Difficulty: Challenger (Level 2)
Happy Year of the Snake! It is the perfect time to dive into the interesting myths and legends surrounding these enchanting creatures. Uncover the secrets and stories that make snakes so captivating in mythology from four distinct cultures.
Chinese culture
Snakes appear in the Chinese calendar system and poetry, representing power and wisdom.
Bai Suzhen is a god shown as a white snake who can transform into a beautiful woman. One story describes when Bai fell in love with a mortal, Xu Xian, and they married.
However, a monk discovers her true form and forces her to tell her husband. Xu died from shock upon learning the truth, leaving Bai desperate enough to steal an immortal herb from heaven to revive him.
Bai was then imprisoned, where she gave birth to a son named Xu Shilin. He eventually rescued his mother and went up to heaven.
Ancient Greece
In Greek mythology, snakes are seen as sacred creatures associated with wisdom, healing, and resurrection.
Asclepius, the god of medicine, was granted the gift of healing. His walking stick, wrapped around with a snake, is a prominent symbol of his power.
It was said that the snake on his walking stick whispered healing secrets into his ear.
Asclepius became so skilled in his art that he eventually gained the ability to bring the dead back to life.
Today, Asclepius’s staff remains a symbol of medicine, featured in the World Health Organization’s emblem.
Hopi culture
In Hopi culture, men perform a ceremonial dance with live rattlesnakes in their mouths, as snakes are believed to carry their prayers for rain.
According to the legend of Tiyo, during a terrible drought, people had no food.
They begged Tiyo, an intelligent young man, to help. He soon found out that the god of the underworld was furious as the people had driven away his children, the rattlesnakes.
Men were sent to find and carefully wash the snakes to calm the gods. Then, the men danced with the snakes while praying for forgiveness.
After they showed repentance by releasing the snakes in the desert, the gods forgave the people, and rain was sent to save the crops.
Christianity
Deception and evil are common traits of snakes in Christianity. Unsurprisingly, the infamous story of Adam and Eve’s antagonist is about a snake.
Before giving Adam the perfect Garden of Eden, God warned him not to eat fruits of the “tree of knowledge of good and evil”. Adam agreed.
But when a snake came, it tempted Eve until she gave in and ate the forbidden fruit with Adam.
This disobedience enraged God, leading to the fall of man.
Use the puzzle below to test your knowledge of the vocabulary words in the story.
Suggested answers
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Before you read: Answers may vary.
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Stop and think: Ancient Greeks associated the snake with healing because a snake whispered healing things in the ear of Asclepius, the god of medicine.
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Consider: This is because of the legend of Tiyo, where the Hopi people begged a smart man named Tiyo to help them during a drought. After realising that the god of the underworld was angry that his rattlesnakes were driven away, the Hopi men found the snakes, washed them and prayed for forgiveness. The gods forgave them and sent rain for their crops.
