Page 86 - Reptiles & Dinosaurs (Britannica Illustrated Science Library)

82 HUMANS AND REPTILES REPTILES AND DINOSAURS 83

Heroes and Villains Representations SIVA

The engraving of a snake biting its tail to form a circle Known in India as the god of
was the emblem of the so-called seal of Solomon that destruction, Siva is depicted
ince time immemorial, reptiles have been the subjects of DRAGON was used by theosophical societies. In Buddhism, the holding a snake around his neck.
snake represents natural tendencies toward aggression.
myths and legends. They have also earned their own In classical mythology, However, in medicine, it has long been associated with
an ancient Greek symbol, the “rod of Asclepius,” which
S space in religious texts, where they are depicted as gods the dragon is had a snake coiled around it. Asclepius was the Greco-
associated with the
Roman god of healing.
or lesser beings. They may symbolize the incarnation of evil in ideas of guardianship
and protection.
some cases or divinity in others. The snake and the crocodile, RAINBOW
among others, have taken on lives of their own; they play an SNAKE
active role in the stories of many peoples and have been meaning for the Australian SNAKE
Snakes hold a special
The dragon with the
assigned unique, culturally specific meanings. Aborigines and have been body of a snake is
invoked in China and
depicted in myth both as Japan to drive away
the wind god and as the bad spirits.
protector of people.
SNAKES
are what Medusa had on her DRAGON
head instead of hair. Image found in the
Thian Hock Keng Temple
in Singapore. In Eastern
cultures, the dragon is a
mythical animal and can
symbolize good as well
as evil.
MEDUSA Religious Meaning
Legend says that those The toad, as a symbol in Christianity, appears to be
who looked into the directly related to deadly sins such as greed, lust,
eyes of Medusa would and gluttony. In Egypt, crocodiles were venerated,
be turned to stone for and valuable jewels were given in their honor. The
snake is also mentioned in sacred Hebrew texts.
eternity.

FIERCE
Aztec serpent from
the 15th century, Sin
housed in the
British Museum
IS TIED TO A SNAKE IN
EVE CHRISTIAN THEOLOGY.
The snake is
associated with
trickery and treason in QUETZALCÓATL SEBEK CROCODILE
the Old Testament. It is the Nahuatl name for the was a god worshipped by the There is evidence that, in the 5th
is the snake that Feathered Serpent. In the ancient Egyptians. He had the century BC, the Egyptians raised
incited Eve to Aztec pantheon, Quetzalcóatl body of a human being and the crocodiles as pets. A crocodile
enter into sin in was the god of day, the creator head of a crocodile, and he was lived in a tank in the temple of
the Garden of of maize, the god of religious considered to be the creator of Sebek and was pampered with
Eden by ceremonies, and the defender the Nile. It is said that he the finest of foods.
convincing her to of priests. emerged from the waters of
eat forbidden fruit. chaos during the creation of
the world. MUMMIFIED
When this crocodile
died, it was embalmed
and placed in a
Range sarcophagus surrounded
by its own hoard of
Because they can be found virtually everywhere, treasures.
reptiles have managed to infiltrate myths all over
the world. They were venerated by the Inca and
Aztec cultures in the Americas and were the object
of legends in every corner of Asia. In China and
Japan, the dragon with a snake's body represented
earthly power, knowledge, and strength and was the
bestower of health and good luck.