Quetzalcoatl was associated with wind, the dawn, the planet Venus as the morning star, and was a tutelary patron of arts, crafts, merchants, and the priesthood. Though there should be three feet of snow Snake worship is a tradition … The rainbow-god of the Ashanti was also conceived to have the form of a snake. Names that mean snake - Find a comprehensive list of baby names meaning snake with origin. Although the Classical Greeks were clear that these snakes represented a threat, the snake-brandishing gesture of Herakles is the same as that of the Cretan goddess. Some of these are funny names and some are taken from literature! They also claim that even a real serpent mostly cobra living with them but never harm any one. In ancient Slavic paganism a deity by the name of Veles presided over the underworld. She later became one of the protective emblems on the pharaoh's crown once Upper and Lower Egypt were united. [citation needed] It is not by accident that later the infant Herakles, a liminal hero on the threshold between the old ways and the new Olympian world,[citation needed] also brandished the two serpents that "threatened" him in his cradle. The snake primarily represents rebirth, death and mortality, due to its casting of its skin and being symbolically "reborn". snakes symbolised the umbilical cord, joining all humans to Mother Earth. The twins were half human and half snake, according to the ethnic group of Mali and Upper Volta called the Dogon. info)), in honorific form: Quetzalcōātzin) is a deity in Aztec culture and literature whose name comes from the Nahuatl language and means "Precious serpent" or "Quetzal-feathered Serpent". God of the west wind and known as “The West Wind”. There are four other snakes on the sides of this pot: Danh – gbi, the life giving snake, Li, for protection, Liwui, which was associated with Wu, god of the sea, and Fa, the messenger of the gods (Meyerowitz 1940, p. 48). The legend of this creature explains that the rainbow snake only emerged from its home when it was thirsty. [2], Some cultures regarded snakes as immortal because they appeared to be reincarnated from themselves when they sloughed their skins. They are mainly brahman who worship Shiva also. In East Asia snake-dragons watched over good harvests, rain, fertility and the cycle of the seasons, whilst in ancient Greece and India, snakes were considered to be lucky and snake-amulets were used as talismans against evil. 15. Male Snake Names. A list of names in which the usage is Mythology. Air leac an làir. Even in the present day, serpents appear in the symbol representing the medical fraternity: two snakes wrapped around a staff. Là donn Brìde, For the Dahomeans, the spirit of the serpent was one to be feared as he was unforgiving (Nida & Smalley 1959, p. 17). The anthropomorphic basis of many myth-systems meant snake-gods were rarely depicted solely as snakes. Snakes were often also associated with immortality because they were observed biting their tails to form a circle and when they coiled they formed spirals. Presented with the option of marrying the victorious Kaundinya, S… [29], Amphisbaena, a Greek word, from amphis, meaning "both ways", and bainein, meaning "to go", also called the "Mother of Ants", is a mythological, ant-eating serpent with a head at each end. Her festival day, Imbolc is traditionally a time for weather prognostication based on watching to see if serpents or badgers came from their winter dens. Throughout this demon section, you will find various "demons" from all religions in which some may be deemed gods or mythical beings but will be classified as demonology. Zelus. In mythology, this is the name of a dragon or serpent who gnaws at the roots of the world tree Yggdrasill. "Get back! Before the soul can reach Jaaniiw in order to reincarnate (ciiɗ in Serer[4]), it must transform into a black snake. [citation needed], Serpent worship was well known in ancient Europe. Hygieia was a daughter of Asclepius. [21] The horned viper (Cerastes cerastes) appears in Kassite and Neo-Assyrian kudurrus[21] and is invoked in Assyrian texts as a magical protective entity. Most of the depictions of snakes are similar, with a consistent dotted decoration applied to them. [citation needed], Serpents, or nāgas, play a particularly important role in Cambodian mythology. He is almost always portrayed as a serpent or dragon depending on the particular myth. His messenger was said to be a small variety of boa, but only certain individuals, not the whole species, were sacred. Eva Meyerowitz wrote of an earthenware pot that was stored at the Museum of Achimota College in Gold Coast. The Aztec spirit of intelligence and the wind, Quetzalcoatl ("Plumed Serpent"). [23][24], they decided to migrate to flee Islamization and persecution, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Snakes_in_mythology&oldid=1002612002, Articles with dead external links from May 2018, Articles with permanently dead external links, All articles with specifically marked weasel-worded phrases, Articles with specifically marked weasel-worded phrases from January 2020, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License, This page was last edited on 25 January 2021, at 06:57. Ares ~ Greek god of war in mythology. [citation needed] Tradition states that one of the Gnostic sects known as the Ophites caused a tame serpent to coil around the sacramental bread, and worshipped it as the representative of the Savior. Before the arrival of the Israelites, snake cults were well established in Canaan in the Bronze Age, for archaeologists have uncovered serpent cult objects in Bronze Age strata at several pre-Israelite cities in Canaan: two at Megiddo,[2] one at Gezer,[3] one in the sanctum sanctorum of the Area H temple at Hazor,[4] and two at Shechem. Both the Lernaean Hydra and Ladon were slain by Herakles. Ophioneus), ruled the world with Eurynome before the two of them were cast down by Kronos and Rhea. As recounted, she was born to Lord Kyōgoku after he and his wife prayed to the Bodhisattva Kannon. By Sonali Pimputkar. The roots of this tree (usually growing in water) were guarded by Veles (Volos) the serpent god. A female nāga is a nāgÄ«n. ALTHEA f Greek Mythology (Latinized) From the Greek name Ἀλθαία (Althaia), perhaps related to Greek ἄλθος (althos) meaning "healing".In Greek myth she was the mother of Meleager. In another myth, the protector Vishnu slept on the coils of the world-serpent Shesha (or "Ananta the endless";). The Aztec underworld, Mictlan was protected by python-trees, a gigantic alligator and a snake, all of which spirits had to evade by physical ducking and weaving or cunning, before they could start the journey towards immortality. Egyptian myth has had several snake-gods, from the 'coiled one' Mehen who assisted Ra in fighting Aapep every day to the two-headed Nehebkau who guarded the underworld. The Mound Builders evidently reverenced the serpent, as the Serpent Mound demonstrates, though we are unable to unravel the particular associations. Giving your pet snake a human name seems to infuse it with a certain personality. In Madhya Pradesh a village Sironja Gadariya in KATNI District people worship naga as a god of their ancestry. Nagendra: Is a Hindi name made of Sanskrit naga, a snake, and the name of the god Indra, hence "snake-Indra." For example, the Hopi people of North America performed an annual snake dance to celebrate the union of Snake Youth (a Sky spirit) and Snake Girl (an Underworld spirit) and to renew fertility of Nature. Nilakanta: Is a Hindi name meaning blue-throated. The base of the neck of this pot is surrounded by the rainbow snake (Meyerowitz 1940, p. 48). [18] In many Mesoamerican cultures, the serpent was regarded as a portal between two worlds. Greek myth held that people could acquire second hearing and second sight if their ears or eyes were licked by a snake. 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 mankind and represent dual expression of good and evil.. Demonology list with over 569 demon names and meanings for demons, devils, & evil spirits with descriptions, images, and demon name meanings. Yahweh is identified with the Egyptian Set and also the snake-legged Greek Typhon, whose image appears with the name “Ia”, “Iah” or “Yah” on amulets and charms found in the graves of the Maccabees. In Egypt the snake has healing abilities. A late Bronze Age Hittite shrine in northern Syria contained a bronze statue of a god holding a serpent in one hand and a staff in the other. The blood of sacrificed animals was sprinkled on the Karandi and it also was submerged in the river at the end of the festival (Bhattacharyya 1965, p. 6). In, Richard L. 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[27], In Australia, Austronesian Australoid religions tell of a huge python, known by a variety of names but universally referred to as the Rainbow Serpent, that was said to have created the landscape, embodied the spirit of fresh water, and punished lawbreakers. (Stanford: Stanford University Press, 2006). The Roman genius loci took the form of a serpent. Carving on volcanic rock at the Kailash Temple, Ellora, India, "Ophiolatry" redirects here. [7] At the Babylonian New Year's festival, the priest was to commission from a woodworker, a metalworker, and a goldsmith two images, one of which "shall hold in its left hand a snake of cedar, raising its right [hand] to the god Nabu". [10], In Africa the chief centre of serpent worship was Dahomey, but the cult of the python seems to have been of exotic origin, dating back to the first quarter of the 17th century. The Giant Snake is a giant monster encountered by Kratos in a whirlpool. Nāgas form an important part of Hindu mythology. Nidhogg/ Nidhoggr/ Nidhug: It refers to the dreaded striker. However Euripides wrote in his tragedy Ion that the Athenian queen Creusa had inherited this vial from her ancestor Erichthonios, who was a snake himself. These districts also worshipped an object known as a Karandi (Bhattacharyya 1965, p. 6). Regardless of their class and station, every family during this time created a clay model of the serpent-deity – usually the serpent-goddess with two snakes spreading their hoods on her shoulders. Among the Amazulu, as among the Betsileo of Madagascar, certain species are assigned as the abode of certain classes. In most cultures, snakes were symbols of healing and transformation, but in some cultures snakes were fertility symbols. On the Iberian Peninsula there is evidence that before the introduction of Christianity, and perhaps more strongly before Roman invasions, serpent worship was a standout feature of local religions (see Sugaar). The naga princess Soma sallied forth to fight against the invader but was defeated. NIDHOGG: Anglicized form of Old Norse Níðhöggr, meaning "dreaded striker." The Manasa-cult in Bengal, India, however, was dedicated to the anthropomorphic serpent goddess, Manasa (Bhattacharyya 1965, p. 1). the secrets of herself). According to Greek mythology, the mythological amphisbaena was spawned from the blood that dripped from Medusa the Gorgon's head as Perseus flew over the Libyan Desert with her head in his hand. NAGENDRA: Hindi name composed of Sanskrit naga "snake" and the name of the god Indra, hence "snake-Indra." According to the Prose Edda, Odin took Loki's three children by Angrboða—the wolf Fenrir, Hel, and Jörmungandr—and tossed Jörmungandr into the great ocean that encircles Midgard. Poseidon (some say Athena), who was supporting the Greeks, subsequently sent sea-serpents to strangle Laocoön and his two sons, Antiphantes and Thymbraeus. They consider that they are their ancestors who are cursed due to some wrong deeds. In North America, the Brule Sioux people told of three brothers transformed into rattlesnakes which permanently helped and guided their human relatives. In this village people are worship naga dev in every ceremony like birth, marriage, and any other small and special events. In northern Europe and West Asia, snakes were associated with healing whilst in parts of South Asia, snakes are regarded as possessing aphrodisiac qualities. [21] This creature, known in Akkadian as the mušḫuÅ¡Å¡u, meaning "furious serpent", was used as a symbol for particular deities and also as a general protective emblem. To these human food and flowers are offered and lights are burned before the shrines. [citation needed] Lake Guatavita in Colombia also maintains a Cacique legend of a "Serpent God" living in the waters, which the tribe worshipped by placing gold and silver jewelry into the lake. The serpent-god's image is carried in an annual procession by a celibate priestess. [citation needed]. They are descendants of bharadwaj saga and using Surname Dwivedi. During the monsoon season, Goddess Manasa is worshiped, mainly in the eastern Indian states of Bengal, Assam, Jharkhand, and Orissa, throughout the months of June, July and August (Ashar - Shravan), a time when the snakes leave their nesting ground and come out into the open and become active. Kadru was a snake goddess who bore 1,000 children. As a result, God banishes Adam and Eve from the garden and curses the snake. God of the sky, lightning, thunder, law, order, justice, King of the Gods and the “Father of Gods and men”. [1] The Sumerians worshipped a serpent god named Ningishzida. A snake species might also inspire a cool name, like king snakes or corn snakes, which can lead you to names like Rex and Cornelius. [citation needed] Among other things, the Celtic goddess Brigid was said to be associated with serpents. Danh-gbi has numerous wives, who until 1857 took part in a public procession from which the profane crowd was excluded; a python was carried round the town in a hammock, perhaps as a ceremony for the expulsion of evils. The first three snakes Danh – gbi, Li, Liwui were all worshipped at Whydah, Dahomey where the serpent cult originated (Meyerowitz 1940, p. 48). "[16], Wadjet was the patron goddess of Upper Egypt, and was represented as a cobra with spread hood, or a cobra-headed woman. Asclepius' death at the hands of Zeus illustrates man's inability to challenge the natural order that separates mortal men from the gods. They also believed it could manifest itself as the umbilical cord, making it a symbol of fertility and life (Nida & Smalley 1959, p. 17). The K’iche’ group of Maya named him Gukumatz. Olympias, the mother of Alexander the Great and a princess of the primitive land of Epirus, had the reputation of a snake-handler, and it was in serpent form that Zeus was said to have fathered Alexander upon her; tame snakes were still to be found at Macedonian Pella in the 2nd century AD (Lucian, Alexander the false prophet)[31] and at Ostia a bas-relief shows paired coiled serpents flanking a dressed altar, symbols or embodiments of the Lares of the household, worthy of veneration (Veyne 1987 illus p 211). The Pythia took her title from the name Python. According to myths, it is a dragon or serpent who gnaws at the roots of the world tree Yggdrasill. Pick your favorite names that mean snake. Enjoy the videos and music you love, upload original content, and share it all with friends, family, and the world on YouTube. [14][15] Simbi are a type of serpentine loa in Haitian Vodou. Rivers and lakes often had snake-gods or snake-guardians including Untekhi the fearsome water-spirit of the Missouri River. In some cultures, eels (which spend their early lives in freshwater before returning to the sea as adults) were regarded as magical creatures. The use of the term nāga is often ambiguous, as the word may also refer, in similar contexts, to one of several human tribes known as or nicknamed Nāgas; to elephants; and to ordinary snakes, particularly the Ophiophagus hannah, the Ptyas mucosa and the Naja naja, the latter of which is still called nāg in Hindi and other languages of India. [11][12][13], In the Sumerian culture snakes were also very important as a healing symbol. He appears in art as a giant serpent. In some cultures, snakes were fertility symbols. The people worshipped this model at their homes and sacrificed a goat or a pigeon for the deity's honor (Bhattacharyya 1965, p. 5). Python, an enemy of Apollo, was always represented in vase-paintings and by sculptors as a serpent. "The snake dance is a prayer to the spirits of the clouds, the thunder and the lightning, that the rain may fall on the growing crops.."[1] In other cultures[which?] The serpent grew so large that it was able to surround the Earth and grasp its own … Naga – from Indian mythology, part human, part cobra. [citation needed]. [citation needed], In Haitian Vodou, the creator loa Damballa is represented as a serpent, and his wife Ayida-Weddo is called the "rainbow serpent. In Chinese mythology, the woman-headed snake Nüwa made the first humans. According to the Jeju Pungtorok, "The people fear snakes. To prevent the entire human race from becoming immortal under Asclepius's care, Zeus killed him with a bolt of lightning. Whether you own a ball python, boa constrictor, California kingsnake, green tree python, Burmese python, or carpet python all these pet snake names are the perfect name for your slithering friend. The Mayan sky-goddess was a common attribute. The Horned Serpent appears in the mythologies of many Native Americans. A. Sutherland - AncientPages.com - Known under a number of different names, Kukulkan, the Feathered Serpent was one of the most important gods in Mesoamerica. [21] It seems to have originally been the attendant of the Underworld god Ninazu,[21] but later became the attendant to the Hurrian storm-god Tishpak, as well as, later, Ninazu's son Ningishzida, the Babylonian national god Marduk, the scribal god Nabu, and the Assyrian national god Ashur.[21]. Hymns and offerings were made to it since it was believed that the Goddess could manifest through the snake. The Khmer people are their descendants.[22]. Laocoön was allegedly a priest of Poseidon (or of Apollo, by some accounts) at Troy; he was famous for warning the Trojans in vain against accepting the Trojan Horse from the Greeks, and for his subsequent divine execution. Aeetes, the king of Colchis and father of the sorceress Medea, possessed the Golden Fleece. Was this mighty snake deity a real historical person? According to some sources, Ophion ("serpent", a.k.a. Zephyrus. the unblinking, lidless eyes) seemed to imply that they were intelligent, that they lived by reason and not instinct, and yet their thought-processes were as alien to humans as their ways of movement. Another tradition states that Apollo sent the serpents for an unrelated offense, and only unlucky timing caused the Trojans to misinterpret them as punishment for striking the Horse. The Gorgon was placed at the highest point and central of the relief on the Parthenon. The presiding deity here is Nagaraja - a five-headed snake god born to human parents as a blessing for their caretaking of snakes during a fire. Snakes were often also associated with immortality because they were observed biting their tails to form a circle and when they coiled they formed spirals. On the very last day of the Bengali month Shravana, all of these districts celebrate serpent-worship each year (Bhattacharyya 1965, p. 5). The names are heavily influenced by Roman, Greek and Norse gods, but plenty of names should fit other cultures as well. Also, the snake biting its tail (Ouroboros) symbolised the sea as the eternal ring which enclosed the world. ‘sigr’, which means victory, and ‘vardr’, which means ‘guardian. Over a large part of India there are carved representations of cobras or nagas or stones as substitutes. The Mannarasala Shri Nagaraja Temple is one of the main centres of worship. Exceptions to this were the Fijian creator-god Ndengei, the dozen creator-gods of the Solomon Islands (each with different responsibilities), the Aztec Mother Goddess Coatlicue, and the Voodoo snake-spirits Damballa, Simbi and Petro. The mythology of the Dogon's primordial ancestor Lebe, it based almost entirely on a serpent mythology. The serpent plays an active role in Dogon religion and cosmogony. The Bronze Age and Iron Age metallurgical centre of Saruq Al Hadid has yielded probably the richest trove of such objects, although finds have been made bearing snake symbols in Bronze Age sites at Rumailah, Bithnah and Masafi. At Whydah, the chief centre, there is a serpent temple, tenanted by some fifty snakes. In their traditional African religious belief, they say that the Serpent Lebe guided the Dogon people from Mandé to the Bandiagara Escarpment (their current home) when they decided to migrate to flee Islamization and persecution.