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Snakes: Objects of Religion, Fear, and Myth
Jonathan W. Stanley
Department of Biological Sciences, Arkansas State University, P.O.
Box 599
State University, AR 72467
jonathanw.stanley@smail.astate.edu
Accepted for
publication: 4 March 2008
Abstract
Snakes have the ability to both fascinate and frighten. Throughout
history humans have had an uneasy relationship with serpents.
Snakes are important in many religions including the Judeo-Christian
tradition, Hinduism, Egyptian and Greek mythology, and Native
American religions, among others. This prominence in so many
religions may be the result of humans’ fear of snakes. Snakes can
easily divert attention and produce subconscious fear even in people
who are not typically afraid of them. It has also been suggested
that snakes helped shape the mammalian brain in regard to the
amygdala and vision systems. This fear of snakes has caused many
myths to be prominent even today. Snake myths in the United States
include tales about hoop snakes, coachwhips, spreading adders, milk
snakes, and others. These myths usually show snakes to be harmful
creatures and are rarely based on their actual natural history.
Human emotions and assumptions are likely the source of most myths.
Although myths are perpetuated by ignorance, they can be dispelled
through education. Further, fear of snakes is largely irrational
and can be overcome.
Keywords:
serpent worship, ophidiophobia, amygdala, hoop snake, coachwhip,
spreading adder, milk snake
Snakes are animals that fascinate many people while frightening
others. Good or bad, most people have strong feelings about snakes,
but few people remain neutral (Gibbons and Dorcas, 2005). Snakes
have been present in the religions of many cultures and today are
still the cause of fear and myths. In this paper I will (1)
summarize the relation between snakes and many world religions, (2)
give an overview of several studies examining the fear of snakes,
and (3) discuss some modern myths on snakes in the United States and
discuss my thoughts about their origin.
Snakes as Objects of Religion
Snakes
have played a prominent role in the religions of many cultures, both
as good and evil. Some have only considered the snake as sacred
while others have giving them a divine status worthy of worship. In
the Judeo-Christian tradition, the most famous reference to the
snake in religion is that of the serpent in the Garden of Eden.
Here the snake is used as an instrument of Satan to tempt Eve to
disobey God. Henry (1706) notes that the evil one is Satan who is
using the snake. However, the snake has still been demonized in the
minds of Jews and Christians for its part in the story (Murison,
1905).
Not
every reference to the snake in the Bible sheds an evil light upon
it. For instance, in the Book of Numbers, God instructed Moses to
erect a statue of a snake and place it on a pole (Fig.1.). Anyone
bitten by a venomous snake who comes to look upon the statue would
be healed (Murison, 1905). The serpent on the pole saving people
from death is seen as a foreshadowing of the Christ who likewise
died on a pole (i.e., cross) to save people from death. This
comparison was made by Jesus himself according to the apostle John (Tenney,
1976). The statue itself was later destroyed by Hezekiah due to the
Jews burning incense to it as recorded in 2 Kings 18 (Wake, 1873;
Murison, 1905). It is interesting to note that the word ‘seraph’ is
used to describe the serpents in Numbers 3 and this is the same name
of the Heavenly beings of Isaiah 14 (Wake, 1873; Murison, 1905).
Murison (1905) believes that ‘seraph’ probably refers to lightening,
the “serpent of the sky”. Several other references to the snake can
be found in the Bible with the snake representing wisdom, evil, and
an agent of the vengeance for God (Murison, 1905; Jeffrey, 1955).
Fig. 1. Michelangelo’s
depiction of the brazen serpent on the ceiling of the Sistine
Chapel.
Snakes are
also mentioned into the Hindu religion. For example, it is commonly
believed that the markings on the hood of cobras came from the god
Vishnu stepping on the snake (Wake, 1873). This is obviously
similar to the biblical curse handed down to the serpent in Genesis
3 (Henry, 1706). Snakes are also found in Hinduism in relation to
Siva, who is sometimes called the ‘King of Serpents’. Further, the
legend of the Nagas, found in both Hinduism and Buddhism, refers to
heavenly snakes, often with numerous heads (Wake, 1873).
The Native
Americans are widely known for utilizing snakes in their religious
expressions (Wake, 1873; Klauber, 1956). The most revered snake
among all Native Americans was the rattlesnake. This snake was
often considered a ‘grandfather’ and was rarely killed (Wake, 1873;
Klauber, 1956) with the rare exception of ceremonial sacrifice or
extreme necessity (Klauber, 1956). Large mounds were built in the
shape of serpents and images of snakes were carved in wood (Wake,
1873). In extreme cases, such as the Pueblo, human sacrifices were
made to the rattlesnakes (Klauber, 1956).
The
ancient Egyptians and Greeks also had many representations of snakes
in their religious manifestations, with some overlap between the two
as well as with Hinduism (Wake, 1873). Several stories in Greek
mythology contain snakes, including Perseus and Medusa (Fig. 2),
Apollo and Python, and Hercules and Echidna producing a race of
serpent-worshipping people through their intercourse (Wake, 1873;
Jeffrey, 1955). Wake (1873) explained how these religions overlap.
The Greek god Typhon was represented as a serpent and is believed to
be analogous to the Egyptian god Set. The Egyptian god Aphophis and
the goddess Hih were both represented with serpents. The Greek god
Hermes had a staff with intertwined snakes, similar to the emblem of
Siva in Hinduism, and he sometimes represented the wind and a
thief. He is analogous to the Hindu gods Vritra, the cloud-thief
who is also represented as a snake, and Rudra (i.e. Siva), the
Father of Winds and the Master Thief.
Fig. 2.
Tête de Méduse. Peter
Paul Rubens’ painting of Medusa.
Snakes are
often viewed as reincarnated ancestors or the origin of humankind.
This is particularly true among the people of Africa as well as in
India where Hindus may refuse to kill snakes since they may be
reincarnations (Wake, 1873). This also occurs among the Native
Americans who refuse to kill rattlesnakes and may refer to them as
‘grandfather’ (Wake, 1873; Klauber, 1956). Wake (1873) describes
the Aztecs and Mayans as having a serpent as their sun-god and
originator of humankind (Fig. 3). Klauber (1956) disagrees,
however, believing that their sun-gods are not serpents, but rather
mixtures of several animals including rattlesnakes.
  Fig. 3. Two depictions
of the Aztec god, Quetzalcoatl, from the Codex
Telleriano-Remensis. The right drawing shows Quetzalcoatl as a
serpent eating a man.
Snakes are
also associated with wind and rain in many religions. In Hinduism,
Vritra, who is represented by a snake, hides away the clouds, but is
killed by Indra, the giver of rain (Wake, 1873). Most Native
Americans associate rattlesnakes with rain. The Cherokees believe
that if a rattlesnake is killed the head must be cut off and buried
immediately and the body hidden in a log, otherwise, heavy rains
would come and flood the area (Klauber, 1956). The Chinese believed
a serpent or dragon lived above the clouds and gave them rain (Wake,
1873).
Snakes
also represent health and life. Snakes are the Agathodaemon, or the
“bringer of health and good fortune”. The Agathodaemon in Egypt was
represented by the Asp of Ranno and would nurse young princes (Wake,
1873). The brazen serpent of the Bible represented healing to those
that looked upon it (Henry, 1706). Snakes are specifically
worshipped in India on behalf of children as snakes are regarded as
the guardians of life (Wake, 1873). Many Native Americans use
snakes in their rituals to bring about healing (Speck, 1923).
Further, the Arabic word ‘hiya’ means both serpent and life (Wake,
1873).
Wisdom is
another attribute given to snakes. The Bible makes reference to
snakes being wise (Jeffrey, 1955) as do other religions. In
Hinduism, the god Siva represents wisdom and is associated with
serpents. The Agathodaemon are also considered wise. The Greeks
associated serpents with wisdom as evidenced by Apollo and Athena,
both considered very wise, being associated with serpents (Wake,
1873).
Snakes as Objects of Fear
Many
people are afraid of snakes. This seemingly irrational fear has
prompted several studies examining the root of this fear as well as
its pervasiveness. Some have suggested the fear is innate, but
studies have shown that there is a learned component, though this
may only be vicariously learned (Zentall and Galef, 1988, Ohman and
Mineka, 2003). Cook and Mineka (1990) found that laboratory raised
rhesus monkeys learned from videos of wild rhesus monkeys to fear
snakes but not flowers. This suggests that there is a component of
acquired behavior, but that the behavior is not solely a learned
behavior. These findings were strengthened by Ohman and Mineka
(2001) who found that rhesus monkeys learned to fear potential
predators, including toy predators. However, these primates did not
learn to fear rabbits, which are not potential predators. These
studies indicate that rhesus monkeys are predisposed to fear certain
animals but not others.
Constantine et al. (2001) demonstrated that positive and negative
pictorial cues affect human attention. Particularly, they observed
that pictures of snakes provided the greatest amount of
interference. Similarly, Ohman et al. (2001) and Blanchette (2006)
found that humans could find fear-relevant objects, such as snakes,
more quickly than fear-irrelevant objects, such as flowers. This
indicates that threatening stimuli can more effectively capture our
attention. This is consistent with the views of New et al. (2007)
who suggest that in order to survive humans had to keep an eye out
for other animals (i.e. predators, prey, or potential mates). LoBue
and DeLoache (2008) expand upon this idea. Using a similar method
as others (Ohman et al., 2001; Blanchette, 2006) the authors went
further in testing for a difference between adults and children.
Both groups could more readily find the fear-relevant objects (i.e.
snakes) than fear-irrelevant ones. This demonstrates that the fear
of snakes is at least partially innate since the children have not
yet learned that fear. Further, snakes were not only compared
against inanimate objects (i.e. flowers), but also against frogs and
caterpillars as well. This would help determine whether skin
texture or an elongated body would affect responses. In each
experiment, participants were more adept at finding snakes than any
of the fear-irrelevant objects. Whereas New et al. (2007) suggested
humans had to be able to find animals in general, whether predators,
prey, or potential mates, LoBue and DeLoache (2008) suggest that
snakes grab our attention more than other animals and it is not
based on skin texture or body shape.
Some have
suggested that the mammalian brain has been shaped in part by snake
fear and humans therefore exhibit subconscious reactions of fear
toward snakes (Ohman and Mineka, 2001; Ohman and Mineka, 2003;
Ohman, 2005; Ohman, 2007; Isbell, 2006). Central to this hypothesis
is the amygdala, which controls the fear response (Ohman and Mineka,
2001). Ohman (2005) explains how the amygdala generates a fear
response, even subconsciously. For example, humans were exposed to
pictures of snakes with and without backward masking. Those who
were afraid of snakes showed a fear response in the amygdala
regardless of which type of picture it was; however, those who were
not afraid of snakes still showed a fear response to backward masked
pictures. This strongly suggests that the fear response was
subconscious since the cortex of the brain was not triggered during
backward masked pictures.
Isbell
(2006) proposed two evolutionary time periods when snake fear could
have helped shape the mammalian brain. The first is approximately
100 million years ago, in the Middle Creataceous. It is believed
that the only predators faced by small mammals were constrictor
snakes. In response to this pressure, the mammals would have
evolved a specific neural circuitry to avoid being preyed upon. The
second hypothesized event was approximately 60 million years ago in
the early Tertiary with the rise of venomous snakes. This new
pressure may have helped primates to evolve a better vision system
to see the cryptic snakes. This hypothesis would account for the
differences in the level of snake fear and visual systems of Old
World and New World monkeys. Old World monkeys have the greatest
fear of snakes and the best visual system to detect them. It is
possible that this resulted from remaining in Africa with the
venomous snakes whereas New World monkeys were separated from
venomous snakes for a considerable time (Ohman, 2007).
Snakes as Objects of Myth
It is
quite likely that this fear of snakes has prompted many of the myths
or tall-tales about snakes. Many of these myths are extremely
far-fetched and are easily debunked. Given the grand scope of the
topic, I will only address a few major snake myths common in the
United States. All of the myths I will discuss have previously been
discussed by Moore (1949) and Jeffrey (1955). However, I will offer
my insights also as to how these myths may have originated.
The first
common myth is the Hoop Snake myth. According to this myth the
snake will roll into a hoop and roll toward a person to sting it
with its tail. However, there is no snake that exhibits this
behavior nor does any snake possess a stinger on its tail. It is
generally believed that the hoop snake story refers to the mud snake
(Farancia abacura). Mud snakes possess a sharp tail and may
use the tail in self-defense. Further, mud snakes feed on long,
eel-like salamanders. As they feed they may situate their bodies to
resemble a hoop (Meade, 1946). Also, when threatened, mud snakes
may curl into a spiral shape with the tail exposed, thereby
protecting their head. This may give the illusion of a ‘hoop’ snake
with a stinger on its tail. This myth may have originated by
someone observing one or more of these behaviors and assuming that
the snake rolls toward people to sting them with its tail. Another
interesting aspect about the hoop snake story is that this myth
exists even in areas where the mud snake does not occur. The mud
snake may inhabit places as far west as east Texas, but no further
(Conant and Collins, 1998). It is possible that the hoop snake
story was carried west with settlers during the westward expansion
of the United States.
The
Coachwhip Snake myth is another common one. This myth claims that
the coachwhip snake will chase you and whip you. Then it will slide
its tail into your nose to see if you are still breathing. There is
actually a snake called the coachwhip (Masticophis flagellum);
however, it is so named because it looks like a long, braided whip
(Fig. 4). It does not chase people and certainly does not whip
them. This story could likely have originated due the appearance of
the snake and exaggerated storytelling.
Fig. 4. A coachwhip,
Masticophis flagellum. Photo by Kory Roberts.
Another
common myth involves the Spreading Adder. According to this myth
the snake mimics a cobra and blows venom. The spreading adder is
more correctly called the hognose snake (Heterodon spp.) and
it does flatten its neck when threatened (Fig. 5). This gives the
appearance of a cobra; however, it is not true mimicry since the
model cobra does not even live on the same continent. Further, the
hognose snake does not blow venom but rather takes in air and hisses
as the air is expelled from its lungs. Coincidentally, the saliva
is actually mildly venomous, though the snakes do not typically bite
people (Gibbons and Dorcas, 2005). This myth probably began due to
limited observations of the snake coupled with irrational
assumptions.
Fig. 5. A hognose
snake, Heterodon platirhinos. Photo by Robert Pulay.
The Milk
Snake myth is quite interesting. It claims that milk snakes (Lampropeltis
triangulum; Fig. 6.) will arrive at a barn by night to drink
milk from the cows. This is certainly false and is easily
explained. Barns often attract mice, which are a main food source
of many snakes including milk snakes. Therefore, milk snakes may be
attracted to barns because of the mice. However, if a farmer
notices a milk snake around the barn on a day when milk production
is low, he may conclude that the snake drank the milk from the cow
during the night. This myth seems particularly irrational and
likely is the result of completely unfounded assumptions.
Fig. 6. A milk snake,
Lampropeltis triangulum.
The final
myth I will discuss does not involve a particular species but is a
myth about snakes in general. It is often believed that snakes
always travel in pairs. Further, if one snake is killed the other
will seek out vengeance. This story is likely the result of more
assumptions based on a few observations of more than one snake in a
general area. However, snakes do not travel in pairs and certainly
do not care about avenging the death of another snake. Snakes are
more likely to be found together due to mating during the breeding
season or simply if the habitat is of high enough quality to support
many snakes.
Conclusion
Snakes
have figured prominently in the history of mankind and still are
important at the present time. In addition to their role in various
religions, snakes are able to divert humans’ attention (Constantine
et al., 2001; Ohman et al., 2001; Blanchette, 2007; LoBue and
DeLoache, 2008) and have been implicated in the development of the
mammalian brain (Ohman and Mineka, 2001; Ohman and Mineka, 2003;
Ohman, 2005; Ohman, 2007; Isbell, 2006). Due to an irrational,
albeit subconscious, fear of snakes many snakes are killed
needlessly. This could be avoided with a little understanding and
education. Fear of snakes can be overcome regardless of its innate
origins (Gibbons and Dorcas, 2005). Ohman (2005) shows this with
the study of backward masked pictures. Even though people who were
not afraid of snakes showed a fear response in the amygdala to
backward masked pictures, they did not show the fear response when
the pictures were not backward masked. This illustrates that fear
of snakes can be overcome. The prominence of unfounded myths in
modern society illustrates how little progress has been made in this
area. However, overcoming this fear will first require an attitude
of caring about our environment and its inhabitants followed by
education about the reality of these misunderstood reptiles.
Acknowledgements
I thank A.
Romero for comments on an earlier version of the manuscript. I also
thank K. Roberts and R. Pulay for the use of photographs.
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