The serpent, or snake, is one of the oldest and most widespread mythological symbols. The word is derived from Latin serpens, a crawling animal or snake. Snakes have been associated with some of the oldest rituals known to humankind.
They represent dual expression of good and evil.
The ouroboros (/ˌʊərəˈbɒrəs/) or uroboros (/ˌjʊərəˈbɒrəs/) is an ancient symbol depicting a snake or dragon eating its own tail. The ouroboros entered Western tradition via ancient Egyptian iconography and the Greek magical tradition. It was adopted as a symbol in Gnosticism and Hermeticism and, most notably, in alchemy. Some snakes, such as rat snakes, have been known to consume themselves.
In European bestiaries and legends, a basilisk (/ˈbæsɪlɪsk/ or /ˈbæzɪlɪsk/) is a legendary reptile reputed to be a serpent king, who causes death to those who look into its eyes. According to the Naturalis Historia of Pliny the Elder, the basilisk of Cyrene is a small snake, "being not more than twelve inches in length", that is so venomous, it leaves a wide trail of deadly venom in its path, and its gaze is likewise lethal.
According to Pliny, the basilisk's weakness is the odor of a weasel. The weasel was thrown into the basilisk's hole, recognizable because some of the surrounding shrubs and grass had been scorched by its presence. It is possible that the legend of the basilisk and its association with the weasel in Europe was inspired by accounts of certain species of Asiatic and African snakes (such as cobras) and their natural predator, the mongoose.
In Greek mythology, Cychreus (Ancient Greek: Κυχρεύς) was a legendary king of Salamis Island. He was the son of the god Poseidon and the nymph Salamis. Various accounts describe Cychreus as a figure associated with serpentine symbolism: in some versions, he fought a dragon or serpent named Cychreides that was terrorizing the island; in others, he raised a serpent as a pet or was himself called "the dragon" for his fierce temperament.
Cychreus is linked to both the mythology of Salamis Island and early Athenian traditions, where he became part of Athens's cultural and political narrative. His legacy includes connections with the founding myths of Athens and later figures, her daughter, Periboea, married Telamon and bore him a son, Ajax the Great. Athenian leaders, such as Solon and Themistocles, referenced Cychreus to reinforce claims over Salamis, and a sanctuary dedicated to him was reportedly established there.
Albanian paganism comprises the pagan customs, beliefs, rituals, myths and legends of the Albanian people. The elements of Albanian mythology are of ancient Paleo-Balkanic origin and almost all of them are pagan. Ancient paganism persisted among Albanians, and especially within the inaccessible and deep interior – where Albanian folklore evolved over the centuries in a relatively isolated tribal culture and society – it has continued to persist, or at most it was partially transformed by the Christian, Muslim and Marxist beliefs that were either to be introduced by choice or imposed by force. The Albanian traditional customary law (Kanun) has held a sacred – although secular – longstanding, unwavering and unchallenged authority with a cross-religious effectiveness over the Albanians, which is attributed to an earlier pagan code common to all the Albanian tribes. Indeed, the Kanun contains several customary concepts that clearly have their origins in pagan beliefs, including in particular the ancestor worship, animism and totemism, which have been preserved since pre-Christian times. Albanian traditions have been orally transmitted – through memory systems that have survived intact into modern times – down the generations and are still very much alive in the mountainous regions of Albania, Kosovo, Montenegro and western North Macedonia, as well as among the Arbëreshë in Italy, the Arvanites in Greece and the Arbanasi in Croatia.
The old beliefs in sun and moon, light and darkness, sky and earth, fire and hearth, water and springs, death and rebirth, birds and serpents, mountains, stones and caves, sacrifice, and fate are some of the pagan beliefs among Albanians. The Fire (Zjarri) rituals and the Sun (Dielli) and Moon (Hëna) worship are the earliest attested cults of the Albanians. The Sun holds the primary role in Albanian pagan customs, beliefs, rituals, myths, and legends; Albanian major traditional festivities and calendar rites are based on the Sun, worshiped as the god of light, sky and weather, giver of life, health and energy, and all-seeing eye; the sunrise is honored as it is believed to give energy and health to the body. The Moon is worshiped as a goddess, with her cyclical phases regulating many aspects of Albanian life, defining agricultural and livestock activities, various crafts, and human body. The morning and evening star Venus is personified with Prende, associated with dawn, beauty, love, fertility, health, and the protection of women. The cult of the Earth (Dheu) and that of the Sky (Qielli) have a special place. The Fire – Zjarri, evidently also called with the theonym Enji – is deified in Albanian tradition as releaser of light and heat with the power to ward off darkness and evil, affect cosmic phenomena and give strength to the Sun, and as sustainer of the continuity between life and afterlife and between the generations, ensuring the survival of the lineage (fis or farë). To spit into Fire is taboo. The divine power of Fire is used for the hearth and the rituals, including calendar fires, sacrificial offerings, divination, purification, and protection from big storms and other potentially harmful events. Fire worship and rituals are associated with the cult of the Sun, the cult of the hearth (vatër) and the ancestor, and the cult of fertility in agriculture and animal husbandry. Ritual calendar fires are associated with the cosmic cycle and the rhythms of agricultural and pastoral life. Besa is a common practice in Albanian culture, consisting of an oath (be) solemnly taken by sun, by moon, by sky, by earth, by fire, by stone and thunderstone, by mountain, by water, and by snake, which are all considered sacred objects. Associated with human life, bees are highly revered by Albanians. The eagle is the animal totem of all Albanians, associated with the Sky, freedom and heroism. A widespread folk symbol is the serpent (Gjarpër, Vitore, etc.), a totem of the Albanians associated with earth, water, sun, hearth and ancestor cults, as well as destiny, good fortune and fertility. The sun, the moon, the star, the eagle (bird), the serpent, and the bee, often appear in Albanian legends and folk art.
Lulu (composed from 1929 to 1935, premièred incomplete in 1937 and complete in 1979) is an opera in three acts by Alban Berg. Berg adapted the libretto from Frank Wedekind's two Lulu plays, Erdgeist (Earth Spirit, 1895) and Die Büchse der Pandora (Pandora's Box, 1904). Berg died before completing the third and final act, and the opera was typically performed as a "torso" until Friedrich Cerha's 1979 orchestration of the act 3 sketches, which is now established as the standard version. Lulu is notable for using twelve-tone technique during a time that was particularly inhospitable to it. Theodor W. Adorno praised it as "one of those works that reveals the extent of its quality the longer and more deeply one immerses oneself in it."
The opera tells the story of Lulu, an ambiguous femme fatale in the fin de siècle, through a series of chiastic structures in both the music and drama alike. Introduced allegorically and symbolically as a serpent in the prologue, she survives three dysfunctional marriages while navigating a network of alternately dangerous and devoted admirers. Her first husband, the physician, dies of stroke upon finding her in flagrante delicto with the painter. Her second husband, the painter, dies by suicide when he learns that she is being married off and has been sexually exploited since childhood by the businessman, among others. This latter man, she says, was "the only one" who "rescued" and "loved" her. She convinces him to become her third husband but kills him when he becomes paranoid and violent. She escapes prison with the help of her lesbian admirer, the Countess Geschwitz, and they flee to London with her lover (and last husband's son) Alwa. But they are ruined by a stock market crash, reducing her to prostitution. One of her clients beats Alwa to death, and the next, Jack the Ripper, murders Lulu and Geschwitz.
Runic animals (Swedish: rundjur) are the decorative animal figures on runic inscriptions, especially on runestones, which belong to Germanic animal ornamentation and the like. These figures traditionally take the shape of slender serpentine creatures, such as serpents, dragons and other beasts, and usually form the runic bands on which the inscription is affixed by framing the runes with their silhouette so that the inscription band and the runic animal's body are one.
They are traditionally carved in meandering loops together with elements that attach them to the writing, for example through so-called binding, which means that one or more runic animals are chained or intertwined with themselves or each other to form ring patterns.