It's interesting to see the ambiguous position of snakes in Hellenic and specifically Apollonian tradition. Asklepios has knowledge and healing power from the snake and yet Apollo (Asklepios's father) occasionally uses serpents to injure or kill. Here's a passage where a snake sent by Apollo injures someone and only Apollo's grandsons can heal the wound.





The bite you received was fate

For you angered Chryse's guard

The unseen snake who patrols her roofless shrine

And you will never be cured

While Helios climbs there in the east

or descends there in the west

Until you go to Plain of Troy

And see the sons of Asklepios



Sophokles' Philoktetes (Lines 1326 and following)



Now this advice is being given ten years after Philoctetes had been bitten by the snake. Apparently the treatment protocols for snake bite were a lot different back then.

[ Hide Replies ]

• Aesculapine Snake - Ophiophthalmos, Tue Feb 15 11:14:03 2005
• RE: Aesculapine Snake - nechushtan, Tue Feb 15 13:55:27 2005
• Ron: - jfirneno, Tue Feb 15 18:43:28 2005
• Ignore accidental post right above this one... - jfirneno, Tue Feb 15 18:46:08 2005
• RE: Aesculapine Snake - Ophiophthalmos, Thu Feb 17 12:48:32 2005
• RE: Aesculapine Snake - nechushtan, Thu Feb 17 15:45:52 2005
• RE: Aesculapine Snake - jfirneno, Sat Feb 19 17:24:17 2005
• Hellenic thought - nechushtan, Sun Feb 20 10:42:17 2005
• RE: Hellenic thought - nechushtan, Sun Feb 20 17:30:38 2005
• Ron, you have definitely immersed yourself in the literature... - jfirneno, Sun Feb 20 22:32:10 2005
• Aelian "On the Nature of Animals" - Nechushtan, Mon Feb 21 11:44:25 2005
• RE: Aelian "On the Nature of Animals" - jfirneno, Mon Feb 21 12:37:35 2005
• Maybe me...... - sjohn, Fri Feb 18 11:47:45 2005
• Excellent Scott ! NT - jfirneno, Fri Feb 18 20:36:05 2005