of serpent worship in various parts of the world (1889)] *[http://angkorblog.com/_wsn/page16.html Depictions of Nagas (serpents) at Angkor in Cambodia] *[http://anthropology.net/2007/07/04/rotherwas-ribbon-a-bronze-age-site-unique-in-europe/ Anthropology.net Rotherwas Ribbon - A Bronze Age Site ‘Unique In Europe’] 04/07/07 *[http://dsc.discovery.com/news/2007/05/17/snakecult_arc.html Discovery News - Snake Cults Dominated Early Arabia] 17/05/07 *[http://www.gnosis.org/genesis.html The Genesis Factor], Stephan A. Hoeller, Ph.D. 1997. *[http://www.laingsociety.org/colloquia/psychotherapy/serpent1.htm Freud, the Serpent and the Sexual Enlightenment of Children] by Daniel Burston {{Heraldic creatures}} [[Category:Torah]] [[Category:Symbols]] [[Category:Snakes]] [[Category:Dragons]] [[Category:Greek legendary creatures]] [[Category:Adam and Eve]] [[de:Schlange (Mythologie)]] [[it:Serpente (immaginario)]] [[nl:Oerslang]] [[pt:Serpente]] [[ru:Змей (мифология)]]