Why Snakes were special
In our scientific world, animals are divided up into classes, mammals, fish,
amphibians, reptiles and birds. The ancients had a similar organization.
They knew that man was of the mammal class before the word was even invented.
The had learned this like they learned everything else, by thousands of years
of observation and notation. Despite huge differences in size, shape and
other physical features, all mammals (with very few exceptions) give birth to
their young. The young are helpless and must be nurtured and protected
to maturity. We call this trait parenting.
Other animals share this parenting trait as well. Birds must raise their young as carefully as mammals. They must also protect them from predators. These animals are egg layers and very different from mammals in every regard except that they nurture their young. The study of the animals by ancient man took on an interest that bordered on facination. Birds had a very special reputation because they could fly. In Native American tradition the Thunder Bird is an example. In Africa, South America and even in such remote places like Rapa Nui (Easter Island), bird man is another word for priest or holy man.
The modern concepts of flight were unknown to the ancients. The idea of laminar flow above and below a curved surface to generate a low pressure area and lift was a science unknown. However, the discovery of both a boomerang and a model glider in an Egyptian grave might be a clue that ancient man was experimenting with this idea. The fact the ancients built huge structures with special chaeactics that were intended to be viewed from above demonstrates they believed that the Sky Father or sky spirits were watching their activities.
Humans can run, make noise, climb, jump and swim, and almost everything else other animals could do but can not fly. Because of the ability to fly, birds were determined to have a very special relationship with sky spirits or the Sky Father. Examination of the stories and pictures from ancient religions demonstrate this to be true. Pegasus, a horse drawn with wings is a good example. It is a land animal that was graced with wings and an ability to fly or commune with the sky. Many spinxes, a mythical combination of man and beast, were carved with wings. This is also why dragons are drawn with wings. This is also why angels are drawn with wings. The reason that dragons were reputed to breathe fire is another story altogether.
Snakes or serpents are also egg layers although there are some exceptions to this general rule. However, snakes do not nurture their young. Also, unlike other land animals,snakes do not have legs. Another curious feature is that they shed their old skins and appear to be a new animal once a year. As animals go, snakes are very unusual. It must be noted that the earliest form of dragon was a snake with wings.
It was this combination of traits that suggested to the ancient scientists that they adopt the snake or serpent as an icon or totem for the learned class. The shedding of skin was seen as an annual renewal and this symbolism was applied to the yearly festival of renewal celebrated on the equinox. It is a feature of one myth that a snake called the serpent of wisdom tempts a woman with an apple, the fruit of a very special tree. No snakes eat apples, but snakes do eat eggs. Birds do not nest in fruit trees. This is to protect their young from foraging onmivores that would eat their offspring. It is a fact that the word egg is a modern word. In most ancient languages the word for egg translated best into the fruit of a sky animal. What is important to know is that many species of snakes eat this fruit as a part of their normal diet.
There is a symbol that we see in almost every medical doctors office that is a modern representative of these ancient myths and observations. The encyclopedia Brittanica states that the medical symbol, the caduceus was originally the symbol of the Greek god Hermes and the totem of the healers. The symbolism is apparently much older than this information might suggest. Every Egyptian ruler wore a serpent for an ornament. In Egyptian hieroglyphs, the words everlasting life require pictures of a snake and an egg. Egyptian culture preceeded the Greek culture by several thousand years. The symbolism of the serpent and the egg is ancient indeed.
