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you are here: > Self > 4. Religion and SELF
| 4.23 |
Common religious concepts- serpents and winged gods
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A common theme of all ancient religions and most modern religions is the representation of Gods as either serpents (reptiles) or winged animals. Today, the gargoils standing guard at the top of cathedrals are seen as being more an artistic component to gothic architecture than having deep symbolic meaning. Similarly, stories of dragons and serpents are considered more the stuff of myths and legends than having a critical symbolic meaning to major religions such as christianity. |
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| The Ubaid culture existed between 5,000 and 4,000 BCE, even before Sumer, in what is now Iraq and figurines of their gods are clear representations of reptile-like, lizard-like humanoids. One of the oldest an most famous artifacts of human history shows a Ubaid figurine of a lizard humanoid mother holding her lizard humanoid baby. | ||
| The Central American cultures had their winged serpent god, Quetzacoatl; the Hopi Indians had their plumed serpent god, Baholinkonga and the Native American culture is awash with serpent imagery, including the mysterious serpent-shaped mound in Ohio; the East Indians speak of the reptilian gods, the Nagas (these were a race of demons in Indian legend and their name means "those who do not walk but creep"; the Egyptians had their serpent god Kneph, and pharaohs were often pictured with serpents; the Phoenicians had Agathodemon, another serpent figure; the voodoo people have a god they call Damballa Wedo, who is depicted as a serpent; and the Hebrews had Nakhustan, the Brazen Serpent. | ||
| The ancient British god, known as the Dragon-Ruler of the World, was called HU. | ||
| The winged disc symbol of the Sumerians, which is found all over the ancient world, was normally featured with two serpents. | ||
| The link between serpents and sacred places | ||
| There is a common theme across he globe of sacred places being guarded by a serpent or a dragon. | ||
| We have the serpent in the Garden of Eden. The Persians spoke of a region of bliss and delight called Heden which was more beautiful than all of the rest of the world. It was the original abode of the first men, they said. before they were tempted by the evil spirit, in the form of a serpent, to partake of the fruit of the forbidden tree. | ||
| There is also the Banyon Tree under which Krishna, sat upon a coiled serpent and bestowed spiritual knowledge on humanity. The ancient Greeks had a tradition of the Island of the Blessed and the garden of Hesperides in which grew a tree bearing golden apples of immortality. This garden was protected by a dragon. In the Chinese sacred books there is a garden in which grew trees bearing the fruit of immortality and, it too was guarded by a winged serpent called a dragon. In ancient Mexican accounts their version of the Eve story involves a great male serpent. Another Hindu legend speaks of the sacred mountain of Meru guarded by a dreadful dragon. Over and over we see the same theme of sacred places guarded by fearsome dragons and of a reptilian or a half reptile-half human, giving spiritual knowledge to humans. | ||
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