PUNIC WARS, EARTH VS SKY, CHRISTIANS VS PAGANS, AND COLONIALISM?? PART THREE
Pandora's box and more on snakes
I have learnt information that would have been helpful for the first post. I did not know, but I have just learnt that as a result of Prometheus stealing the fire Pandora was sent to earth as a punishment for humanity. She was the first woman… and she was sent with Pandora’s box which she was told not to open… Pandora then opened the box and released all of the evils into the world just Eve eating the apple…
I will now tell you how I think these two stories could possibly be different interpretation of the sea people invasion from last time.
As you recall, there may have been a matriarchal society that was usurped by the patriarchal Indo-Europeans who through migrations established themselves in Greece through multiple migrations and finally with the invasion of the sea peoples.
But before that, I think that I need to talk more about snakes.
The serpent is often demonized, most interpret the one in the Garden of Eden as representing Eve’s sexual desire. Or remember the story of the Sky God versus the Serpent.
Some people think that battle represents the fact that snakes are very scary and when we see them our natural reaction is to flee in terror. So since the Sky God was able to overcome the fight or flight reaction and challenge the snake, the story represents overcoming the primal nature of man leading to civilization.
This is a very logical explanation, there is also the Snake Detection Theory which is based on studies that found that primates are able to recognize snakes ‘before subjective visual perception’ meaning before they are associated with past experiences of snakes. There is also studies that have found that our brains detect snakes faster than other fears like spiders.
If you have ever been walking in a forest and came across a snake will understand what I am talking about. If you do not know what I am talking about because you have never seen a snake stop reading this and go outside until you find one. If you do not feel this gut reaction when you see a snake, that means you’re descendant of very lucky monkeys who slipped through the cracks, stop reading and take up gambling.
That explanation is very scientific and it makes a lot of sense, but compared to what I will tell you it is also much more boring.
There are other stories where snakes were not evil and many cultures worshipped snakes or at least used them as positive metaphors.
For example, it is believed that the Minoans worshipped snakes as a sign of fertility. In Hinduism, Kundalini which means coiled snake represents divine feminine energy and is believed to be located in the base of the spine. There is a deity Shakti who is said to represent this energy and is central to the Hindu sect Shaktism that believes the basically that the spiritual plane is metaphorically a woman.
But I will not be getting there yet.
What is important to know is that many cultures viewed snakes as a symbol of rebirth because they shed their skin and that was seen to represent resurrection. There are also interpretations of the serpent as representing female wisdom, power and regeneration. Basically snakes have not always been demonized.
More on the battle between the Sky god and the Serpent next time…
I think that I must be careful what I say, after I told you about the battle with the serpent a volcano erupted in Indonesia causing volcanic lightning!