The serpent, orsnake, is one of the oldest and most widespreadmythologicalsymbols. The word is derived from Latinserpens, a crawling animal or snake. Snakes have been associated with some of the oldest rituals known to humankind[1][2] and representdual expression[3] ofgood and evil.[4] The historian of religions Mircea Eliade observed inThe Myth of the Eternal Return, "the serpent symbolizes chaos, the formless and nonmanifested."[5] InThe Symbolism of the Cross, Traditionalist René Guénon contended that "the serpent will depict the series of the cycles of universal manifestation," "the indefinitude of universal Existence," and "the being's attachment to the indefinite series of cycles of manifestation."[6] Recent academic book length treatments of serpent symbolism include James H. Charlesworth'sThe Good and Evil Serpent (2010)[7] and Charles William Dailey'sThe Serpent Symbol in Tradition (2022).[8]
The anthropologist Lynne Isbell has argued that, asprimates, the serpent as a symbol of death is built into our unconscious minds because of our evolutionary history. Isbell argues that for millions of years snakes were the only significant predators of primates, and that this explains why fear of snakes is one of the most commonphobias worldwide and why the symbol of the serpent is so prevalent in world mythology; the serpent is an innate image of danger and death.[9][10]
Furthermore, the psychoanalystJoseph Lewis Henderson and the ethnologist Maude Oakes have argued that the serpent is a symbol of initiation and rebirth precisely because it is a symbol of death.[11]
Using phylogenetical and statistical methods on relatedmotifs from folklore and myth, French comparativist Julien d'Huy managed to reconstruct a possible archaic narrative about the serpent. In this Paleolithic "ophidian" myth, snakes are connected to rains and storms, and even to water sources. In regards to the latter, it blocks rivers and other water sources in exchange for human sacrifices and/or material good offerings.[12]
Historically, serpents and snakes representfertility or a creative life force.[citation needed] As snakes shed their skin throughsloughing, they serve as symbols of rebirth, transformation, immortality, and healing.[13] Theouroboros is a symbol ofeternity and continual renewal of life.[citation needed]
In someAbrahamic traditions, the serpent representssexual desire.[14] According to some interpretations of theMidrash, theserpent represents sexual passion.[15] InHinduism,Kundalini is a dormant energy lying like a coiled serpent.[16]
TheHopi people ofNorth America performed an annual snake dance to celebrate the union of Snake Youth (a Sky spirit) and Snake Girl (an Underworld spirit) and to renew thefertility ofNature.[citation needed] During the dance, live snakes were handled, and at the end of the dance the snakes were released into the fields to guarantee good crops. "The snake dance is a prayer to the spirits of the clouds, the thunder and the lightning, that the rain may fall on the growing crops."[17] To theHopi, snakes symbolized theumbilical cord, joining all humans toMother Earth.[citation needed]
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 asrattlesnakes orcobras) 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.
AtAngkor inCambodia, numerous stone sculptures present hooded multi-headednāgas as guardians of temples or other premises. A favorite motif of Angkorean sculptors from approximately the 12th century CE onward was that of theBuddha, sitting in the position of meditation, his weight supported by the coils of a multi-headed nāga that also uses its flared hood to shield him from above. This motif recalls the story of the Buddha and the serpent kingMucalinda: 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.
TheGadsden 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 dangerousness of colonists willing to fight for their rights and homeland, and was also symbolic of their separation from Europe, as it was an animal unique to America. The motif is repeated in theFirst Navy Jack of the US Navy.
Serpents are connected withvenom and medicine. The snake's venom is associated with the chemicals of plants and fungi[18][19][20] that have the power to either heal or provide expanded consciousness (and even theelixir of life and immortality) through divine intoxication. Because of its herbal knowledge andentheogenic 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 withchthonic properties connected to the afterlife and immortality. The deified Greek physicianAsclepius, as god ofmedicine and healing, carrieda staff with one serpent wrapped around it, which has become the symbol of modern medicine.Moses also had a replica of a serpent on a pole, theNehushtan, mentioned in Numbers 21:8.
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In many myths, thechthonic serpent (sometimes a pair) lives in or is coiled around aTree of Life situated in a divine garden. In theGenesis story of theTorah and biblicalOld Testament, thetree of the knowledge of good and evil is situated in theGarden of Eden together with thetree of life and theserpent. In Greek mythology,Ladon coiled around the tree in the garden of theHesperides protecting the golden apples.
SimilarlyNíðhöggr (Nidhogg Nagar), the dragon of Norse mythology, eats from the roots of theYggdrasil, the World Tree.
Under yet another tree (theBodhi Tree of Enlightenment), theBuddha sat in ecstatic meditation. When a storm arose, the mighty serpent kingMucalinda rose up from his place beneath the earth and enveloped the Buddha in seven coils for seven days, so as not to break his ecstatic state.
TheVision Serpent was a symbol of rebirth inMaya mythology, with origins going back to earlier Maya conceptions, lying at the center of the world as the Mayans conceived it. "It is in the center axis atop theWorld 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."[21]
Sometimes the Tree of Life is represented (in a combination with similar concepts such as the World Tree andAxis mundi or "World Axis") by a staff such as those used byshamans. Examples of such staffs featuring coiled snakes in mythology are thecaduceus ofHermes, theRod of Asclepius, theStaff of Moses, and thepapyrus reeds and deity poles entwined by a single serpentWadjet, dating to earlier than 3000 BCE. The oldest known representation oftwo snakes entwined around a rod is that of theSumerian fertility godNingizzida, who was sometimes depicted as a serpent with a human head, eventually becoming a god of healing and magic. It is the companion ofDumuzi (Tammuz), with whom it stood at the gate of heaven. In theLouvre, there is a famous greensteatite vase carved for KingGudea ofLagash (dated variously 2200–2025 BCE) with an inscription dedicated to Ningizzida. Ningizzida was the ancestor ofGilgamesh, who, according to theepic, 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.
Ningizzida has been popularized in the 20th century by Raku Kei (Reiki, a.k.a. "The Way of the Fire Dragon"), where "Nin Giz Zida" is believed to be a fire serpent ofTibetan rather than Sumerian origin.[citation needed] "Nin Giz Zida" is another name for the ancientHindu conceptKundalini, aSanskrit word meaning either "coiled up" or "coiling like a snake". "Kundalini" refers to the mothering intelligence behindyogic 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 byJoseph Campbell that the symbol of snakes coiled around a staff is an ancient representation of Kundalini physiology. The staff represents thespinal 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 calledchakras.
InAncient Egypt, where the earliest written cultural records exist, the serpent appears from the beginning to the end of their mythology.Ra andAtum ("he who completes or perfects") became the same god,Atum, the "counter-Ra", 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.[citation needed] He is often seen as the son of the snake goddessRenenutet. She often was confused with (and later was absorbed by) their primal snake goddessWadjet, theEgyptian 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 knownoracle. She was depicted as thecrown of Egypt, entwined around the staff of papyrus and the pole that indicated the status of all other deities, as well as having the all-seeingeye 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 bySophia was an emblem used bygnosticism, 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 ofMithras. Thebasilisk, 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 acock.
Outside Eurasia, inYoruba mythology,Oshunmare was another mythic regenerating serpent.
TheRainbow Serpent (also known as the Rainbow Snake) is a majormythological being forAboriginal people acrossAustralia, although thecreation myths 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. In the NorthernFlinders Ranges reigns theArkaroo, a serpent who drankLake Frome empty, refuges into the mountains, carving valleys and waterholes, earthquakes through snoring.
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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-Greekourobouros. It is believed to have been inspired by theMilky Way, as some ancient texts refer to a serpent of light residing in the heavens. The Ancient Egyptians associated it withWadjet, one of their oldest deities, as well as another aspect,Hathor. InNorse mythology the World Serpent (orMidgard serpent) known asJörmungandr encircled the world in the ocean's abyss biting its own tail.
InHindu mythology LordVishnu is said to sleep while floating on the cosmic waters on the serpentShesha. In thePuranas Shesha holds all the planets of the universe on his hoods and constantly sings the glories of Vishnu from all his mouths. He is sometimes referred to as "Ananta-Shesha," which means "Endless Shesha". In theSamudra manthan chapter of the Puranas, Shesha loosensMount Mandara for it to be used as a churning rod by theAsuras andDevas to churn theocean of milk in the heavens in order to makeSoma (orAmrita), the divine elixir of immortality. As a churning rope another giant serpent calledVasuki is used.
In pre-Columbian Central AmericaQuetzalcoatl was sometimes depicted as biting its own tail. The mother of Quetzalcoatl was the Aztec goddessCoatlicue ("the one with the skirt of serpents"), also known as Cihuacoatl ("The Lady of the serpent"). Quetzalcoatl's father wasMixcoatl ("Cloud Serpent"). He was identified with the Milky Way, the stars, and the heavens in severalMesoamerican cultures.
Thedemigod Aidophedo of the West AfricanAshanti people is also a serpent biting its own tail. InDahomey mythology ofBenin in West Africa, the serpent that supports everything on its many coils was named Dan. In theVodou of Benin andHaiti,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 becameDanballah, 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 ofSaint Patrick, known as a snake banisher.
The serpentHydra is a starconstellation representing either the serpent thrown angrily into the sky byApollo or theLernaean Hydra as defeated byHeracles for one of his Twelve Labors. The constellationSerpens represents a snake being tamed byOphiuchus the snake-handler, another constellation. The most probable interpretation is that Ophiuchus represents the healer Asclepius.
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Occasionally, serpents anddragons are used interchangeably, having similar symbolic functions. The venom of the serpent is thought to have afiery quality similar to a fire-breathing dragon. The GreekLadon and the NorseNíðhöggr (Nidhogg Nagar) are sometimes described as serpents and sometimes as dragons. InGermanic mythology, "serpent" (Old English:wyrm,Old High German:wurm,Old Norse:ormr) is used interchangeably with the Greek borrowing "dragon" (OE:draca, OHG:trahho, ON:dreki). In China and especially inIndochina, the Indian serpentnāga was equated with thelóng orChinese dragon. TheAztec andToltec serpent godQuetzalcoatl also has dragon-like wings, like its equivalent inK'iche'Maya mythologyQ'uq'umatz ("feathered serpent"), which had previously existed since Classic Maya times as the deity namedKukulkan.
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In Africa the chief centre of serpent worship wasDahomey, but the cult of the python seems to have been of exotic origin, dating back to the first quarter of the 17th century. By the conquest ofWhydah the Dahomeyans were brought in contact with a people of serpent worshipers, and ended by adopting from them the beliefs which they at first despised. AtWhydah, the chief centre, there is a serpent temple, tenanted by some fifty snakes. Every python of thedanh-gbi kind must be treated with respect, and death is the penalty for killing one, even by accident.Danh-gbi has numerous wives, who until 1857 took part in a public procession from which the profane crowd was excluded; a python was carried round the town in a hammock, perhaps as a ceremony for the expulsion of evils.
The rainbow-god of theAshanti was also conceived to have the form of a snake. His messenger was said to be a small variety ofboa, but only certain individuals, not the whole species, were sacred.
In many parts of Africa the serpent is looked upon as the incarnation of deceased relatives. Among theamaZulu, as among theBetsileo of Madagascar, certain species are assigned as the abode of certain classes. TheMaasai, on the other hand, regard each species as the habitat of a particular family of the tribe.
Inancient Mesopotamia,Nirah, the messenger god ofIštaran, was represented as a serpent onkudurrus, orboundary stones.[24] Representations of two intertwined serpents are common inSumerian art and Neo-Sumerian artwork[24] and still appear sporadically oncylinder seals and amulets until as late as the thirteenth century BCE.[24] The horned viper (Cerastes cerastes) appears inKassite andNeo-Assyrian kudurrus[24] and is invoked inAssyrian texts as a magical protective entity.[24] A dragon-like creature with horns, the body and neck of a snake, the forelegs of a lion, and the hind-legs of a bird appears in Mesopotamian art from theAkkadian period until theHellenistic period (323 BCE–31 BCE).[24] This creature, known inAkkadian as themušḫuššu, meaning "furious serpent", was used as a symbol for particular deities and also as a general protective emblem.[24] It seems to have originally been the attendant of the underworld godNinazu,[24] but later became the attendant to theHurrian storm-godTishpak, as well as, later, Ninazu's sonNingishzida, the Babyloniannational godMarduk, the scribal godNabu, and the Assyrian national godAshur.[24]
Snake cults were well established inCanaanite religion in theBronze Age, for archaeologists have uncovered serpentcult objects in Bronze Age strata at several pre-Israelite cities in Canaan: two atMegiddo,[25] one atGezer,[26] one in thesanctum sanctorum of the Area H temple atHazor,[27] and two atShechem.[28]
In the surrounding region, serpent cult objects figured in other cultures. A late Bronze AgeHittite shrine in northern Syria contained a bronze statue of a god holding a serpent in one hand and a staff in the other.[29] In 6th-centuryBabylon, a pair of bronze serpents flanked each of the four doorways of the temple ofEsagila.[30] At the Babylonian New Year's festival, the priest was to commission from a woodworker, a metalworker and a goldsmith two images, one of which "shall hold in its left hand a snake of cedar, raising its right [hand] to the godNabu".[31] At the tell of Tepe Gawra, at least seventeen Early Bronze AgeAssyrian bronze serpents were recovered.[32]
Significant finds of pottery, bronze-ware and even gold depictions of snakes have been made throughout theUnited Arab Emirates (UAE). TheBronze Age andIron Age metallurgical centre ofSaruq Al Hadid has yielded probably the richest trove of such objects, although finds have been made bearing snake symbols in Bronze Age sites atRumailah,Bithnah andMasafi. Most of the depictions of snakes are similar, with a consistent dotted decoration applied to them.
Although the widespread depiction of snakes in sites across the UAE is thought by archaeologists to have a religious purpose, this remains conjecture.[33]
In theHebrew Bible the serpent in theGarden of Eden lured Eve with the promise of being like God, tempting her that despite God's warning, death would not be the result, that God was withholding knowledge from her.
The staff ofMoses transformed into a snake and then back into a staff (Exodus 4:2–4). TheBook of Numbers 21:6–9 provides an origin for anarchaic copper serpent,Nehushtan, by associating it with Moses. This copper snake according to the Biblical text is put on a pole and used for healing. Book of Numbers 21:9 "And Moses made a snake of copper, and put it upon a pole, and it came to pass, that if a snake had bitten any man, when he beheld the snake of brass, he lived."
When the reformerKing Hezekiah came to the throne of Judah in the late 8th century BCE, "He removed the high places, broke the sacred pillars, smashed the idols, and broke into pieces the copper snake that Moses had made: for unto those days the children of Israel did burn incense to it: and he called it Nehushtan. (2 Kings 18:4)
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In theGospel of John 3:14–15, Jesus makes direct comparison between the raising up of theSon of Man and the act of Moses in raising up the serpent as a sign, using it as a symbol associated withsalvation: "As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but haveeternal life".
Christian Tradition also identifiesSatan as a talking serpent in the Old Testament'sGarden of Eden who had tempted Eve with a fruit from theTree of the knowledge of good and evil. Eve, as well as her consort Adam, were then punished byYHWH for their disobedience to commandments outlined prior to this; had lifespan decreased, for women to suffer in birthing, as well as other torments.
The serpent is a recurrent motif in Islamic thought, appearing in both sacred texts representing evil and works of art. The creature is often seen as a symbol of evil and punishment. The serpent is a complex figure in Islamic thought, appearing as both a symbol of evil and a figure of wisdom. Djinn, which are likewise figures of great potential mixed with danger, are also believed to appear in the form of snakes on occasion.[34]The Arabian Flying Snakes, also known asArabhar, are a part of Arabian folklore and are said to live near the Arabian Sea. These snakes are believed to have the ability to fly, and their name "Arabhar" means "Arab snake."
The Islamic serpent generally follows in the tradition of earlier Abrahamic myths as a symbol for the seductive draw of wisdom.[35] This symbolism is reflected in various stories and parables, such as the tale of the snake-catcher and the serpent fromRumi, which uses the serpent as a symbol for the sensual soul within human beings.[36] Another story from Arabian mythology features the giant serpentFalak, which is said to live below the fish known as Bahamut and is mentioned in theOne Thousand and One Nights as a dangerous monster.[37] It is said that Falak only fears God's greater power, which prevents it from consuming all of creation.
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Serpents are sacred and powerful in the thought of prehistoriccultures of Iran, having been portrayed as patrons of fertility, water and wealth in the ancient objects of Iran. They seem to have been worshipped along with thefertility goddesses from the fourth to first millennia BC, when their presence as mighty patrons and source of life and of immortality is seen in the art ofTall-i Bakun,Chogha Mish,Tepe Sialk,Jiroft culture,Shahr-e Sukhteh,Shahdad,Elamite art,Luristan art, etc.
However, it seems that the symbolic concept of the serpent was corrupted in the cultures of theIranian plateau over time by Western influence. InAbrahamic traditions, the serpent represents sexual desire, as he luredEve with the promise of forbidden knowledge in theGarden of Eden. As a result of such influence, Aryan religions call the serpents diabolic;Azhi Dahake in theAvesta is a scary serpent, andZahhak in theShahnameh is an infernal creature with two snakes on his shoulders. This replacement might be due to communication between the inhabitants of Iran and believers inAbrahamic religions, and beyond that the conversion ofmatriarchy intopatriarchy as the social structure of Iranian plateau cultures.[38]
In Chinese creationism mythology,Nüwa is the mother goddess who created humans from clay. She is depicted as a half snake being.
TheMinoanSnake 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 aleopard under each arm.
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 byCronus andRhea. The oracles of the Ancient Greeks were said to have been the continuation of the tradition begun with the worship of the Egyptian cobra goddessWadjet.
Typhon, the enemy of theOlympian 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 intoTartarus byZeus, or confined beneath volcanic regions, where he is the cause of eruptions. Typhon is thus the chthonic figuration of volcanic forces. Serpent elements figure among his offspring; among his children by Echidna areCerberus (a monstrous three-headed dog with a snake for a tail and a serpentine mane); the serpent-tailedChimaera; the serpent-like chthonic water beastLernaean Hydra; and the hundred-headed serpentine dragonLadon. Both the Lernaean Hydra and Ladon were slain byHeracles.
Python was the earth-dragon ofDelphi. She always was represented in the vase-paintings and by sculptors as a serpent. Python was the chthonic enemy ofApollo, who slew her and remade her former home his own oracle, the most famous in Classical Greece.
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TheGorgons -Stheno,Euryale, andMedusa - were three monstrous sisters with sharp fangs and living, venomous snakes for hair, and 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 thecaduceus. The Gorgon was placed at the center, highest point of one of the pediments on theTemple of Artemis at Corfu.
Asclepius, the son of Apollo andCoronis, learned the secrets of keeping death at bay after observing one serpent bringing another (which Asclepius himself had fatally wounded) back to life with 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. TheBibliotheca claimed thatAthena 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 tragedyIon that the Athenian queenCreusa had inherited this vial from her ancestorErichthonios, who was a snake himself and had received the vial from Athena. In this version the blood of Medusa had the healing power while the lethal poison originated from Medusa's serpents.
Olympias, the mother ofAlexander the Great and a princess of the primitive land ofEpirus, had the reputation of a snake-handler, and it was in serpent form that Zeus was said to have fathered Alexander upon her.[40]Aeëtes, the king ofColchis and father of the sorceressMedea, possessed theGolden Fleece. He guarded it with a massive serpent that never slept. Medea, who had fallen in love withJason of theArgonauts, enchanted it to sleep so Jason could seize the Fleece. (SeeLamia).
When not driven by horses, the chariot of theGreek sun god is described as being pulled by fiery draconic beings.[41] The most notable instance of this is observed in the episode in whichMedea is given her grandfather's chariot, which is pulled by serpents through the sky.
In artwork snakes are occasionally associated withHecate, the goddess ofwitchcraft.[42]
Naga (Sanskrit: नाग) is theSanskrit/Pāli word for a deity or class of entity or being, taking the form of a very large snake, found inHinduism,Buddhism, andJainism. Thenaga primarily represents rebirth, death and mortality, due to its casting of its skin and being symbolically "reborn".
Hindus associate thenaga with the deitiesShiva andVishnu.Shesha is one of the two mounts of Vishnu, upon which the deity rests.Vasuki is a serpent coiled around the neck of Shiva. The snake represents freedom inHindu mythology because they cannot be tamed. In Buddhism, the serpentMucalinda is associated as the protector ofBuddha. In Jainism, serpent is associated with the 23rd TirthankaraParshvanatha.
Serpents, ornāgas, play a particularly important role inKhmer mythology. Anorigin myth explains the emergence of the name "Cambodia" as resulting from conquest of a naga princess by aKambuja lord namedKaundinya: the descendants of their union are theKhmer people.[43]George Cœdès suggests the Cambodian myth is a basis for the Thai legend of"Phra Daeng Nang Ai", in which a woman who has lived many previous lives in the region is reincarnated as a daughter of Phraya Khom (Thai for Cambodian) and causes the death of her companion in former lives who has been reincarnated as a prince of the Nagas. This leads to war between the "spirits of the air" and the Nagas: Nagas amok are rivers in spate, and the entire region is flooded.[44]The Myth of the Toad King tells how introduction of Buddhist teachings led to war with thesky deity Phaya Thaen, and ended in a truce with nagas posted as guardians of entrances to temples.[45]
SomeNative American tribes give reverence to the rattlesnake as grandfather and king of snakes who is able to give fair winds or cause tempest.[citation needed] Among theHopi ofArizona the serpent figures largely in one of the dances.[citation needed] The rattlesnake was worshiped in theNatchezTemple of the Sun,[citation needed] and theAztec deityQuetzalcoatl was a feathered serpent-god. In many Meso-American cultures, the serpent was regarded as a portal between two worlds. The tribes ofPeru are said to have adored great snakes in the pre-Inca days, and inChile theMapuche made a serpent figure in their deluge beliefs.[citation needed]
AHorned Serpent is a popular image in Northern American natives' mythology.[citation needed]
In one Native North 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.[46] TheMound Builders associated great mystical value to the serpent, as theSerpent Mound demonstrates, though we are unable to unravel the particular associations.
Jörmungandr, alternately referred to as the Midgard Serpent or World Serpent, is asea serpent ofNorse mythology, the middle child ofLoki and thegiantessAngrboða. According to theProse Edda,Odin took Loki's three children,Fenrisúlfr,Hel and Jörmungandr. He tossed Jörmungandr into the great ocean that encirclesMidgard. The serpent grew so big that he was able to surround theEarth 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 godThor.
In thePoetic Edda, Odin tells of eight serpents gnawing on the roots ofYggdrasil:Nidhöggr, Gravvitnir, Moin, Goin, Grábakr, Grafvölluðr, Svafnir and Ofnir.
In folk and fairy tale traditions all over the world, the serpent and the snake appear as characters in several fairy tales, either a main character in animal fables and magic tales (Märchen), or as thedonor who grants the protagonist a special ability or impart him with some secret knowledge.
According to theAarne-Thompson-Uther Index, the serpent can appear in this capacity in the following tale types:[47]
Serpents or snakes appear on the flags or coats of arms of several entities.
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In 1754 and again during theAmerican Revolution,Benjamin Franklin published theJoin, or Die. cartoon inThe Pennsylvania Gazette to give a message of colonial unity. The cartoon shows a snake in eight pieces, each representing one or more of the Thirteen Colonies.[63][64] It was based on a superstition that if a snake was cut in pieces and the pieces were put together before sunset, the snake would return to life.
Following the publication of "Join, or Die", the rattlesnake became a symbol of the Thirteen Colonies. Franklin and other colonists considered the rattlesnake to represent independence and vigilance. Several flags of the American Revolution depict rattlesnakes. Two of the more notable flags with the rattlesnake imagery are theGadsden flag and theFirst Navy Jack. The United States War Office, and its successor organizations the Department of War and Department of the Army, contain a rattlesnake in their emblems.
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Snakes entwined the staffs both ofHermes (thecaduceus) and ofAsclepius, 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 thephurba.) The wings at the head of the staff identified it as belonging to the winged messengerHermes, the RomanMercury, who was the god of magic, diplomacy andrhetoric, of inventions and discoveries, and the protector both of merchants and that allied occupation, to the mythographers' view, of thieves. It is however Hermes' role aspsychopomp, 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 godNingizzida, with whom Hermes has sometimes been equated.
InLate Antiquity, as the arcane study ofalchemy 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—which should simply be the rod of Asclepius—often became Mercury's wand of commerce. Another version is used in alchemy where the snake is crucified, known asNicolas Flamel's caduceus. Art historian Walter J. Friedlander, inThe 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.
Following the Christian context as a symbol for evil, serpents are sometimes featured in politicalpropaganda. They were used to represent Jews inantisemitic propaganda. Snakes were also used to represent the evil side of drugs in such films asNarcotic[65] andNarcotics: Pit of Despair.[66] The Gadsden flag of the American Revolution continues to be used in modern political propaganda to connote libertarianism and anti-government sentiments.
Theautomobile brandsAC Cobra,Ford Mustang Shelby, Zarooq Motors,Dodge Viper, andAlpha Romeo all feature snakes on theirlogos.
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