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Throughout history, the relationship of man and snake has been complex and paradoxical. On the one hand, the snake has been emblematic of wisdom and empowerment, procreation and longevity, even the hope of rebirth and immortality. On the other hand, it has represented death and disease, sin, lecherous temptation, and cunning duplicity. Thus the golden, snake-intertwined heraldic staff of Hermes or Mercury constitutes the caduceus, signifying healing power and medical art in ancient Greek and Roman mythology, whereas Medusa, the mortal daughter of the Gorgons, in venerable legend dallied with Poseidon in Athena's temple whereupon the outraged goddess changed the offender's hair into serpents framing a viperous malevolent face so awful to behold that any viewer would tum to stone. As far back as the Old Stone Age, man was already fascinated with the shape of the snake. Thus at the Dome of Serpents at Rouffignac in central France, deep under the earth on the curved clay ceiling of a massive cave, hundreds of intertwining, serpentine markings are displayed. Moreover, Paleolithic man sometimes engraved his tools and weapons with images of snakes.

In ancient Greece there were many established sites for oracles, the most famous being that at Delphi, near the foot of the south slope of Mount Parnassus. Following rites of purification and sacrifice to an earth goddess at the shrine, a priest or priestess imparted her response to bewildered suffering human questioners. Sometimes a duly entranced supplicant emitting ecstatic cries was utilized in this responsive process to another by means of the priest's interpretation of his or her vehement glossolalic utterances. Gaea was worshipped especially for her capacity to facilitate fertility, and rites were often conducted by priestesses who themselves became possessed and then gave forth oracular utterances. These states of altered consciousness followed frenzied orgiastic rites and sometimes were associated with the worship too of chthonic deities presiding over night and darkness. Hera, the queen of heaven, sent a monstrous serpent, a female python, to incarnate Gaea, the earth goddess, in order to facilitate her being adequately worshipped. However, Apollo, one of the Olympian gods, later killed this python. Thereafter, the Pythean games celebrated his victory over her every four years with song and poetry and athletic contests. Slater ( 1968) relates these and other elements of Greek mythology to the structure and dynamics of the classical Greek family of the ruling class in the fourth and fifth centuries B.C.E.

According to Morris and Morris ( 1965), the snake figures more than any other animal form in myths, legends, and folklore throughout the past. It is notable that the fascination with or aversion to snakes, one way or another, shown by humans is hardly reciprocated. The snake shows no attachment even when kept as a pet; it is doubtful whether it ever learns even to recognize the person who feeds it regularly and expends loving care in handling it. Any snake, moreover, however docile, will strike immediately in self-defense if accidentally hurt or startled. Clearly, the relationship of man to snake is, however intense, a very one-sided passion. In connection with this intense interest, conscious and unconscious, it is to be borne in mind that the word fascination is itself derived from the Latin vulgarism jascinum denoting the penis. It is the shape of a snake and especially the pattern of its movement which provoke so much human attention and strong feelings of attraction or of repulsion the danger of snakebite. All over this planet, the appearance of the snake makes a forceful impact on the human being; sometimes this impact can best be described as a tremendum. Thus in the Hokkaido Ainu of the Saru River region there is a type of Arctic hysteria instigated by any sudden confrontation with the reptile (Ohnuki-Tierney, 1980). Characteristically this occurs in females during late adolescence or at menopause. As detailed by Foulkes (1972), there is a sudden onset of shouting of obscenities, with later echopraxia, echolalia, heightened suggestibility, and wild dancing; and sometimes then jumping into water or into a fire. Such symptomatic behavior is stereotyped and repetitive, the Ainu woman being in a hypnoid state of altered consciousness. She would often loudly curse her husband, such as she would not dare to do ordinarily, deterred by fear of violent retribution. Ainu women typically have a great fear of snakes which are regarded as having supernatural powers. An encounter with one in actuality, or sometimes only in a dream, would readily precipitate the hysterical attack. Usually such an episode is regarded as possession by an alien spirit, so that any hostile behavior is discounted in the heavily male dominated society. It is, however, evident that such a spirit comprises protest otherwise absolutely forbidden. The battle of the sexes is indeed not confined to the circumpolar peoples, but stretches from pole to pole and all around the equator. Often it is confined to a pleasurable thrill in the sexual encounter of a couple. The sudden appearance to a woman of a snake may then be simply startling, and the cause of a mere frisson.

== Serpent All cultures that know have found serpents fascinating. Indeed serpents are said to ‘‘fascinate’’ their prey, cast a spell on them with a look; human cultures seem to have fallen under their sway. Snakes can be extremely dangerous, being both venomous and ‘‘subtle’’ or sneaky; they strike without warning from grass or coverts; they can look beautiful in their glittering multi-colored skin; they creep on their bellies but can rear up; they shed their skin and seem rejuvenated; they sidle or meander; and in legend at least some can ﬂy, some swallow their own tails, and some have a head at each end. The symbolic possibilities are rich and often ambiguous. == Rituals devoted to the propitiation and supplication of snakes, Nāgas, that are perceived to be endowed with supernatural powers have been practiced on the Indian sub-continent for more than two millennia, and these ritual practices remain relevant for people in India today. During Nāga Pañcamī, the annual festival devoted to the supernatural snakes in Banāras, for example, thousands of people crowd into the area around the Nāga kuān, or snake pool, that is situated in the northwest sector. 3  At this festival, which takes places during the rainy season in the month of Śrāvana  (July/August) bathers are drawn to the deep, dark pool believed to provide access to the Nāgaloka, the magnificently luxurious underwater world of the Nāgas. According to Diana Eck, during this festival “thousands of people bathe in the deep well, honor its serpent deities, and watch the  dare-devil  young  men  from  this  district  plunge  from  the  top of  the  wall  surrounding  the  well  into  the  waters  some  thirty  feet below.” 4   Worshippers  honor  these  supernatural  snakes  in  order that  these  deities  might  ensure  a  variety  of  things,  mostly  related to human and earthly fertility, such as the birth of healthy children and the provision of bountiful harvests. While Nāgas are specially equipped with supernatural powers, any snake can potentially be a Nāga. Thus, Nāga worship also involves an acknowledgement of the ubiquitous snake’s dangerous power and a plea to keep loved ones safe from its poisonous bite. 5  In present times, women, particularly those desiring to become pregnant, worship Nāgas. As part of these devotional rituals, supplicants cover Nāga statues with fresh flowers or sprinkle them with water. In Banāras, one site that is very popular for such activities is at the top of Caukī Ghāt in the southeast sector of the city where there are several Nāga statues situated beneath a huge tree. In conjunction with my observations that women are the primary practitioners of these types of rituals, I also noted that women dominate the ritual spaces associated with these practices. For example, on Saturday evenings, the Nāga temple—site of the Nāga Pañcamī annual festival — is filled with women who, according to first-hand reports, have been coming to the temple every Saturday night for decades, as had their mothers before them. The temple operates both as a place where women might propitiate these divine sovereigns (usually in order to facilitate healthy pregnancies) and as a place where women would gather together to sing bhajans,  listen to stories, and socialize. 6  In fact, on the occasions when I visited the temple, only women were in attendance, and I was told that these gatherings traditionally involved only women.

[...on Saturday evenings, the Nāga temple—site of the Nāga Pañcamī annual festival — is filled with women who, according to first-hand reports, have been coming to the temple every Saturday night for decades, as had their mothers before them. The temple operates both as a place where women might propitiate these divine sovereigns (usually in order to facilitate healthy pregnancies) and as a place where women would gather together to sing bhajans,  listen to stories, and socialize. [...these gatherings traditionally involved only women. Snake worship can thus be seen as a form of religiosity created and maintained by those most often disenfranchised by orthodox religion, for example, women.

Ancient texts of both the Hindu and Buddhist traditions, however, provide us with a glimpse into the religious life of the ancient world, and while a variety of divine animals play a role in these texts, supernatural snakes abound as do ritual practices and sacred sites associated with the worship of these creatures. The supernatural snake makes its first appearance in the R. g Veda, c. 1200 BCE, and maintains a central role throughout the late Vedas , c. 900-400 BCE, and into the epics, c. 300 BCE-300 CE. Moreover, in both the Pāli literature, c. 1-400 CE, and Buddhist Hybrid Sanskrit texts such as the Mahāvastu, c. 100-400 CE, one finds a full cast of snake characters from the evil-minded reptile to the devoted snake king.