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The ouroboros or uroboros (/ ˌjʊərəˈbɒrəs /; [2] / ˌʊərəˈbɒrəs / [3]) is an ancient symbol depicting a serpent or dragon [4] 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 ...
Serpent symbolism. 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 [1][2] and represent dual expression [3] of good and evil. [4]
Kekulé's benzene ring in modern form, and the alchemical ouroboros symbol of a snake eating its tail The new understanding of benzene, and hence of all aromatic compounds, proved to be so important for both pure and applied chemistry after 1865 that in 1890 the German Chemical Society organized an elaborate appreciation in Kekulé's honor ...
Snakes are a common occurrence in myths for a multitude of cultures. The Hopi people of North America viewed snakes as symbols of healing, transformation, and fertility. Snakes in Mexican folk culture tell about the fear of the snake to the pregnant women where the snake attacks the umbilical cord. [1] The Great Goddess often had snakes as her ...
Serpents (Hebrew: נָחָשׁ, romanized: nāḥāš) are referred to in both the Hebrew Bible and the New Testament. The symbol of a serpent or snake played important roles in the religious traditions and cultural life of ancient Greece, Egypt, Mesopotamia, and Canaan. [1] The serpent was a symbol of evil power and chaos from the underworld ...
An example of the imagery is the serpent eating its own tail as a symbol of the eternal return, called the Ouroboros: “a snake curving around with its tail in its mouth (eating itself) is an obvious emblem of unity of the cosmos, of eternity, where the beginning is the end and the end is the beginning". [3]
Ophiophagy (Greek: ὄφις + φαγία, lit. ' snake eating ') is a specialized form of feeding or alimentary behavior of animals which hunt and eat snakes.There are ophiophagous mammals (such as the skunks and the mongooses), birds (such as snake eagles, the secretarybird, and some hawks), lizards (such as the common collared lizard), and even other snakes, such as the Central and South ...
Three medical symbols involving snakes, still used today, are the Bowl of Hygieia symbolizing pharmacy, and the Caduceus and Rod of Asclepius, symbols of medicine. [29] The ouroboros is a widely used symbol, claimed to be related to alchemy. It is depicted as a coiled snake eating its own tail, representing the cycle of life, death and rebirth.