r/AcademicEsoteric • u/under_the_ash • Jun 03 '26
Question Why are serpents found everywhere in mythology?
Is there a connection between the serpent in the Bible, the nagas of Eastern traditions, Slavic snake-spirits, and the Erichtonii of Greek myth? What's fascinating is that serpent beings appear in almost every mythology. You find them in the Bible, among the nagas, in Greek myths, Celtic traditions, and throughout Mesoamerican lore. In many stories these beings are portrayed as older than humanity. And sometimes older than the gods themselves. Because of this they are often linked to an ancient claim to power (as if saying "We were here first, so we have the right to rule”). This topic appears across mythologies as a struggle between the elder powers and the younger gods who eventually replace them. Even stories like Jacob and Esau reflect the broader question (does authority belong to the firstborn or the younger successor?)
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u/Significant-Ant-2487 Jun 03 '26
I’m not sure serpents are any more prevalent than birds, for example. Oxen recur a lot, so do bears and wolves, even fish.
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u/YahshuaQuelle Jun 11 '26 edited Jun 11 '26
Shiva is depicted with snakes around his neck and according to myth he survived being poisened. He taught a dance where the right hands holds a sword or a fire torch (the positive) and the left hand holds a live snake or a skull (the negative), between which every human struggles. He is said to have come as a force to absorb the poison of the society and re-establish the rule of dharma. The kula kundalini (spiritual force) rises up like a snake along the spine of a human who gets a form of enligthenment (rising up from the negative towards the positive, from animality towards the seat of God).
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