In article , Salty Thumb
wrote:

(paghat) wrote in
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Yet there is very little snake-mythology that is entirely devoid of an
element of fear -- even Chinese serpent mythology which assumes a
profound nobility is also edged with powerful authority -- so though
it makes little sense to me, it's clear that it is indeed much more
common to be scared to death of snakes than of shirt buttons.

I'm not that familar with Chinese serpent mythology, only "Legend of The
White Snake", but the rest seems to cast snakes unfavorably. There's
also some Greek myths favorable to snakes, not sure I remember then
correctly, but one is Aesculapius (the physician) getting the "gift of
tongues" by having snakes lick his ears. There's also the episode in
the Iliad where Lacoon (?) and his kids (?) get eaten by giant serpents
at the altar. Good if you're a Greek, not so good if you're a Trojan.

The majority of really ancient snake mythology seems to shift around the
idea of the serpent as an emissary of a cthonic goddess, later in
antiquity sometimes also of a god, & this cthonic divine serpent has rule
over all diseases. This means serpents cause diseases, but also that they
cure diseases. Many Semitic goddesses were depicted wrapped in a serpent,
& the Greek maenads kept them as pets & "wore" them in their hair as
symbols of terror & of Cybele. The naga divinities (cobras) of India cause
& cure diseases, in service of such goddesses as Sitala or Kali. The
bronze serpent-idol of Moses did the same; it was worshipped for a long
while, into the time of kings even within the Temple, being a
personfication both of poison & of the antidote. Asclepios's serpent is of
that kind & Mose's rod-serpent & Asclepios's caduceus probably have a
common origin; Christians have said this serpent was a precursor to Jesus
on the cross, but I have to admit I've never entirely got that one; I bet
the association of Jesus as Serpent came about because Jesus as a deity
resembles Attis the adopted son of Cybele (& son of the virgin nymph Nana,
impregnated by an almond), Cybele having been one of the greatest of the
mothers of snakes in antiquity.

In China the royal lineage was represented by a five-direction dragon
which is mainly a long snake-body with tiny legs & whiskery goat-head, &
most of its mythology is positive, but in an awesome way intended to
frighten & instil subserviance to the royal family. A similar serpent was
tamed by Kwannon (who as Benten in Japan is commonly depicted as riding on
this serpent). It ofen represented storm & chaos in the sea or in the
heavens, but was a powerful ally when it submitted to a divine power. Some
"legged" serpents are presumed to predate Eden when the legs were lost
because the serpent was so sneaky & had finally to go upon his belly. The
serpent Tiamat represented chaos, & is still around in Greek myth when
Zeus wrestles with it; in the book of Job, God tames this very Leviathon &
puts her on a thread for little girls to play with. Innana possessed a
serpent that lived in the roots of the haloopa tree, probably the same
tree that had the Golden Apples of the Sun guarded by a great serpent in
its roots, & again the same as the serpent/labyrinth that represented Gaea
as source of all life & source of all death.

-paghat the ratgirl


Technology is an explanitory advantage only if one regards the
cleverness in chasing buffalos off a cliff a "technological," or
digging a hole too big for a mammoth to get out of, the shovel being
the extent of that technology. But as toolmaking or tool using has
turned out not to be exclusive to humans, I'm not sure technology is
the overriding factor. That we've taken it vastly farther than other
species of tool-users seems to be to our DISadvantage, unless
supplanting all of nature with concrete really does have some
long-term advantage for our species as we warm up the planet, melt the
polar caps, toxify our immediate environment, drive all other species
to extinction, eradicate all forests, & by means of rapid travel
introduce new terrible diseases into our populations with increasing
regularity. I've a sneaking suspicion that when technology has run its
course, we'll have killed ourselves.

Well that's the rub. Technology gives people power to do things that
they could not every possible hope to accomplish by themselves. But
eventually when Mephistophles comes to Faust for payment, things will
have come full circle.

- ST

--
"Of what are you afraid, my child?" inquired the kindly teacher.
"Oh, sir! The flowers, they are wild," replied the timid creature.
-from Peter Newell's "Wild Flowers"
See the Garden of Paghat the Ratgirl: http://www.paghat.com/