Evidence
Each row links back to the complete public-domain source text and the structured extraction record.
| Tradition | Source | Passage | Confidence | Evidence | Record |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Biblical | Genesis | Genesis 3:1-7 | medium | Now the serpent was more subtle than any animal of the field... She took some of its fruit, and ate. | record |
| Biblical | Numbers | Numbers 21:4-9 | medium | Make a venomous snake, and set it on a pole... when he looked at the serpent of bronze, he lived. | record |
| Norse | The Poetic Edda | LAYS OF THE GODS / VOLUSPO / THE WISE-WOMANS PROPHECY / INTRODUCTORY NOTE; lines 1099-1112 | high | From below the dark dragon Nithhogg flies from Nithafjoll; he bears the bodies of men on his wings, called a bright serpent; the speaker says she must sink. | record |
| Norse | The Poetic Edda | VOLUSPO / THE WISE-WOMANS PROPHECY / INTRODUCTORY NOTE / NOTES; lines 1629-1639 | medium | The note identifies Nithhogg as the dragon at the roots of Yggdrasil (with cross-reference to earlier stanza and note). | record |
| Norse | The Poetic Edda | INTRODUCTORY NOTE / NOTES / PRONOUNCING INDEX OF PROPER NAMES / PRONOUNCING INDEX; lines 22700-23006 | low | The index includes the entry 'Svaf-nir, a serpent'. | record |
| Roman | The Aeneid of Virgil | BOOK FIRST / THE COMING OF AENEAS TO CARTHAGE / BOOK SECOND / THE STORY OF THE SACK OF TROY; lines 1061-1147 | medium | Androgeus and a Greek troop meet the narrator's group, mistake them for allies, ask why they linger, then realize they are among enemies and recoil like someone who has stepped on an angry snake. | record |
| Roman | The Aeneid of Virgil | BOOK SECOND / THE STORY OF THE SACK OF TROY / BOOK THIRD / THE STORY OF THE SEVEN YEARS' WANDERING; lines 1834-1914 | medium | Charybdis, on the left, swallows the vast flood three times into a swirling gulf and hurls it upward, lashing the sky with water. | record |
| Roman | The Aeneid of Virgil | BOOK THIRD / THE STORY OF THE SEVEN YEARS' WANDERING / BOOK FOURTH / THE LOVE OF DIDO, AND HER END; lines 2542-2634 | high | Dido tells Anna of a Massylian priestess from the far Aethiopian region of Atlas, associated with the Hesperides, a dragon, and holy boughs on a tree. | record |
| Roman | The Aeneid of Virgil | BOOK FOURTH / THE LOVE OF DIDO, AND HER END / BOOK FIFTH / THE GAMES OF THE FLEET; lines 2749-2841 | high | A snake slides from beneath the sanctuary in seven coils, circles the grave, glides among the altars, shows green and gold-bright scales, tastes the feast, and returns harmlessly beneath the tomb. | record |
| Roman | The Aeneid of Virgil | BOOK FOURTH / THE LOVE OF DIDO, AND HER END / BOOK FIFTH / THE GAMES OF THE FLEET; lines 2945-2986 | high | Sergestus arrives late in a ship torn from a rock and missing oars; the ship is likened to a half-dead wounded serpent that still coils, hisses, and lifts its head. | record |
| Roman | The Aeneid of Virgil | BOOK SIXTH / THE VISION OF THE UNDER WORLD / BOOK SEVENTH / THE LANDING IN LATIUM, AND THE ROLL OF THE ARMIES OF ITALY; lines 4523-4594 | high | Allecto goes to Latium and Amata's doors, casts a snake from her hair into Amata's bosom and heart, and the serpent coils unseen, becomes like necklace and chaplet ribbon, inweaves her hair, and spreads poisonous fire through her. | record |
| Roman | The Aeneid of Virgil | BOOK SIXTH / THE VISION OF THE UNDER WORLD / BOOK SEVENTH / THE LANDING IN LATIUM, AND THE ROLL OF THE ARMIES OF ITALY; lines 4596-4688 | high | Allecto's wrath blazes; Turnus shudders as the Fury's snakes hiss, her form expands, her eyes are fiery, two serpents rise in her hair, and her whip sounds. | record |
| Roman | The Aeneid of Virgil | BOOK SIXTH / THE VISION OF THE UNDER WORLD / BOOK SEVENTH / THE LANDING IN LATIUM, AND THE ROLL OF THE ARMIES OF ITALY; lines 4690-4772 | medium | Allecto raises rustling snaky wings and returns to Cocytus through the Vale of Amsanctus, described with wooded ridges, a torrent, a ghastly pool, and a chasm opening into Acheron. | record |
| Roman | The Aeneid of Virgil | BOOK SIXTH / THE VISION OF THE UNDER WORLD / BOOK SEVENTH / THE LANDING IN LATIUM, AND THE ROLL OF THE ARMIES OF ITALY; lines 4862-4943 | high | Umbro, Marruvian priest sent by King Archippus, wears olive leaves, charms vipers and water-snakes, but cannot heal a Dardanian spear wound with charms or herbs; woods and waters weep for him. | record |
| Roman | The Aeneid of Virgil | BOOK FIRST / THE COMING OF AENEAS TO CARTHAGE / BOOK SECOND / THE STORY OF THE SACK OF TROY; lines 980-1059 | high | Laocoön, priest of Neptune, sacrifices a bull; two enormous snakes come from Tenedos over the sea, with fiery eyes and hissing mouths, and attack his two children and then him. | record |
| Greek | Aesop's Fables; a new translation | THE GRASSHOPPER AND THE OWL / THE GRASSHOPPER AND THE ANTS / THE FARMER AND THE VIPER / THE TWO FROGS; lines 3331-3356 | high | In winter, a farmer finds a viper frozen and numb with cold; out of pity he picks it up and places it in his bosom. | record |
| Greek | Aesop's Fables; a new translation | THE BULL AND THE CALF / THE TREES AND THE AXE / THE ASTRONOMER / THE LABOURER AND THE SNAKE; lines 3819-3833 | high | The fable introduces the labourer, whose little son is bitten by a snake and dies; the father is overcome with grief and anger. | record |
| Greek | Aesop's Fables; a new translation | THE VIPER AND THE FILE / THE CAT AND THE COCK / THE HARE AND THE TORTOISE / THE SOLDIER AND HIS HORSE; lines 428-464 | medium | THE VIPER AND THE FILE | record |
| Greek | Aesop's Fables; a new translation | DEMADES AND HIS FABLE / THE MONKEY AND THE DOLPHIN / THE CROW AND THE SNAKE / THE DOGS AND THE FOX; lines 4517-4534 | high | A hungry crow finds a sleeping snake in a sunny spot, carries it away in its claws to eat it, and is fatally bitten by the poisonous snake. | record |
| Greek | Aesop's Fables; a new translation | THE WOLVES, THE SHEEP, AND THE RAM / THE SWAN / THE SNAKE AND JUPITER / THE WOLF AND HIS SHADOW; lines 4609-4631 | medium | A snake is repeatedly trodden upon by man and beast because of his long body and inability to raise himself above the ground. | record |
| Greek | Aesop's Fables; a new translation | THE GRASSHOPPER AND THE OWL / THE GRASSHOPPER AND THE ANTS / THE FARMER AND THE VIPER / THE TWO FROGS; lines 506-544 | low | “THE COCK AND THE JEWEL”; “THE WOLF AND THE SHEPHERD”; “THE FARMER AND THE STORK”; “THE CHARGER AND THE MILLER”; “THE GRASSHOPPER AND THE OWL”; “THE GRASSHOPPER AND THE ANTS”; “THE FARMER AND THE VIPER”; “THE TWO FROGS.” | record |
| Greek | Aesop's Fables; a new translation | THE PARTRIDGE AND THE FOWLER / THE RUNAWAY SLAVE / THE HUNTER AND THE WOODMAN / THE SERPENT AND THE EAGLE; lines 5178-5192 | high | An eagle swoops down on a serpent, seizes it in his talons, and intends to carry it off and devour it. | record |
| Greek | Aesop's Fables; a new translation | THE MAN, THE HORSE, THE OX, AND THE DOG / THE WOLVES, THE SHEEP, AND THE RAM / THE SWAN / THE SNAKE AND JUPITER; lines 664-702 | medium | “THE WASP AND THE SNAKE” | record |
| Greek | Aesop's Fables; a new translation | THE DOG CHASING A WOLF / GRIEF AND HIS DUE / THE HAWK, THE KITE, AND THE PIGEONS / THE WOMAN AND THE FARMER; lines 744-784 | low | The line range lists fable titles including “THE FOX AND THE HEDGEHOG,” “THE CROW AND THE RAVEN,” “THE WITCH,” “THE OLD MAN AND DEATH,” “THE MISER,” “THE FOXES AND THE RIVER,” “THE HORSE AND THE STAG,” “THE FOX AND THE BRAMBLE,” “THE FOX AND THE SNAKE,” “THE LION, THE FOX, AND THE STAG,” “THE MAN WHO LOST HIS SPADE,” “THE PARTRIDGE AND THE FOWLER,” “THE RUNAWAY SLAVE,” “THE HUNTER AND THE WOODMAN,” “THE SERPENT AND THE EAGLE,” “THE ROGUE AND THE ORACLE,” and “THE HORSE AND THE ASS.” | record |
| Ainu | Aino Folk-Tales | AINO FOLK-LORE. / I.--TALES ACCOUNTING FOR THE ORIGIN OF PHENOMENA. / II.--MORAL TALES. / IV.--MISCELLANEOUS TALES.; lines 1719-1809 | high | He looks at his body, finds himself transformed into a serpent, and his cries and groans become serpent hisses. | record |
| Ainu | Aino Folk-Tales | AINO FOLK-LORE. / I.--TALES ACCOUNTING FOR THE ORIGIN OF PHENOMENA. / II.--MORAL TALES. / IV.--MISCELLANEOUS TALES.; lines 1811-1905 | medium | The woman gives birth to a little snake; her mother, weeping, asks what god begot a child in her daughter and throws the snake away because humans cannot keep it. | record |
| Islamicate Folklore | The Arabian Nights Entertainments | The Arabian Nights Entertainments; lines 3551-3629 | high | The new location is a deep narrow valley surrounded by steep mountains, with diamonds on the ground and enormous serpents that hide in rock caverns by day and emerge at night, probably because of the roc. | record |
| Islamicate Folklore | The Arabian Nights Entertainments | The Arabian Nights Entertainments; lines 3824-3922 | high | A loud rustling reveals an immense snake, which seizes one comrade, crushes him in its coils, and swallows him. | record |
| Islamicate Folklore | The Arabian Nights Entertainments | The Arabian Nights Entertainments; lines 4476-4585 | high | The present consists of a single-ruby vase filled with choice pearls, a huge sickness-preserving snake skin, aloes wood, camphor, pistachio-nuts, and a jeweled slave girl. | record |
| Indigenous Australian | Australian Legendary Tales: folk-lore of the Noongahburrahs as told to the Piccaninnies | CONTENTS / PREFACE / INTRODUCTION / ANDREW LANG.; lines 2400-2492 | high | When the bird flies from the woman’s heart, all the dead dingoes become poisonous snakes, while the two little dogs become dayall minyah, a small non-poisonous carpet snake. | record |
| Indigenous Australian | Australian Legendary Tales: folk-lore of the Noongahburrahs as told to the Piccaninnies | CONTENTS / PREFACE / INTRODUCTION / ANDREW LANG.; lines 457-559 | medium | Bahloo the moon looks down at night with three dogs beside him, identified by earth people as the death adder, black snake, and tiger snake. He asks daens crossing a creek to carry the dogs, but they refuse because the snakes' bites can kill. | record |
| Indigenous Australian | Australian Legendary Tales: folk-lore of the Noongahburrahs as told to the Piccaninnies | CONTENTS / PREFACE / INTRODUCTION / ANDREW LANG.; lines 561-655 | medium | Bahloo and three hissing snakes disappear; the people hate Bahloo's dogs, kill lone snakes, and Bahloo sends more snakes to remind them that they refused his request. | record |
| Buddhist | Buddhist birth stories; or, Jataka tales, Volume 1 | END OF THE STORY OF THE THOROUGHBRED. / END OF THE STORY OF THE FORD. / END OF THE STORY ON CONSTANCY. / END OF THE STORY OF THE BULL WHO WON THE BET.; lines 11905-12036 | medium | Sakka re-enters the heavenly city, the Palace of Glory rises, and he places a fivefold guard of Snakes, Winged Creatures, Dwarfs, Ogres, and the Four Mighty Kings. | record |
| Buddhist | Buddhist birth stories; or, Jataka tales, Volume 1 | END OF THE STORY OF THE BULL WHO WON THE BET. / END OF THE STORY OF THE WISE BIRD AND THE FOOLS. / END OF BOOK I. CHAPTER IV. / INDEX.; lines 14324-14688 | medium | The index describes Nāgas as mystic snakes and notes that the king of the Nāgas sings the Bodisat’s praise. | record |
| Buddhist | Buddhist birth stories; or, Jataka tales, Volume 1 | END OF THE STORY OF THE BULL WHO WON THE BET. / END OF THE STORY OF THE WISE BIRD AND THE FOOLS. / END OF BOOK I. CHAPTER IV. / INDEX.; lines 14690-15040 | low | The index includes Rājāyatana-tree, a cross-reference from Snakes to Nāga and Mucalinda, and Supaṇṇas identified as winged creatures. | record |
| Buddhist | Buddhist birth stories; or, Jataka tales, Volume 1 | INDIAN TALES FROM TIBETAN SOURCES. / THE RELIGIONS OF INDIA. / BY A. BARTH. / FOOTNOTES:; lines 16555-16665 | high | The superhuman Snakes and Winged Creatures are said to be able, like gods or angels, to assume the appearance of men. | record |
| Buddhist | Buddhist birth stories; or, Jataka tales, Volume 1 | TABLE VII. / THE BODISATS. / TABLE VIII. / THE DISTANT EPOCH.; lines 4783-4873 | high | Vipassin appears ninety world-cycles ago. The Bodisat is born as the mighty snake king Atula and gives Vipassin a golden chair inlaid with seven kinds of gems; Vipassin prophesies that he will become a Buddha. Vipassin’s city, family, disciples, Pāṭali Bo-tree, height, bodily radiance, and lifespan are listed. | record |
| Buddhist | Buddhist birth stories; or, Jataka tales, Volume 1 | TABLE VII. / THE BODISATS. / TABLE VIII. / THE DISTANT EPOCH.; lines 4995-5142 | high | In the Sattubhatta Birth as Senaka, the Bodisat uses wisdom to free a brahman from pain by pointing out a snake that had entered the bellows. | record |
| Buddhist | Buddhist birth stories; or, Jataka tales, Volume 1 | TABLE VII. / THE BODISATS. / TABLE VIII. / THE DISTANT EPOCH.; lines 6702-6791 | high | At the Mucalinda-tree, Mucalinda the snake-king shields the Blessed One during a storm with seven folds of his hood. | record |
| Daoist | Chuang Tzu: Mystic, Moralist, and Social Reformer | THE OLD FISHERMAN. / CHAPTER XXXII. / CHAPTER XXXIII. / THE EMPIRE.; lines 16016-16460 | medium | "Snake, The (moves without legs) 211; (its shoulders) 82" | record |
| Celtic Irish | Gods and Fighting Men | CHAPTER I. BODB DEARG / CHAPTER II. THE DAGDA / CHAPTER III. ANGUS OG / CHAPTER IV. THE MORRIGU; lines 3251-3311 | high | Mechi, son of the Morrigu, is killed by Mac Cecht; he has three hearts with the shapes of three serpents through them, and the serpents would have grown and wasted what remained alive in Ireland. | record |
| Celtic Irish | Gods and Fighting Men | CHAPTER X. THE SHADOWY ONE / CHAPTER XI. FINN'S MADNESS / CHAPTER XII. THE RED WOMAN / CHAPTER XIII. FINN AND THE PHANTOMS; lines 9960-10071 | high | Finn is said to fear no earthly thing and to have killed many great serpents, Shadow-Shapes, a serpent, and a cat at named places. | record |
| Comparative | The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 1 of 2) | PREFACE. / J. G. FRAZER. / CHAPTER I. THE KING OF THE WOOD. / MACAULAY.; lines 1128-1210 | medium | Samoan gods generally appear in animal form but can be permanently incarnate in men who give oracles, receive offerings, heal the sick, and answer prayers. | record |
| Comparative | The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 1 of 2) | CHAPTER II. THE PERILS OF THE SOUL. / HEINE. / CHAPTER III. KILLING THE GOD. / FOOTNOTES; lines 11393-11550 | low | J. G. Bourke, Snake Dance of the Moquis of Arizona, p. 196 sq. | record |
| Comparative | The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 2 of 2) | The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 2 of 2) / CONTENTS / NOTE. OFFERINGS OF FIRST-FRUITS. / INDEX.; lines 10629-10848 | low | The index lists stuffing the skin of a sacrificed animal among the Mongolians, a ceremony at bear killing by the Nootka Indians, and North American Indian practices or beliefs involving sparing the rattlesnake, bear-killing ceremonies, respect for deer and elk, and regard for animal bones. | record |
| Comparative | The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 2 of 2) | The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 2 of 2) / CONTENTS / NOTE. OFFERINGS OF FIRST-FRUITS. / INDEX.; lines 11306-11513 | medium | The index lists the Python clan, communion with the snake, and a ceremony performed with a dough snake. | record |
| Comparative | The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 2 of 2) | CONTENTS / NOTE. OFFERINGS OF FIRST-FRUITS. / INDEX. / FOOTNOTES; lines 12820-12959 | low | The writer does not expressly state that a serpent is killed annually, but the author says the statement implies it. | record |
| Comparative | The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 2 of 2) | CONTENTS / NOTE. OFFERINGS OF FIRST-FRUITS. / INDEX. / FOOTNOTES; lines 14703-14846 | high | Some serpents worshipped by old Prussians lived in hollow oaks; oaks were sacred among the Prussians; serpents also played an important part in Demeter’s worship, though they should not simply be assumed to embody her. | record |
| Comparative | The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 2 of 2) | CONTENTS / NOTE. OFFERINGS OF FIRST-FRUITS. / INDEX. / FOOTNOTES; lines 14703-14846 | high | In Siam, the spirit of the takhien tree is believed to appear sometimes as a woman and sometimes as a serpent. | record |
| Comparative | The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 2 of 2) | The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 2 of 2) / CONTENTS; lines 2284-2369 | high | The people of Issapoo on Fernando Po regard the cobra-capella as their guardian deity, able to bestow good or ill, riches, disease, or death. | record |
| Comparative | The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 2 of 2) | The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 2 of 2) / CONTENTS; lines 2284-2369 | medium | After the ceremony, children born in the past year are carried out and made to touch the serpent skin’s tail; Frazer says this places infants under the tribal god’s protection. | record |
| Comparative | The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 2 of 2) | The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 2 of 2) / CONTENTS; lines 2576-2642 | high | The Foulahs are said to respect crocodiles on similar grounds; the Seminoles, Sioux, and Iowa Indians spare the rattlesnake because they fear the ghost of a dead rattlesnake would incite its kin to vengeance. | record |
| Comparative | The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 2 of 2) | The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 2 of 2) / CONTENTS; lines 3200-3287 | high | A Snake tribe in the Punjaub worships the snake annually for nine days; Mirasans make a black-and-red painted dough snake, set it on a winnowing basket, and carry it around the village into houses. | record |
| Comparative | The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 2 of 2) | The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 2 of 2) / CONTENTS; lines 3290-3388 | high | After house visits, the dough snake is buried with a small grave; women worship there during nine days of September, offer curds while kneeling and touching the earth, then distribute the rest among children. | record |
| Comparative | The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 2 of 2) | The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 2 of 2) / CONTENTS; lines 5243-5313 | low | Rio de la Plata girls are sewn into hammocks as if dead, leaving a small breathing hole; Chiriguano girls are hoisted in hammocks and later lowered, after which old women with sticks hunt the snake said to have wounded the girl until one says it is killed. | record |
| Comparative | The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 2 of 2) | The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 2 of 2) / CONTENTS; lines 6175-6255 | high | At Luchon on Midsummer Eve, a sixty-foot hollow wicker column interlaced with foliage and surrounded by flowers was filled with combustibles; living serpents were thrown in and the column was set on fire. | record |
| Comparative | The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 2 of 2) | The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 2 of 2) / CONTENTS; lines 6771-6845 | medium | A Greek tale says an old man's strength is in a ten-headed serpent; he feels ill as its heads are cut off and dies when the last head is severed. | record |
| Comparative | The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 2 of 2) | The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 2 of 2) / CONTENTS; lines 7176-7253 | medium | In a Tartar poem, an old witch survives disembowelment until her soul, a seven-headed speckled snake in her shoe-sole, is removed and beheaded. | record |
| Comparative | The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 2 of 2) | The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 2 of 2) / CONTENTS; lines 7388-7470 | medium | Zulu belief: every man has an ihlozi, a mysterious serpent that guards and accompanies him underground; a man without one must die, and if the serpent is killed the man dies while the serpent revives. | record |
| Persian | The Persian Literature, Volume 2, The Gulistan | CHAPTER VII / XVIII / CHAPTER VIII / XVIII; lines 4132-4180 | medium | The passage says killing a wicked man frees others from harm and the wicked man from God's vengeance; it also warns against compassion toward a snake. | record |
| Persian | The Persian Literature, Volume 2, The Gulistan | XXXVIII / XXXIX / XLVII / XLVIII; lines 4352-4463 | medium | The passage says mercy to a sharp-fanged pard wrongs harmless sheep, and a wise man crushes a snake's head when stone and opportunity are at hand. | record |
| Celtic Irish | Heroic Romances of Ireland | Part I / LITERAL TRANSLATION / TAIN BO FRAICH / PART II; lines 10277-10425 | high | The woman near the herd hears that the cattle and the lady in the towers belong to the travelers, says the lady is obeyed by the men of the hold, and warns of the serpent guarding the Liss at the gate. | record |
| Celtic Irish | Heroic Romances of Ireland | Part I / LITERAL TRANSLATION / TAIN BO FRAICH / PART II; lines 10427-10468 | high | Conall pledges the raid; the castle is reached; a snake darts at Conall and coils around his waist; the castle is plundered; a woman and her three sons are freed; jewels are taken from the dun. | record |
| Celtic Irish | Heroic Romances of Ireland | PART II / TAIN BO FRAICH / PART II / LITERAL TRANSLATION; lines 10471-10576 | high | A woman of Ulster descent welcomes them, warns that the serpent guarding the Liss is most troublesome, and says she will leave the Liss open at night. | record |
| Celtic Irish | Heroic Romances of Ireland | FROM THE BOOK OF LEINSTER (TWELFTH-CENTURY MS.) / THE SICK-BED OF CUCHULAIN / INTRODUCTION / THE SICK-BED OF CUCHULAIN; lines 3437-3584 | medium | Laeg says they crossed the Plain of Speech, came near a tree whose branches bear triumphs, rested on a hill-crowned plain, and saw the Double-Headed Serpent's lair. | record |
| Celtic Irish | Heroic Romances of Ireland | END OF VOL. I. / VOL. II / PREFACE TO VOL. II / INTRODUCTION IN VERSE; lines 8630-8686 | high | The rowan's guardian snake is roused by order of the king, and Fraech restores Finnabar's ring from out of the water. | record |
| Celtic Irish | Heroic Romances of Ireland | THE RAID FOR THE CATTLE OF FRAECH / TAIN BO FRAICH / Part I / LITERAL TRANSLATION; lines 9989-10093 | high | After Ailill asks for more berries, Fraech goes into the middle of the water and a serpent catches him; he asks for a sword, but no man dares give it because of fear of Ailill and Medb. | record |
| Greek | Hesiod, the Homeric Hymns, and Homerica | THE PRECEPTS OF CHIRON / THE GREAT WORKS / THE IDAEAN DACTYLS / THE THEOGONY; lines 2657-2736 | high | In a hollow cave Ceto bears Echidna, a fierce being half nymph and half huge speckled snake, eating raw flesh beneath the earth and dwelling in a cave under a hollow rock far from gods and mortals. | record |
| Greek | Hesiod, the Homeric Hymns, and Homerica | THE PRECEPTS OF CHIRON / THE GREAT WORKS / THE IDAEAN DACTYLS / THE THEOGONY; lines 2738-2827 | high | Ceto and Phorcys bear their youngest, an awful snake that guards golden apples in secret places of the dark earth at its great bounds. | record |
| Greek | Hesiod, the Homeric Hymns, and Homerica | THE PRECEPTS OF CHIRON / THE GREAT WORKS / THE IDAEAN DACTYLS / THE THEOGONY; lines 2738-2827 | medium | Typhaon is joined to Echidna, who bears Orthus, Cerberus, Hydra, Chimaera, Sphinx, and the Nemean lion; the monsters are described with attributes including Cerberus's fifty heads and Chimaera's fire-breathing composite body. | record |
| Greek | Hesiod, the Homeric Hymns, and Homerica | THE PRECEPTS OF CHIRON / THE GREAT WORKS / THE IDAEAN DACTYLS / THE THEOGONY; lines 3198-3291 | high | Earth bears Typhoeus by Tartarus with Aphrodite's aid; Typhoeus has a hundred snake-dragon heads, dark tongues, fiery eyes, and many kinds of voices. | record |
| Greek | Hesiod, the Homeric Hymns, and Homerica | THE GREAT WORKS / THE IDAEAN DACTYLS / THE THEOGONY / THE CATALOGUES OF WOMEN AND EOIAE1701; lines 3421-3527 | medium | Periclymenus receives gifts from Poseidon, changes into eagle, ant, bees, and snake, and is mortally wounded by Heracles after Athena's secret instruction. | record |
| Greek | Hesiod, the Homeric Hymns, and Homerica | THE IDAEAN DACTYLS / THE THEOGONY / THE CATALOGUES OF WOMEN AND EOIAE1701 / II. 1745; lines 4040-4156 | high | Boreas blows at Zeus's behest; leaves and fruit fall, the deep seethes, all things tremble, human strength wastes, and the Hairless One lives seasonally in mountain thickets and an underground cave as a speckled dread serpent. | record |
| Greek | Hesiod, the Homeric Hymns, and Homerica | THE IDAEAN DACTYLS / THE THEOGONY / THE CATALOGUES OF WOMEN AND EOIAE1701 / II. 1745; lines 4040-4156 | medium | When the serpent-like being becomes violently fierce, Zeus's arrows lay him low; his soul remains and comes weakened to sacrifices beneath the earth. | record |
| Greek | Hesiod, the Homeric Hymns, and Homerica | THE IDAEAN DACTYLS / THE THEOGONY / THE CATALOGUES OF WOMEN AND EOIAE1701 / II. 1745; lines 4040-4156 | high | The snake of Cychreus is raised by Cychreus, driven out by Eurylochus, received by Demeter into Eleusis, and becomes her attendant. | record |
| Greek | Hesiod, the Homeric Hymns, and Homerica | THE THEOGONY / THE CATALOGUES OF WOMEN AND EOIAE1701 / II. 1745 / THE SHIELD OF HERACLES; lines 4410-4510 | high | The shield depicts Pursuit, Flight, Tumult, Panic, Slaughter, Strife, Uproar, Fate dragging the dead, and twelve frightful snake heads that terrify Heracles’ opponents. | record |
| Greek | Hesiod, the Homeric Hymns, and Homerica | THE THEOGONY / THE CATALOGUES OF WOMEN AND EOIAE1701 / II. 1745 / THE SHIELD OF HERACLES; lines 4512-4605 | medium | Gorgons pursue Perseus; the shield clangs under them, serpents hang at their girdles, and Fear quakes upon their heads. | record |
| Greek | Hesiod, the Homeric Hymns, and Homerica | II. 1745 / THE SHIELD OF HERACLES / THE MARRIAGE OF CEYX / THE GREAT EOIAE; lines 4786-4884 | high | Melampus buries a killed serpent; its offspring inspire prophecy by licking his ears. Later he is caught stealing cows and is released after warning of a house collapse. | record |
| Greek | Hesiod, the Homeric Hymns, and Homerica | THE SHIELD OF HERACLES / THE MARRIAGE OF CEYX / THE GREAT EOIAE / THE MELAMPODIA; lines 4906-4974 | high | Teiresias sees two mating snakes on Cithaeron, changes into a woman after killing the female, returns to his own nature after killing the male, judges a question posed by Zeus and Hera, is blinded by Hera, and receives seer power from Zeus. | record |
| Greek | Hesiod, the Homeric Hymns, and Homerica | I. TO DIONYSUS 2501 / II. TO DEMETER / III. TO DELIAN APOLLO / TO PYTHIAN APOLLO; lines 5907-6001 | high | Near a sweet-flowing spring, Apollo kills a great she-dragon with his bow; she is described as a plague to men and sheep and as the fosterer of Typhaon from Hera. | record |
| Greek | Hesiod, the Homeric Hymns, and Homerica | THE STORY OF OEDIPUS / THE THEBAID / THE EPIGONI / THE CYPRIA; lines 7708-7815 | high | At Aulis the leaders sacrifice, the serpent-and-sparrows incident occurs before them, and Calchas foretells future events. | record |
| Greek | Hesiod, the Homeric Hymns, and Homerica | THE STORY OF OEDIPUS / THE THEBAID / THE EPIGONI / THE CYPRIA; lines 7708-7815 | high | At Tenedos Philoctetes is bitten by a snake and left behind in Lemnos because of the stench of his sore. | record |
| Greek | Hesiod, the Homeric Hymns, and Homerica | THE CYPRIA / THE AETHIOPIS / THE LITTLE ILIAD / THE SACK OF ILIUM; lines 8106-8167 | high | Trojans debate the wooden horse, choose dedication to Athena, feast, and then two serpents kill Laocoon and one son, alarming Aeneas' followers, who withdraw to Ida. | record |
| Greek | Hesiod, the Homeric Hymns, and Homerica | ENDNOTES / PREPARERS NOTE / PREFACE / INTRODUCTION; lines 914-1008 | high | The Pythian hymn celebrates Apollo's founding of Pytho/Delphi as his oracular seat; after wanderings, the nymph at Telphus redirects him to Pytho, where he slays the she-dragon who nursed Typhaon and builds his temple. | record |
| Greek | Hesiod, the Homeric Hymns, and Homerica | THE CERCOPES / THE BATTLE OF FROGS AND MICE / OF THE ORIGIN OF HOMER AND HESIOD, AND OF THEIR CONTEST / ENDNOTES; lines 9516-9643 | high | The passage probably led to the Trojan and possibly Theban war in which the Race of Heroes perished; destruction of humans by crop-spoiling storms begins; remaining verses describe a snake bearing young in spring. | record |
| Greek | Hesiod, the Homeric Hymns, and Homerica | THE CERCOPES / THE BATTLE OF FROGS AND MICE / OF THE ORIGIN OF HOMER AND HESIOD, AND OF THEIR CONTEST / ENDNOTES; lines 9789-9933 | high | At Aulis, during Greek sacrifice, a serpent devoured eight young birds and then their mother; Calchas interpreted this as the war swallowing nine full years. The note compares Iliad ii.299ff. | record |
| Greek | The Iliad | THE REDEMPTION OF THE BODY OF HECTOR. / CONCLUDING NOTE. / A. POPE / END OF THE ILIAD; lines 24050-24166 | medium | A peasant who has stepped near a snake “starts aside” after seeing its “rising crest, blue neck, and rolling eyes.” | record |
| Greek | The Iliad | THE CONTENTION OF ACHILLES AND AGAMEMNON. / BOOK II. / ARGUMENT. / THE TRIAL OF THE ARMY, AND CATALOGUE OF THE FORCES.; lines 3379-3501 | high | A mighty dragon or serpent, said to be sent by Jove, comes from the ground, coils around the tree, and kills eight young birds and their mother. | record |
| Greek | The Iliad | THE TRIAL OF THE ARMY, AND CATALOGUE OF THE FORCES. / BOOK III. / ARGUMENT. / THE DUEL OF MENELAUS AND PARIS.; lines 4167-4303 | medium | Paris sees Menelaus approaching, shows fear, retreats behind the Trojans, and is compared to a shepherd fleeing after seeing a scaly serpent. | record |
| Greek | The Iliad | THE BREACH OF THE TRUCE, AND THE FIRST BATTLE. / BOOK V. / ARGUMENT. / THE ACTS OF DIOMED.; lines 6517-6649 | medium | Pallas removes her veil and arms herself with Jove's cuirass, a broad shield fringed with hissing serpents and crowned by a Gorgon, a golden helmet, and a huge javelin. | record |
| Greek | The Iliad | THE ACTS OF DIOMED. / BOOK VI. / ARGUMENT. / THE EPISODES OF GLAUCUS AND DIOMED, AND OF HECTOR AND ANDROMACHE.; lines 6917-7060 | high | The first task assigned is conquest of the Chimaera, a non-mortal mingled monster with a dragon's fiery tail, goat body, lion head, and flaming nostrils and throat. | record |
| Japanese | Japanese Fairy Tales | COMPILED BY / PREFACE / JAPANESE FAIRY TALES / MY LORD BAG OF RICE; lines 151-260 | high | At the bridge of Seta-no-Karashi by Lake Biwa, a huge serpent-dragon lies across the path, filling the bridge and breathing fire and smoke. | record |
| Japanese | Japanese Fairy Tales | COMPILED BY / PREFACE / JAPANESE FAIRY TALES / MY LORD BAG OF RICE; lines 262-377 | medium | Hidesato sees an enormous centipede winding around the mountains in starlight, with fire-like eyes and glowing feet moving toward the shore. | record |
| Japanese | Japanese Fairy Tales | THE JELLY FISH AND THE MONKEY / THE QUARREL OF THE MONKEY AND THE CRAB / THE WHITE HARE AND THE CROCODILES / THE STORY OF PRINCE YAMATO TAKE; lines 6128-6233 | high | Yamato Take goes to Ibuki Mountain, meets a serpent blocking the path, decides he needs no sword, and strangles it with his bare arms. | record |
| Japanese | Japanese Fairy Tales | THE JELLY FISH AND THE MONKEY / THE QUARREL OF THE MONKEY AND THE CRAB / THE WHITE HARE AND THE CROCODILES / THE STORY OF PRINCE YAMATO TAKE; lines 6128-6233 | high | After the serpent dies, darkness and rain come over the mountain; Yamato Take later feels ill with burning pains in his feet and knows the serpent poisoned him. He is carried to hot mineral springs heated by volcanic fires. | record |
| Finnish/Karelian | Kalevala: The Epic Poem of Finland | PREFACE / JOHN MARTIN CRAWFORD. / THE KALEVALA. / PROEM; lines 10267-10454 | high | The hostess says Ilmarinen can win her daughter only by magically plowing the serpent-field of Hisi, once plowed by Piru and Lempo. | record |
| Finnish/Karelian | Kalevala: The Epic Poem of Finland | PREFACE / JOHN MARTIN CRAWFORD. / THE KALEVALA. / PROEM; lines 10267-10454 | medium | Countless vipers in the field hiss and sting but cannot harm Ilmarinen; he orders them away and invokes Ukko's power against them. | record |
| Finnish/Karelian | Kalevala: The Epic Poem of Finland | PREFACE / JOHN MARTIN CRAWFORD. / THE KALEVALA. / PROEM; lines 10456-10602 | medium | Ilmarinen safely plows the field of serpents, buries vipers under the furrow, returns, and asks the hostess for the Northland maiden. | record |
| Finnish/Karelian | Kalevala: The Epic Poem of Finland | JOHN MARTIN CRAWFORD. / THE KALEVALA. / PROEM / BOOK II; lines 14907-15087 | high | His mother names a third danger at Pohyola's portals: a wolf and black bear that have devoured many heroes. | record |
| Finnish/Karelian | Kalevala: The Epic Poem of Finland | JOHN MARTIN CRAWFORD. / THE KALEVALA. / PROEM / BOOK II; lines 15089-15274 | medium | At departure, Lemminkainen’s mother advises him to drink only half a cup and leave the lower half, where serpents, worms, frogs, and lizards feed on the bottom. | record |
| Finnish/Karelian | Kalevala: The Epic Poem of Finland | JOHN MARTIN CRAWFORD. / THE KALEVALA. / PROEM / BOOK II; lines 15276-15453 | high | At Sariola, Lemminkainen finds a molten iron and steel fence extending deep into earth and high into sky, with spears covered by serpents, adders, and lizards. | record |
| Finnish/Karelian | Kalevala: The Epic Poem of Finland | JOHN MARTIN CRAWFORD. / THE KALEVALA. / PROEM / BOOK II; lines 15276-15453 | high | Lemminkainen says he will sing the serpent’s origin, names Suoyatar as its ancient mother and creator, and begins with Suoyatar’s spittle falling upon ocean waves and being rocked for years by winds and waters. | record |
| Finnish/Karelian | Kalevala: The Epic Poem of Finland | JOHN MARTIN CRAWFORD. / THE KALEVALA. / PROEM / BOOK II; lines 15276-15453 | medium | Lemminkainen says he will sing the serpent’s origin, names Suoyatar as its ancient mother and creator, and begins with Suoyatar’s spittle falling upon ocean waves and being rocked for years by winds and waters. | record |
| Finnish/Karelian | Kalevala: The Epic Poem of Finland | JOHN MARTIN CRAWFORD. / THE KALEVALA. / PROEM / BOOK II; lines 15455-15625 | high | Creation's three daughters appear on the ocean shore, see spittle, and ask what would happen if the Creator breathed life and vision into it. | record |
| Finnish/Karelian | Kalevala: The Epic Poem of Finland | JOHN MARTIN CRAWFORD. / THE KALEVALA. / PROEM / BOOK II; lines 15627-15816 | high | Lemminkainen handles the pitchers, looks to their bottoms, and sees writhing serpents, adders, worms, and lizards in and around them. | record |
| Finnish/Karelian | Kalevala: The Epic Poem of Finland | JOHN MARTIN CRAWFORD. / THE KALEVALA. / PROEM / BOOK II; lines 16866-17047 | medium | "Pushed his boat upon the waters; / Like the serpent through the heather, / Like the creeping of the adder, / Sails the boat away to Pohya" | record |
| Finnish/Karelian | Kalevala: The Epic Poem of Finland | JOHN MARTIN CRAWFORD. / THE KALEVALA. / PROEM / BOOK II; lines 23032-23209 | medium | Wainamoinen says: “For his songs I caught the adder, / Caught the serpent for his wisdom,” and introduces Otso as the coming forest master in a fur robe. | record |
| Finnish/Karelian | Kalevala: The Epic Poem of Finland | JOHN MARTIN CRAWFORD. / THE KALEVALA. / PROEM / BOOK II; lines 24319-24519 | medium | Looking through the crevice, Wainamoinen sees noxious serpents drinking beer from a scarlet basin and adders eating spices, and remarks that this explains Louhi's poor hospitality to strangers. | record |
| Finnish/Karelian | Kalevala: The Epic Poem of Finland | BOOK II / EPILOGUE / THE END / GLOSSARY; lines 25330-25477 | medium | Kaintolainen is a son of the god of metals; from his spear came the tongue of the serpent. | record |
| Finnish/Karelian | Kalevala: The Epic Poem of Finland | BOOK II / EPILOGUE / THE END / GLOSSARY; lines 25478-25534 | medium | The glossary identifies sky, dyeing, love, vein, wizard, serpent-mother, and south-wind figures, including Suoyatar as mother of the serpent. | record |
| Finnish/Karelian | Kalevala: The Epic Poem of Finland | PREFACE / JOHN MARTIN CRAWFORD. / THE KALEVALA. / PROEM; lines 4656-4840 | medium | The hornet, called Hisi’s bird, hears Ilmarinen and brings serpent blessing, adder venom, spider poison, and insect stings, mixing them with ore and water during tempering. | record |
| Finnish/Karelian | Kalevala: The Epic Poem of Finland | DR. J.D. BUCK, / AN ENCOURAGING AND UNSELFISH FRIEND, AND TO HIS AFFECTIONATE FAMILY, / THESE PAGES ARE GRATEFULLY INSCRIBED. / PREFACE; lines 519-595 | high | Hiisi, also called Juntas, Piru, and Lempo, is chief forest-demon; born with Suoyatar, he forms the serpent from her spittle and is associated with disease, misfortune, and evil. | record |
| Finnish/Karelian | Kalevala: The Epic Poem of Finland | DR. J.D. BUCK, / AN ENCOURAGING AND UNSELFISH FRIEND, AND TO HIS AFFECTIONATE FAMILY, / THESE PAGES ARE GRATEFULLY INSCRIBED. / PREFACE; lines 519-595 | high | The Sinettaret and Kankahattaret govern dyeing and weaving; Matka-Teppo cares for horses and travellers; Aarni and Mammelainen guard treasures, and Mammelainen is mother of the snake, leading to a stated serpent-treasure comparison with Hungarian, German, and Slavic myths. | record |
| Finnish/Karelian | Kalevala: The Epic Poem of Finland | DR. J.D. BUCK, / AN ENCOURAGING AND UNSELFISH FRIEND, AND TO HIS AFFECTIONATE FAMILY, / THESE PAGES ARE GRATEFULLY INSCRIBED. / PREFACE; lines 597-678 | medium | Manala or Tuonela is compared to Helheim and described as corresponding to the upper world, with sun, moon, forests, animals, birds, fish, coal-black waters, and the Tuoni-worm. | record |
| Finnish/Karelian | Kalevala: The Epic Poem of Finland | INTO ENGLISH / DR. J.D. BUCK, / AN ENCOURAGING AND UNSELFISH FRIEND, AND TO HIS AFFECTIONATE FAMILY, / THESE PAGES ARE GRATEFULLY INSCRIBED.; lines 72-152 | high | The contents include headings for the birth of Wainamoinen, origin of iron, origin of the serpent, birth of the harp, birth of the second harp, and birth of the nine diseases. | record |
| Finnish/Karelian | Kalevala: The Epic Poem of Finland | PREFACE / JOHN MARTIN CRAWFORD. / THE KALEVALA. / PROEM; lines 7467-7653 | high | Nasshut hears Lemminkainen and sends a serpent from the death-stream, like an arrow from a crossbow, into the hero's heart and vitals. | record |
| Finnish/Karelian | Kalevala: The Epic Poem of Finland | PREFACE / JOHN MARTIN CRAWFORD. / THE KALEVALA. / PROEM; lines 8212-8383 | high | The mother asks who enticed him to Manala and the river of Tuoni. Lemminkainen says Nasshut, a decrepit shepherd of Sariola, sent him to Manala and sent a serpent or adder from the waters and death-stream through his heart. | record |
| Finnish/Karelian | Kalevala: The Epic Poem of Finland | PREFACE / JOHN MARTIN CRAWFORD. / THE KALEVALA. / PROEM; lines 8212-8383 | high | The mother rebukes Lemminkainen for not knowing serpent powers or protective words and tells the serpent's origin: born in the floods from gray-duck marrow, ocean-swallow brain, and Suoyatar's saliva cast on the ocean and carried by sun, wind, waves, and waters. | record |
| Finnish/Karelian | Kalevala: The Epic Poem of Finland | PREFACE / JOHN MARTIN CRAWFORD. / THE KALEVALA. / PROEM; lines 8765-8952 | high | Wainamoinen wakes, senses danger, changes complexion and form, slips into another body, and passes like a serpent, snake, worm, and adder through the coal-black death-stream and copper-iron nets. | record |
| Finnish/Karelian | Kalevala: The Epic Poem of Finland | DR. J.D. BUCK, / AN ENCOURAGING AND UNSELFISH FRIEND, AND TO HIS AFFECTIONATE FAMILY, / THESE PAGES ARE GRATEFULLY INSCRIBED. / PREFACE; lines 960-1054 | medium | The preface says a Kalevala hero overcomes hostile forces such as wounds, diseases, beasts, or venomous serpents by chanting their origin, implying evil can be avoided through knowledge of its source. | record |
| Islamic | The Koran (Al-Qur'an) | PUBLIC SERVICES, / AND EMINENT LITERARY ATTAINMENTS, / THE TRANSLATOR. / PREFACE; lines 10353-10500 | medium | Moses is commanded to throw down his staff; when it moves as though it were a serpent, he retreats, and is told not to fear. | record |
| Islamic | The Koran (Al-Qur'an) | PUBLIC SERVICES, / AND EMINENT LITERARY ATTAINMENTS, / THE TRANSLATOR. / PREFACE; lines 14253-14381 | high | A Voice calls to Moses from the bush in the sacred hollow, identifies itself as God, commands him to throw down his rod, which moves as though a serpent, and gives the sign of the white unharmed hand for Pharaoh and his nobles. | record |
| Islamic | The Koran (Al-Qur'an) | PUBLIC SERVICES, / AND EMINENT LITERARY ATTAINMENTS, / THE TRANSLATOR. / PREFACE; lines 16807-16947 | high | Moses throws down his rod and it becomes a serpent; he draws forth his hand and it appears white; Pharaoh's nobles call him an expert enchanter who seeks to expel them from their land. | record |
| Islamic | The Koran (Al-Qur'an) | PUBLIC SERVICES, / AND EMINENT LITERARY ATTAINMENTS, / THE TRANSLATOR. / PREFACE; lines 20008-20136 | high | The note discusses Eblis, Christian parallels, Adam's honor, and the identification of the serpent with Satan. | record |
| Islamic | The Koran (Al-Qur'an) | PUBLIC SERVICES, / AND EMINENT LITERARY ATTAINMENTS, / THE TRANSLATOR. / PREFACE; lines 5790-5982 | high | God asks what is in Moses' right hand; Moses identifies his staff; God commands him to cast it down, and it becomes a running serpent. God also gives the sign of the white but unhurt hand. | record |
| Islamic | The Koran (Al-Qur'an) | PUBLIC SERVICES, / AND EMINENT LITERARY ATTAINMENTS, / THE TRANSLATOR. / PREFACE; lines 6440-6654 | high | Moses throws down his staff, which becomes "an undoubted serpent," and draws out his hand white to the beholders. | record |
| Islamic | The Koran (Al-Qur'an) | CHAPTER II. / IN THE NAME OF THE MOST MERCIFUL GOD. / CHAPTER III. / IN THE NAME OF THE MOST MERCIFUL GOD.; lines 12006-12093 | medium | "That which they have covetously reserved shall be bound as a collar about their neck... on the day of the resurrection." | record |
| Islamic | The Koran (Al-Qur'an) | CHAPTER VI. / IN THE NAME OF THE MOST MERCIFUL GOD. / CHAPTER VII / IN THE NAME OF THE MOST MERCIFUL GOD.; lines 15807-15884 | medium | A cited Barnabas tradition says the serpent introduced the devil into paradise, is expelled and has its legs cut off by Michael with the sword of God; Satan is punished for deceiving the first parents. | record |
| Islamic | The Koran (Al-Qur'an) | CHAPTER VI. / IN THE NAME OF THE MOST MERCIFUL GOD. / CHAPTER VII / IN THE NAME OF THE MOST MERCIFUL GOD.; lines 16406-16502 | high | “he cast down his rod; and behold, it became a visible serpent.” | record |
| Islamic | The Koran (Al-Qur'an) | CHAPTER VI. / IN THE NAME OF THE MOST MERCIFUL GOD. / CHAPTER VII / IN THE NAME OF THE MOST MERCIFUL GOD.; lines 16504-16585 | high | The magicians use thick ropes and long pieces of wood, contrived to move and twist so distant spectators take them for true serpents; the note points to Kor. c. 20. | record |
| Islamic | The Koran (Al-Qur'an) | CHAPTER XVI. / IN THE NAME OF THE MOST MERCIFUL GOD. / CHAPTER XVII. / IN THE NAME OF THE MOST MERCIFUL GOD.; lines 23142-23202 | medium | A note lists Moses’s possible nine miracles, including rod to serpent, shining hand, plagues, Red Sea division, water from rock, and Mount Sinai, while also reporting an alternate commandments interpretation. | record |
| Islamic | The Koran (Al-Qur'an) | CHAPTER XIX. / IN THE NAME OF THE MOST MERCIFUL GOD. / CHAPTER XX. / IN THE NAME OF THE MOST MERCIFUL GOD.; lines 24306-24395 | high | God tells Moses to cast down the rod; Moses casts it down and it becomes a serpent running about. | record |
| Islamic | The Koran (Al-Qur'an) | CHAPTER XIX. / IN THE NAME OF THE MOST MERCIFUL GOD. / CHAPTER XX. / IN THE NAME OF THE MOST MERCIFUL GOD.; lines 24397-24462 | high | Commentary says the transformed creature was at first no bigger than the rod and afterward swelled to a prodigious size. | record |
| Islamic | The Koran (Al-Qur'an) | CHAPTER XIX. / IN THE NAME OF THE MOST MERCIFUL GOD. / CHAPTER XX. / IN THE NAME OF THE MOST MERCIFUL GOD.; lines 24464-24562 | high | The magicians ask about casting first; their cords and rods appear by enchantment to run like serpents, and Moses feels fear. | record |
| Islamic | The Koran (Al-Qur'an) | ENTITLED, AL FORKAN; REVEALED AT MECCA. / IN THE NAME OF THE MOST MERCIFUL GOD. / CHAPTER XXVI. / IN THE NAME OF THE MOST MERCIFUL GOD.; lines 27130-27229 | high | Moses offers a convincing miracle, casts down his rod so that it becomes a visible serpent, and draws out his hand so that it appears white to spectators. Pharaoh calls him a skilful magician and accuses him of sorcery. | record |
| Islamic | The Koran (Al-Qur'an) | ENTITLED, AL FORKAN; REVEALED AT MECCA. / IN THE NAME OF THE MOST MERCIFUL GOD. / CHAPTER XXVI. / IN THE NAME OF THE MOST MERCIFUL GOD.; lines 27130-27229 | high | The princes advise delaying Moses and Aaron and summoning skilful magicians. The magicians assemble on a solemn day, ask about reward, and Pharaoh promises reward and nearness to his person. | record |
| Islamic | The Koran (Al-Qur'an) | CHAPTER XXVI. / IN THE NAME OF THE MOST MERCIFUL GOD. / CHAPTER XXVII. / IN THE NAME OF THE MOST MERCIFUL GOD.; lines 27602-27686 | high | Moses sees fire, approaches it, hears a divine voice, is told to cast down his rod, sees it move as though a serpent, and receives the white hand sign as one of nine signs to Pharaoh and his people. | record |
| Islamic | The Koran (Al-Qur'an) | CHAPTER XXVII. / IN THE NAME OF THE MOST MERCIFUL GOD. / CHAPTER XXVIII. / IN THE NAME OF THE MOST MERCIFUL GOD.; lines 28211-28268 | high | Moses is told to cast down his rod; when it moves as though it were a serpent, he retreats and flees. | record |
| Islamic | The Koran (Al-Qur'an) | IN THE NAME OF THE MOST MERCIFUL GOD. / CHAPTER LXXIX. / ENTITLED, THOSE WHO TEAR FORTH; REVEALED AT MECCA. / IN THE NAME OF THE MOST MERCIFUL GOD.; lines 37784-37866 | high | Moses shows the great sign of the rod turned into a serpent; Pharaoh rejects him, rebels, turns back, gathers magicians, and declares himself supreme Lord. | record |
| Islamic | The Koran (Al-Qur'an) | SECTION I. / SECTION II. / SECTION III / SECTION IV.; lines 4011-4062 | medium | A corpse is pressed into the earth and gnawed or stung until resurrection by ninety-nine seven-headed dragons, or sins become venomous beasts such as dragons, scorpions, and serpents; some understand this figuratively. | record |
| Islamic | The Koran (Al-Qur'an) | IN THE NAME OF THE MOST MERCIFUL GOD. / FINIS / AN INDEX / OF THE; lines 40263-40374 | high | Satan is punished for seducing the first parents and is believed to assist the Koreish. | record |
| Islamic | The Koran (Al-Qur'an) | SECTION I. / SECTION II. / SECTION III / SECTION IV.; lines 4693-4744 | high | The Jewish account summarized here places an angel over each infernal apartment, includes angelic intercession, diverse punishments by cold and heat, blackened faces, and eventual delivery for some through Abraham or prophets after purgation. | record |
| Islamic | The Koran (Al-Qur'an) | CHAPTER I. / IN THE NAME OF THE MOST MERCIFUL GOD / CHAPTER II. / IN THE NAME OF THE MOST MERCIFUL GOD.; lines 8935-9023 | high | A tradition says the devil was refused entry to paradise, asked animals to carry him in, and was carried by the serpent between its teeth; the serpent was then beautiful in form. | record |
| Celtic Welsh | The Mabinogion | INTRODUCTION / C. E. G. / THE LADY OF THE FOUNTAIN / PEREDUR THE SON OF EVRAWC; lines 1943-2000 | high | Peredur crosses a desert without dwellings, hears of a serpent lying on a gold ring and preventing habitation for seven miles, fights and kills the serpent, and takes the ring. | record |
| Celtic Welsh | The Mabinogion | INTRODUCTION / C. E. G. / THE LADY OF THE FOUNTAIN / PEREDUR THE SON OF EVRAWC; lines 2002-2071 | high | The Mound of Mourning has a carn, within it a serpent, and on the serpent's tail a stone that gives the holder as much gold as desired in the other hand. | record |
| Celtic Welsh | The Mabinogion | INTRODUCTION / C. E. G. / THE LADY OF THE FOUNTAIN / PEREDUR THE SON OF EVRAWC; lines 2163-2228 | high | The tent owners say they guard the serpent until it dies, after which they will fight for the stone. Peredur refuses shared participation in the serpent fight because he wants the fame for himself, goes to the serpent, and slays it. | record |
| Celtic Welsh | The Mabinogion | THE LADY OF THE FOUNTAIN / PEREDUR THE SON OF EVRAWC / GERAINT THE SON OF ERBIN / THE DREAM OF RHONABWY; lines 5543-5640 | high | Kadwr, Earl of Cornwall, rises with Arthur's sword, which has golden likenesses of two serpents; when drawn, two flames seem to burst from the serpents' jaws, the sword is hard to look upon, and the host becomes still. | record |
| Celtic Welsh | The Mabinogion | THE LADY OF THE FOUNTAIN / PEREDUR THE SON OF EVRAWC / GERAINT THE SON OF ERBIN / THE DREAM OF RHONABWY; lines 5642-5723 | high | A white tent with red canopy and jet-black serpent appears; a young page reports that Arthur's pages and attendants are harassing Owain's Ravens; Arthur tells Owain to play his game. | record |
| Celtic Welsh | The Mabinogion | THE DREAM OF RHONABWY / PWYLL PRINCE OF DYVED / THE DREAM OF MAXEN WLEDIG / HERE IS THE STORY OF LLUDD AND LLEVELYS; lines 8530-8609 | medium | The second plague is a dragon in Lludd's dominion fighting a foreign dragon, causing a fearful outcry. | record |
| Celtic Welsh | The Mabinogion | PWYLL PRINCE OF DYVED / THE DREAM OF MAXEN WLEDIG / HERE IS THE STORY OF LLUDD AND LLEVELYS / TALIESIN; lines 9358-9546 | medium | The poem prophesies misery for Troia's race; a proud, merciless coiling serpent with golden wings comes from Germany and overruns England and Scotland; the Brython are swayed by strangers from Saxony and lose land except Walia. | record |
| Celtic Welsh | The Mabinogion | CONTENTS / INTRODUCTION / C. E. G. / THE LADY OF THE FOUNTAIN; lines 996-1084 | high | Owain hears repeated yelling in a wood and sees a craggy mound, a grey rock with a cleft, a serpent within the cleft, and a black lion nearby. | record |
| Sufi | The Mesnevi | PREFACE. / IN THE NAME OF GOD, / THE ALL-MERCIFUL, THE VERY-COMPASSIONATE. / VIII.; lines 10286-10399 | high | "One’s staff became a serpent; one’s post chose what is true. / From that staff came a serpent; from this post, loud moan." | record |
| Sufi | The Mesnevi | PREFACE. / IN THE NAME OF GOD, / THE ALL-MERCIFUL, THE VERY-COMPASSIONATE. / VIII.; lines 10728-10834 | high | The woman says the husband’s wisdom is “serpent’s, scorpion’s, deadly gall” and calls him “both snake and snake-catcher.” | record |
| Sufi | The Mesnevi | CHAPTER II. / CHAPTER III. / CHAPTER IV. / CHAPTER V.; lines 4415-4497 | medium | King Gayāsu-’d-Dīn Key-Khusrev goes walking alone, picks up a young snake, puts it in a gold box, seals it, and rejoins his courtiers. | record |
| Roman | The Metamorphoses of Ovid, Books I-VII | EXPLANATION. / EXPLANATION. / EXPLANATION. / EXPLANATION.; lines 10450-10501 | medium | The Viperous sisters are summoned from the Stygian valley; the note identifies them as the Furies, so called because their hair is wreathed with serpents. | record |
| Roman | The Metamorphoses of Ovid, Books I-VII | EXPLANATION. / EXPLANATION. / EXPLANATION. / BOOK THE SEVENTH.; lines 10640-10724 | medium | Medea says that without her aid Jason will face bulls, enemies sprung from the earth, and a ravenous never-sleeping dragon. | record |
| Roman | The Metamorphoses of Ovid, Books I-VII | EXPLANATION. / EXPLANATION. / EXPLANATION. / BOOK THE SEVENTH.; lines 10726-10814 | high | A watchful crested dragon with three tongues and hooked teeth guards the Golden Fleece; the hero sprinkles it with Lethean herbs, repeats sleep words three times, makes it sleep, gains the gold, and arrives victorious at Iolcos with his wife. | record |
| Roman | The Metamorphoses of Ovid, Books I-VII | EXPLANATION. / EXPLANATION. / EXPLANATION. / BOOK THE SEVENTH.; lines 10816-10900 | medium | The dragon's teeth were part of the teeth of the dragon slain by Cadmus, sent by Mars and Minerva to Aeetes. | record |
| Roman | The Metamorphoses of Ovid, Books I-VII | EXPLANATION. / EXPLANATION. / EXPLANATION. / EXPLANATION.; lines 1091-1191 | medium | The explanatory note says the Giants' war is not the war between Jupiter and the Titans and speculates about fallen angels, Babel, Cain's descendants, and Genesis giants as related traditions. | record |
| Roman | The Metamorphoses of Ovid, Books I-VII | EXPLANATION. / EXPLANATION. / BOOK THE SEVENTH. / EXPLANATION.; lines 10979-11037 | medium | The explanation suggests the miraculous fleece, dragon, and fiery bulls may arise from Phoenician or Syriac terms: gaza for treasure or fleece, saur for wall or bull, and nachas for metal or dragon. | record |
| Roman | The Metamorphoses of Ovid, Books I-VII | EXPLANATION. / EXPLANATION. / BOOK THE SEVENTH. / EXPLANATION.; lines 11039-11121 | high | Medea mounts a heaven-sent chariot drawn by winged dragons, flies over regions, and gathers herbs from mountains, rivers, waters, and shores, pulling some by the root and cutting others with a brazen sickle. | record |
| Roman | The Metamorphoses of Ovid, Books I-VII | EXPLANATION. / EXPLANATION. / BOOK THE SEVENTH. / EXPLANATION.; lines 11039-11121 | medium | After the ninth day and night of travel in the dragon chariot, the dragons have fed only on plant odors and cast off the skin of old age. | record |
| Roman | The Metamorphoses of Ovid, Books I-VII | EXPLANATION. / EXPLANATION. / BOOK THE SEVENTH. / EXPLANATION.; lines 11123-11206 | high | A brazen cauldron boils with roots, seeds, flowers, juices, stones, sand, moonlit frost, owl parts, entrails of a wolf that changes into human form, water-snake slough, stag liver, and crow parts. | record |
| Roman | The Metamorphoses of Ovid, Books I-VII | EXPLANATION. / BOOK THE SEVENTH. / EXPLANATION. / EXPLANATION.; lines 11350-11455 | high | “mounted into the air with winged dragons” and flies aloft over Pelion, Othrys, and other places. | record |
| Roman | The Metamorphoses of Ovid, Books I-VII | EXPLANATION. / BOOK THE SEVENTH. / EXPLANATION. / EXPLANATION.; lines 11457-11570 | high | Medea's dragons are called Titanian either from Titan blood or because the chariot and winged dragons were sent by the Sun, whose name was Titan. | record |
| Roman | The Metamorphoses of Ovid, Books I-VII | BOOK THE SEVENTH. / EXPLANATION. / EXPLANATION. / EXPLANATION.; lines 11584-11674 | medium | The explanation states that escaping danger may become a story of bird transformation; hiding in a cave, serpent transformation; weeping, fountain transformation; and being lost in a wood, becoming a Nymph or Dryad. | record |
| Roman | The Metamorphoses of Ovid, Books I-VII | EXPLANATION. / EXPLANATION. / EXPLANATION. / EXPLANATION.; lines 11816-11893 | high | The explanation says a serpent haunted the cavern of Tænarus in Laconia and ravaged the districts near the promontory. | record |
| Roman | The Metamorphoses of Ovid, Books I-VII | EXPLANATION. / EXPLANATION. / EXPLANATION. / EXPLANATION.; lines 11816-11893 | medium | The account of Cerberus’s foam poisoning Thessalian herbs is explained as probably based on the abundance of aconite and other poisonous plants in Thessaly. | record |
| Roman | The Metamorphoses of Ovid, Books I-VII | EXPLANATION. / EXPLANATION. / EXPLANATION. / EXPLANATION.; lines 11895-11971 | medium | The infection comes into fountains and lakes; many serpents wander over uncultivated fields and taint rivers with venom. | record |
| Roman | The Metamorphoses of Ovid, Books I-VII | EXPLANATION. / EXPLANATION. / EXPLANATION. / EXPLANATION.; lines 1712-1812 | high | Moisture and heat are said to generate all things; after the deluge, the mud-covered Earth produces many species and the enormous serpent Python, a terror to the new race of men and so large as to occupy much of a mountain. | record |
| Roman | The Metamorphoses of Ovid, Books I-VII | EXPLANATION. / EXPLANATION. / EXPLANATION. / EXPLANATION.; lines 1712-1812 | high | The bow-bearing god kills Python with a thousand arrows, venom oozing from black wounds, and institutes sacred games called Pythia; victors receive crowns of beechen leaves before the laurel exists. | record |
| Roman | The Metamorphoses of Ovid, Books I-VII | EXPLANATION. / EXPLANATION. / EXPLANATION. / EXPLANATION.; lines 1815-1899 | high | The explanation says Python may have represented a robber near Parnassus who molested sacrificial travelers, and that Apollo or an Apollo-associated priest or prince destroyed him and liberated the region. | record |
| Roman | The Metamorphoses of Ovid, Books I-VII | EXPLANATION. / EXPLANATION. / EXPLANATION. / EXPLANATION.; lines 2205-2222 | high | Lerna is described as a swampy Argive place where poets placed the haunt of the seven-headed Hydra slain by Hercules. | record |
| Roman | The Metamorphoses of Ovid, Books I-VII | The Metamorphoses of Ovid, Books I-VII / LITERALLY TRANSLATED WITH NOTES AND EXPLANATIONS / INTRODUCTION. / BOOK I.; lines 225-247 | high | Living beings are produced by heat and moisture, including Python; Phoebus slays Python and institutes the Pythian games, whose conquerors are crowned with beech because laurel does not yet exist. | record |
| Roman | The Metamorphoses of Ovid, Books I-VII | EXPLANATION. / EXPLANATION. / EXPLANATION. / BOOK THE SECOND.; lines 2760-2842 | medium | The Triones and the Serpent near the icy pole grow warm; Boötes is disturbed; Phaethon looks down at the distant earth, trembles, regrets his descent and request, and is compared to a ship whose pilot has abandoned the helm. | record |
| Roman | The Metamorphoses of Ovid, Books I-VII | BOOK I. / BOOK II. / BOOK III. / BOOK IV.; lines 313-336 | high | Cadmus leaves Thebes for Illyria with his wife, where both are transformed into serpents; Acrisius is named as the remaining despiser of Bacchus and grandfather of Perseus. | record |
| Roman | The Metamorphoses of Ovid, Books I-VII | BOOK I. / BOOK II. / BOOK III. / BOOK IV.; lines 313-336 | high | Perseus cuts off the head of the Gorgon Medusa, and serpents are produced by her blood. | record |
| Roman | The Metamorphoses of Ovid, Books I-VII | BOOK THE SECOND. / EXPLANATION. / EXPLANATION. / EXPLANATION.; lines 3609-3674 | medium | Pandrosos and Herse keep the charge faithfully; Aglauros opens the knots, and inside they see a child with a dragon extended beside him. | record |
| Roman | The Metamorphoses of Ovid, Books I-VII | EXPLANATION. / EXPLANATION. / EXPLANATION. / EXPLANATION.; lines 3677-3764 | high | Hyginus says Ericthonius was received into heaven as Auriga and that his leg deformity caused the saying that he was half man and half serpent; Apollodorus says he dethroned Amphictyon and became fourth king of Athens. | record |
| Roman | The Metamorphoses of Ovid, Books I-VII | EXPLANATION. / EXPLANATION. / EXPLANATION. / EXPLANATION.; lines 3767-3868 | medium | Because Coronis is both a crow's name and a Nymph's name, Lucian and others are said to have fabled that Aesculapius was produced from that bird's egg, born as a serpent, and widely worshipped in serpent form. | record |
| Roman | The Metamorphoses of Ovid, Books I-VII | BOOK IV. / BOOK V. / BOOK VI. / BOOK VII.; lines 379-400 | high | "having sowed the teeth of a serpent, from which armed men are produced" | record |
| Roman | The Metamorphoses of Ovid, Books I-VII | EXPLANATION. / EXPLANATION. / EXPLANATION. / BOOK THE THIRD.; lines 4261-4331 | high | An ancient grove untouched by an axe contains a low-arched cavern covered with growth and abundant water; inside is a dragon sacred to Mars, crested, golden, fiery-eyed, poison-filled, three-tongued, and triple-toothed. | record |
| Roman | The Metamorphoses of Ovid, Books I-VII | EXPLANATION. / EXPLANATION. / BOOK THE THIRD. / EXPLANATION.; lines 4334-4419 | high | The fable summary states that Cadmus’s companions are devoured by the dragon guarding the fountain of Mars; Cadmus slays it; Minerva advises him to sow its teeth; armed men arise, fight, and five help build Thebes. | record |
| Roman | The Metamorphoses of Ovid, Books I-VII | EXPLANATION. / EXPLANATION. / BOOK THE THIRD. / EXPLANATION.; lines 4334-4419 | high | Cadmus, wearing a lion skin and carrying weapons, searches for his companions, sees their lifeless bodies and the dragon over them, and vows revenge or shared death. | record |
| Roman | The Metamorphoses of Ovid, Books I-VII | EXPLANATION. / EXPLANATION. / BOOK THE THIRD. / EXPLANATION.; lines 4421-4519 | high | A voice asks why the son of Agenor contemplates the dragon he has slain and says he himself will be seen in the form of a dragon. | record |
| Roman | The Metamorphoses of Ovid, Books I-VII | EXPLANATION. / EXPLANATION. / BOOK THE THIRD. / EXPLANATION.; lines 4421-4519 | medium | A voice asks why the son of Agenor contemplates the dragon he has slain and says he himself will be seen in the form of a dragon. | record |
| Roman | The Metamorphoses of Ovid, Books I-VII | EXPLANATION. / BOOK THE THIRD. / EXPLANATION. / EXPLANATION.; lines 4522-4606 | high | Palaephatus and others say Cadmus' dragon was a king named Draco, son of Mars; his teeth were his subjects; five named men were reconciled to Cadmus. | record |
| Roman | The Metamorphoses of Ovid, Books I-VII | EXPLANATION. / EXPLANATION. / EXPLANATION. / EXPLANATION.; lines 5030-5135 | high | Jupiter and Juno dispute about sexual pleasure and consult Tiresias, who had been transformed from man to woman and back after striking mating serpents. Tiresias sides with Jupiter, and Juno blinds him. | record |
| Roman | The Metamorphoses of Ovid, Books I-VII | EXPLANATION. / EXPLANATION. / EXPLANATION. / EXPLANATION.; lines 5454-5504 | high | Pentheus tells the Thebans to remember their race and assume the courage of the dragon, who died for his springs and stream and destroyed many. | record |
| Roman | The Metamorphoses of Ovid, Books I-VII | EXPLANATION. / EXPLANATION. / EXPLANATION. / EXPLANATION.; lines 5656-5760 | medium | The note explains that the Thebans were called warlike because they were said to be sprung from the teeth of a dragon, who was said to be a son of Mars. | record |
| Roman | The Metamorphoses of Ovid, Books I-VII | EXPLANATION. / EXPLANATION. / EXPLANATION. / EXPLANATION.; lines 6635-6709 | medium | Salmacis enters the water, seizes the resisting youth, kisses and touches him against his will, and clings to him; the passage compares the clinging to a serpent, ivy on trees, and a polypus. | record |
| Roman | The Metamorphoses of Ovid, Books I-VII | EXPLANATION. / EXPLANATION. / EXPLANATION. / EXPLANATION.; lines 6855-6931 | high | Iris purifies Juno with sprinkled water; Tisiphone departs with a bloody torch, blood-red cloak, twisted snakes, and the attendants Mourning, Fright, Terror, and Madness. | record |
| Roman | The Metamorphoses of Ovid, Books I-VII | EXPLANATION. / EXPLANATION. / EXPLANATION. / EXPLANATION.; lines 7033-7078 | high | Echidna means female viper and here refers to the Hydra or dragon of Lerna, slain by Hercules; the monster was partly woman and partly serpent, begotten by Typhon, and in some accounts had seven heads. | record |
| Roman | The Metamorphoses of Ovid, Books I-VII | EXPLANATION. / EXPLANATION. / EXPLANATION. / EXPLANATION.; lines 7081-7175 | high | Cadmus recalls the disasters of his house, asks whether the dragon he killed and whose teeth he sowed was sacred, prays to become a serpent if the gods avenge it, and begins changing into a serpent with scales, speckled body, and merged legs. | record |
| Roman | The Metamorphoses of Ovid, Books I-VII | EXPLANATION. / EXPLANATION. / EXPLANATION. / EXPLANATION.; lines 7081-7175 | medium | Cadmus recalls the disasters of his house, asks whether the dragon he killed and whose teeth he sowed was sacred, prays to become a serpent if the gods avenge it, and begins changing into a serpent with scales, speckled body, and merged legs. | record |
| Roman | The Metamorphoses of Ovid, Books I-VII | EXPLANATION. / EXPLANATION. / EXPLANATION. / EXPLANATION.; lines 7178-7243 | high | Cadmus is driven from Thebes after a conspiracy; Pentheus assumes the crown; Cadmus and Hermione retire to Illyria. The explanation says a story later arose that they were serpents and links it to the names ‘Achivi’ and ‘Chiva.’ | record |
| Roman | The Metamorphoses of Ovid, Books I-VII | EXPLANATION. / EXPLANATION. / EXPLANATION. / EXPLANATION.; lines 7178-7243 | high | Fable IX summary: Perseus, son of Jupiter and Danaë, kills Medusa and carries her head into Africa; its blood produces serpents; Atlas fears an oracle about golden fruit and is transformed into a mountain when Perseus shows him the Gorgon's head. | record |
| Roman | The Metamorphoses of Ovid, Books I-VII | EXPLANATION. / EXPLANATION. / EXPLANATION. / EXPLANATION.; lines 7245-7295 | high | “Leaves of the trees, shining with radiant gold, covered branches of gold, {and} apples of gold.” | record |
| Roman | The Metamorphoses of Ovid, Books I-VII | EXPLANATION. / EXPLANATION. / EXPLANATION. / EXPLANATION.; lines 7395-7479 | high | Introductory explanation: Perseus changes Atlas into a mountain, finds Andromeda exposed to a monster, kills it, hides the Gorgon’s head beneath seaweed and plants that become coral, thanks the gods, marries Andromeda, and tells of Medusa’s death and serpent hair. | record |
| Roman | The Metamorphoses of Ovid, Books I-VII | EXPLANATION. / EXPLANATION. / EXPLANATION. / EXPLANATION.; lines 7481-7575 | high | Perseus reaches the Gorgons' abodes and sees fields and roads filled with men and beasts turned into stone by the sight of Medusa. | record |
| Roman | The Metamorphoses of Ovid, Books I-VII | EXPLANATION. / EXPLANATION. / EXPLANATION. / EXPLANATION.; lines 9088-9125 | medium | The winged dragons of Triptolemus are explained either by a Phoenician word meaning both winged dragon and iron-fastened ship, or by Philochorus' statement that his ship was called a flying dragon because it had a dragon figure on its prow. | record |
| Roman | The Metamorphoses of Ovid, Books I-VII | EXPLANATION. / EXPLANATION. / BOOK THE SIXTH. / EXPLANATION.; lines 9743-9815 | medium | Footnote says Latona fled the serpent Python sent by Juno; Delos became immovable for Latona's labor with Apollo and Diana and was associated with rising visibly from the sea. | record |
| Roman | The Metamorphoses of Ovid, Books I-VII | EXPLANATION. / BOOK THE SIXTH. / EXPLANATION. / EXPLANATION.; lines 9901-9983 | low | The Chimera is described as poetically lion, goat, and dragon, but explained as a volcanic Lycian mountain with flame, lions, goats, caverns, and serpents. | record |
| Roman | The Metamorphoses of Ovid, Books VIII-XV | EXPLANATION. / EXPLANATION. / EXPLANATION. / EXPLANATION.; lines 11118-11219 | medium | Picus' attendants search for him, confront Circe, and prepare to attack; Circe scatters poisons, invokes Night, the Gods of Night, Erebus, Chaos, and Hecate, produces prodigies, and transforms the young men into wild beasts. | record |
| Roman | The Metamorphoses of Ovid, Books VIII-XV | EXPLANATION. / EXPLANATION. / BOOK THE FIFTEENTH. / EXPLANATION.; lines 12781-12855 | high | Pliny tells the story of persons changed into serpents after death; Antigonus expands it, and the note suggests the fiction may protect the bones of the dead from molestation. | record |
| Roman | The Metamorphoses of Ovid, Books VIII-XV | BOOK THE FIFTEENTH. / EXPLANATION. / EXPLANATION. / EXPLANATION.; lines 13291-13376 | high | The god appears as a gold-glittering serpent with erect crest, hisses, shakes the statue, altars, doors, pavement, and roof, and stands erect in the temple with fiery eyes. | record |
| Roman | The Metamorphoses of Ovid, Books VIII-XV | BOOK THE FIFTEENTH. / EXPLANATION. / EXPLANATION. / EXPLANATION.; lines 13378-13486 | high | Near Antium, the deity unfolds his coils, enters the temple of his parent, later leaves the altars of his sire, drags rattling scales over the shore, and returns to the ship until reaching Lavinium and the Tiber. | record |
| Roman | The Metamorphoses of Ovid, Books VIII-XV | EXPLANATION. / EXPLANATION. / EXPLANATION. / EXPLANATION.; lines 13517-13608 | high | Rome is ravaged by pestilence; after physicians’ resources fail, the Sibylline books say the plague will not cease until Æsculapius is brought from Epidaurus to Rome. | record |
| Roman | The Metamorphoses of Ovid, Books VIII-XV | EXPLANATION. / EXPLANATION. / EXPLANATION. / EXPLANATION.; lines 1951-2042 | high | Achelous says that he too can often change his body, though within limits: he appears as himself, as a snake, and as a horned leader of a herd; one side of his forehead is now deprived of its weapon. | record |
| Roman | The Metamorphoses of Ovid, Books VIII-XV | EXPLANATION. / EXPLANATION. / EXPLANATION. / BOOK THE NINTH.; lines 2068-2150 | high | “Inferior in strength, I had recourse to my arts, and transformed into a long serpent, I escaped from the hero.” | record |
| Roman | The Metamorphoses of Ovid, Books VIII-XV | EXPLANATION. / EXPLANATION. / EXPLANATION. / BOOK THE NINTH.; lines 2152-2232 | high | The Tirynthian laughs at Acheloüs' arts and says his cradle labour was to conquer serpents; he contrasts Acheloüs with the Lernaean monster whose heads multiplied from wounds and whom he subdued and slew. | record |
| Roman | The Metamorphoses of Ovid, Books VIII-XV | EXPLANATION. / EXPLANATION. / BOOK THE NINTH. / EXPLANATION.; lines 2235-2321 | high | Early authors veil the events in fiction: Hercules fights the river god, who changes into a serpent and then a bull; these forms are explained as the river’s winding course and violent overflow. | record |
| Roman | The Metamorphoses of Ovid, Books VIII-XV | EXPLANATION. / EXPLANATION. / BOOK THE NINTH. / EXPLANATION.; lines 2475-2572 | high | “as when a serpent revived, by throwing off old age with his slough, is wont to be instinct with fresh life, and to glisten in his new-made scales” | record |
| Roman | The Metamorphoses of Ovid, Books VIII-XV | BOOK THE NINTH. / EXPLANATION. / EXPLANATION. / EXPLANATION.; lines 2748-2841 | high | Hercules kills serpents in youth, with the added story that Juno sent them to destroy him; he kills the fiercest lion of Nemea and wears its skin. | record |
| Roman | The Metamorphoses of Ovid, Books VIII-XV | BOOK THE NINTH. / EXPLANATION. / EXPLANATION. / EXPLANATION.; lines 2843-2927 | high | Hercules frees the area near Lake Stymphalus from thieves represented as birds; drains Lernaean marshes and likely burns thickets to destroy serpents linked to Hydra; destroys Erymanthian boars and brings one to Eurystheus. | record |
| Roman | The Metamorphoses of Ovid, Books VIII-XV | BOOK THE NINTH. / EXPLANATION. / EXPLANATION. / EXPLANATION.; lines 2929-3006 | high | Atlas gives Hercules sheep or, according to Diodorus Siculus, orange and lemon trees, later represented as golden apples watched by a dragon in the garden of the Hesperides. | record |
| Roman | The Metamorphoses of Ovid, Books VIII-XV | BOOK THE NINTH. / EXPLANATION. / EXPLANATION. / EXPLANATION.; lines 3008-3100 | high | “Hercules exhibits his strength and courage in infancy; he strangles the snakes, which fills his brother with terror.” | record |
| Roman | The Metamorphoses of Ovid, Books VIII-XV | BOOK IX. / BOOK X. / BOOK XI. / BOOK XII.; lines 336-354 | high | At Aulis, the Greeks see a serpent changed into stone and prepare to sacrifice Iphigenia to Diana, but a hind is substituted. | record |
| Roman | The Metamorphoses of Ovid, Books VIII-XV | EXPLANATION. / EXPLANATION. / EXPLANATION. / BOOK THE TENTH.; lines 3955-4038 | high | The new bride, attended by Naiads while walking in the grass, is killed after a serpent stings her ankle. | record |
| Roman | The Metamorphoses of Ovid, Books VIII-XV | EXPLANATION. / EXPLANATION. / BOOK THE TENTH. / EXPLANATION.; lines 4104-4203 | medium | Tzetzes says the story rests on Orpheus curing his wife of a serpent bite thought mortal, later rendered hyperbolically as rescuing her from Hell. | record |
| Roman | The Metamorphoses of Ovid, Books VIII-XV | EXPLANATION. / EXPLANATION. / EXPLANATION. / EXPLANATION.; lines 4672-4753 | medium | A footnote says Cyprus was called Ophiusia because many serpents infested it, from the Greek word for serpent. | record |
| Roman | The Metamorphoses of Ovid, Books VIII-XV | EXPLANATION. / EXPLANATION. / EXPLANATION. / EXPLANATION.; lines 7178-7276 | high | The fable summary states that Hesperia flees from Æsacus, is bitten by a serpent, dies immediately, and Æsacus throws himself into the sea and is transformed into a didapper. | record |
| Roman | The Metamorphoses of Ovid, Books VIII-XV | EXPLANATION. / EXPLANATION. / EXPLANATION. / BOOK THE TWELFTH.; lines 7325-7421 | high | "the Greeks beheld an azure-coloured serpent creep into a plane tree" near the sacrifice and heated altar. | record |
| Roman | The Metamorphoses of Ovid, Books VIII-XV | EXPLANATION. / EXPLANATION. / BOOK THE TWELFTH. / EXPLANATION.; lines 7564-7646 | medium | Calchas’ prediction at Aulis says the Trojan war will last nine years; the commentary links it with the story of a serpent devouring birds and suggests the interpretation may have been strategically planned. | record |
| Sufi | Mystics and Saints of Islam | CHAPTER VII / CHAPTER VIII / CHAPTER IX / CHAPTER X; lines 2581-2665 | medium | The flying horn has no single form and includes forms such as a winged man, a serpent with a swine's head, or a foot or arm. | record |
| Greek/Roman | Myths and Legends of Ancient Greece and Rome | RETURN OF THE GREEKS FROM TROY. / PRONOUNCING INDEX. / A COMPLETE COURSE IN THE STUDY OF ENGLISH. / NOTES; lines 11775-11823 | high | "Echidna was a bloodthirsty monster, half maiden, half serpent." | record |
| Greek/Roman | Myths and Legends of Ancient Greece and Rome | JUPITER. / HERA (JUNO). / JUNO. / PALLAS-ATHENE (MINERVA).; lines 1430-1518 | high | The passage distinguishes Athene from Ares, saying her armour signifies virtue and purity and that she takes up arms protectively; it describes the aegis with dragon scales, serpents, and Medusa's petrifying head. | record |
| Greek/Roman | Myths and Legends of Ancient Greece and Rome | VENUS. / HELIOS (SOL). / EOS (AURORA). / PHOEBUS-APOLLO.; lines 2279-2363 | high | The oracle is guarded by the huge serpent Python, a scourge of the neighborhood and terror of men and cattle. | record |
| Greek/Roman | Myths and Legends of Ancient Greece and Rome | VENUS. / HELIOS (SOL). / EOS (AURORA). / PHOEBUS-APOLLO.; lines 2529-2596 | high | Orpheus marries Eurydice, daughter of Nereus; Aristaeus tries to take her, she flees, is bitten by a venomous snake, dies, and Orpheus laments. | record |
| Greek/Roman | Myths and Legends of Ancient Greece and Rome | HELIOS (SOL). / EOS (AURORA). / PHOEBUS-APOLLO. / ROMAN APOLLO.; lines 2666-2715 | medium | The Apollo Belvedere is described as youthful, mostly unclothed except for a short mantle, standing against a tree trunk with a serpent creeping up it, and extending the left arm as if about to punish. | record |
| Greek/Roman | Myths and Legends of Ancient Greece and Rome | EOS (AURORA). / PHOEBUS-APOLLO. / ROMAN APOLLO. / HECATE.; lines 2717-2760 | medium | Hecate appears as a gigantic woman with torch and sword; her feet and hair are snakes, and her passage is accompanied by thunderous voices, shrieks, yells, and dogs’ howling. | record |
| Greek/Roman | Myths and Legends of Ancient Greece and Rome | THETIS. / LEUCOTHEA. / THE SIRENS. / ARES (MARS).; lines 3568-3630 | medium | Eris is represented as angry and menacing, with dishevelled hair, a poniard, a hissing adder, a burning torch, torn dress, snakes in her hair, and is invoked only for evil purposes. | record |
| Greek/Roman | Myths and Legends of Ancient Greece and Rome | NYX (NOX). / THANATOS (MORS) AND HYPNUS (SOMNUS). / MORPHEUS. / THE GORGONS.; lines 4616-4661 | high | They are described as frightful winged monsters with scaled bodies, snakes for hair, brass hands, boar-like tusks, and the power to turn beholders into stone. | record |
| Greek/Roman | Myths and Legends of Ancient Greece and Rome | NYX (NOX). / THANATOS (MORS) AND HYPNUS (SOMNUS). / MORPHEUS. / THE GORGONS.; lines 4616-4661 | high | In Africa, infant snakes fall from Medusa’s hair, which the passage gives as an ancient explanation for that land becoming a hotbed of venomous reptiles. | record |
| Greek/Roman | Myths and Legends of Ancient Greece and Rome | GANYMEDES. / THE MUSES. / PEGASUS. / THE HESPERIDES.; lines 5189-5203 | high | Because the Hesperides taste the golden fruit entrusted to their care, they are deprived of their office, and the terrible dragon Ladon becomes the ever-watchful sentinel of the treasures. | record |
| Greek/Roman | Myths and Legends of Ancient Greece and Rome | FAUNUS. / THE SATYRS. / PRIAPUS. / ASCLEPIAS (AESCULAPIUS).; lines 5661-5710 | high | The Epidaurus statue shows Asclepias as an old bearded man leaning on a staff around which a serpent climbs; the serpent is his distinguishing symbol, connected with cures, prudence, and wisdom. | record |
| Greek/Roman | Myths and Legends of Ancient Greece and Rome | ALTARS. / PRIESTS. / SACRIFICES. / ORACLES.; lines 6289-6325 | medium | The priestess was called the Pythia after Python, the serpent killed by Apollo. | record |
| Greek/Roman | Myths and Legends of Ancient Greece and Rome | CEREALIA. / VESTALIA. / PART II.--LEGENDS. / CADMUS.; lines 6563-6631 | high | Cadmus prepares to sacrifice the heifer and sends followers to fetch libation water from a spring sacred to Ares; a fierce dragon guarding the spring kills them. | record |
| Greek/Roman | Myths and Legends of Ancient Greece and Rome | CEREALIA. / VESTALIA. / PART II.--LEGENDS. / CADMUS.; lines 6563-6631 | medium | Cadmus reigns happily for years, is deprived of his throne by his grandson Pentheus, retires with Harmonia to Illyria, and after death both are changed by Zeus into serpents and transferred to Elysium. | record |
| Greek/Roman | Myths and Legends of Ancient Greece and Rome | VESTALIA. / PART II.--LEGENDS. / CADMUS. / PERSEUS.; lines 6633-6734 | high | The invisibility helmet and winged sandals help Perseus escape the Gorgons; while he flies over Libya, blood from Medusa's head falls onto the sands and produces many-coloured snakes. | record |
| Greek/Roman | Myths and Legends of Ancient Greece and Rome | VESTALIA. / PART II.--LEGENDS. / CADMUS. / PERSEUS.; lines 6736-6832 | high | Perseus proposes to Cepheus that he will slay the dragon if Andromeda becomes his bride; Cepheus agrees, and Perseus comforts Andromeda before using the helmet of Aides and rising into the air. | record |
| Greek/Roman | Myths and Legends of Ancient Greece and Rome | CADMUS. / PERSEUS. / THE ARGONAUTS. / STORY OF THE GOLDEN FLEECE.; lines 6955-7048 | high | Aetes nailed the fleece in the Grove of Ares and dedicated it to the god of War; after an oracle said his life depended on the fleece, he guarded the grove entrance with an immense dragon that never slept. | record |
| Greek/Roman | Myths and Legends of Ancient Greece and Rome | CRONUS (SATURN). / SATURN. / RHEA (OPS). / DIVISION OF THE WORLD.; lines 700-744 | medium | Typhon or Typhoeus, youngest son of Tartarus and Gaea, has a hundred heads, terrifying eyes, and frightful voices; he seeks to conquer gods and men, terrifies the gods into fleeing to Egypt and transforming into animals, and is destroyed by Zeus's thunderbolt. | record |
| Greek/Roman | Myths and Legends of Ancient Greece and Rome | CADMUS. / PERSEUS. / THE ARGONAUTS. / STORY OF THE GOLDEN FLEECE.; lines 7145-7238 | medium | The heroes find four shipwrecked sons of Phryxus, who are Jason's cousins, agree to guide them to Colchis, and report that the Golden Fleece is guarded by a fearful dragon and that Aetes is cruel and superhumanly strong. | record |
| Greek/Roman | Myths and Legends of Ancient Greece and Rome | CADMUS. / PERSEUS. / THE ARGONAUTS. / STORY OF THE GOLDEN FLEECE.; lines 7240-7332 | high | In the grove, the Golden Fleece hangs from a tall oak-tree; a dreadful sleepless dragon watches at the foot of the tree. | record |
| Greek/Roman | Myths and Legends of Ancient Greece and Rome | CADMUS. / PERSEUS. / THE ARGONAUTS. / STORY OF THE GOLDEN FLEECE.; lines 7240-7332 | high | Aetes' task requires Jason to yoke fire-breathing oxen, plough Ares' field, sow poisonous dragon's teeth, and destroy the armed men that arise. | record |
| Greek/Roman | Myths and Legends of Ancient Greece and Rome | CADMUS. / PERSEUS. / THE ARGONAUTS. / STORY OF THE GOLDEN FLEECE.; lines 7334-7430 | high | A storm strands the Argonauts on the Syrtes quicksands in Libya, a barren desert inhabited by venomous snakes sprung from Medusa's blood. | record |
| Greek/Roman | Myths and Legends of Ancient Greece and Rome | CADMUS. / PERSEUS. / THE ARGONAUTS. / STORY OF THE GOLDEN FLEECE.; lines 7524-7533 | medium | Medea is seen "gliding through the air in a golden chariot drawn by dragons." | record |
| Greek/Roman | Myths and Legends of Ancient Greece and Rome | THE ARGONAUTS. / STORY OF THE GOLDEN FLEECE. / PELOPS. / HERACLES (HERCULES).; lines 7587-7685 | high | After learning whom she nursed, Hera sends two venomous snakes into Alcmene's chamber; the infant Heracles wakes and strangles both, one in each hand. | record |
| Greek/Roman | Myths and Legends of Ancient Greece and Rome | THE ARGONAUTS. / STORY OF THE GOLDEN FLEECE. / PELOPS. / HERACLES (HERCULES).; lines 7687-7783 | high | The second task is to slay the Hydra, a monster serpent, offspring of Typhon and Echidna, with nine heads, one immortal, which damages the herds near Lerna. | record |
| Greek/Roman | Myths and Legends of Ancient Greece and Rome | THE ARGONAUTS. / STORY OF THE GOLDEN FLEECE. / PELOPS. / HERACLES (HERCULES).; lines 7986-8074 | medium | The eleventh task is to bring the golden apples of the Hesperides from a tree given by Gaea to Hera at Hera's marriage with Zeus; the Hesperides and a sleepless hundred-headed dragon guard it. | record |
| Greek/Roman | Myths and Legends of Ancient Greece and Rome | THE ARGONAUTS. / STORY OF THE GOLDEN FLEECE. / PELOPS. / HERACLES (HERCULES).; lines 8076-8168 | medium | Cerberus is described as a monster dog with three heads, poison-dripping jaws, venomous snakes for hair, and a dragon tail. | record |
| Greek/Roman | Myths and Legends of Ancient Greece and Rome | BELLEROPHON. / THESEUS. / OEDIPUS. / THE SEVEN AGAINST THEBES.; lines 8825-8917 | high | At Nemea, the Argives seek water, meet Hypsipile nursing Lycurgus' infant son, and she lays the child in the grass before guiding them to a secret spring in the forest. | record |
| Greek/Roman | Myths and Legends of Ancient Greece and Rome | THE EPIGONI. / ALCMAEON AND THE NECKLACE. / THE HERACLIDAE. / THE SIEGE OF TROY.; lines 9323-9415 | high | During shore sacrifices, a serpent ascends a plane-tree, devours nine young sparrows and their mother, is turned into stone by Zeus, and is interpreted by Calchas as foretelling Troy's fall in the tenth year. | record |
| Greek/Roman | Myths and Legends of Ancient Greece and Rome | RHEA (OPS). / DIVISION OF THE WORLD. / THEORIES AS TO THE ORIGIN OF MAN. / THIRD DYNASTY--OLYMPIAN DIVINITIES.; lines 986-1079 | high | Leto is loved by Zeus, persecuted by jealous Hera, and tormented by the serpent Python sent by Hera. | record |
| Norse | Myths of the Norsemen: From the Eddas and Sagas | CHAPTER XXIII: THE GIANTS / CHAPTER XXIV: THE DWARFS / CHAPTER XXV: THE ELVES / CHAPTER XXVI: THE SIGURD SAGA; lines 10667-10774 | high | Gunnar is cast bound into a den of venomous snakes, plays a harp with his toes, lulls the reptiles except one, and is bitten by a snake said to be Atli's mother in that form. | record |
| Norse | Myths of the Norsemen: From the Eddas and Sagas | CHAPTER XXIII: THE GIANTS / CHAPTER XXIV: THE DWARFS / CHAPTER XXV: THE ELVES / CHAPTER XXVI: THE SIGURD SAGA; lines 10667-10774 | medium | Gunnar is cast bound into a den of venomous snakes, plays a harp with his toes, lulls the reptiles except one, and is bitten by a snake said to be Atli's mother in that form. | record |
| Norse | Myths of the Norsemen: From the Eddas and Sagas | CHAPTER XXV: THE ELVES / CHAPTER XXVI: THE SIGURD SAGA / CHAPTER XXVII: THE STORY OF FRITHIOF / CHAPTER XXVIII: THE TWILIGHT OF THE GODS; lines 11960-12095 | high | Iörmungandr, the Midgard snake, is aroused, lashes the sea into huge waves, crawls onto land, and hastens to the dread fray. | record |
| Norse | Myths of the Norsemen: From the Eddas and Sagas | CHAPTER XXV: THE ELVES / CHAPTER XXVI: THE SIGURD SAGA / CHAPTER XXVII: THE STORY OF FRITHIOF / CHAPTER XXVIII: THE TWILIGHT OF THE GODS; lines 12098-12221 | high | Iörmungandr's struggles raise waves that set Nagilfar afloat; Nagilfar is made of dead people's nails; Loki boards it with the fiery host from Muspells-heim and steers toward battle. | record |
| Norse | Myths of the Norsemen: From the Eddas and Sagas | CHAPTER XXV: THE ELVES / CHAPTER XXVI: THE SIGURD SAGA / CHAPTER XXVII: THE STORY OF FRITHIOF / CHAPTER XXVIII: THE TWILIGHT OF THE GODS; lines 12224-12362 | high | Final combats: Frey is slain by Surtr; Heimdall and Loki die; Tyr and Garm die; Thor slays the Midgard snake with Miölnir, steps back nine paces, and dies from its venom. | record |
| Norse | Myths of the Norsemen: From the Eddas and Sagas | CHAPTER XXVI: THE SIGURD SAGA / CHAPTER XXVII: THE STORY OF FRITHIOF / CHAPTER XXVIII: THE TWILIGHT OF THE GODS / CHAPTER XXIX: GREEK AND NORTHERN MYTHOLOGIES; lines 12430-12540 | high | Mana-heim is described as surrounded by sea, beneath which the Midgard snake lies coiled and bites its tail; Greek earth is described as encircled by Oceanus, a mighty river. | record |
| Norse | Myths of the Norsemen: From the Eddas and Sagas | CHAPTER XXVI: THE SIGURD SAGA / CHAPTER XXVII: THE STORY OF FRITHIOF / CHAPTER XXVIII: THE TWILIGHT OF THE GODS / CHAPTER XXIX: GREEK AND NORTHERN MYTHOLOGIES; lines 12874-12978 | medium | Vidar is compared with Hercules: Hercules tears the Nemean lion with club, while Vidar rends Fenris wolf at Ragnarok with aid of one large shoe. | record |
| Norse | Myths of the Norsemen: From the Eddas and Sagas | CHAPTER XXVI: THE SIGURD SAGA / CHAPTER XXVII: THE STORY OF FRITHIOF / CHAPTER XXVIII: THE TWILIGHT OF THE GODS / CHAPTER XXIX: GREEK AND NORTHERN MYTHOLOGIES; lines 12874-12978 | high | Greek tempests are attributed to Neptune, northern tempests to Iörmungandr or Ægir; Ægir and Neptune have sea dwellings and are surrounded by water beings. | record |
| Norse | Myths of the Norsemen: From the Eddas and Sagas | CHAPTER XXVI: THE SIGURD SAGA / CHAPTER XXVII: THE STORY OF FRITHIOF / CHAPTER XXVIII: THE TWILIGHT OF THE GODS / CHAPTER XXIX: GREEK AND NORTHERN MYTHOLOGIES; lines 12980-13082 | high | Loki is said to bring evil into the Northern world and to be bound underground under snake venom; this is compared with Prometheus's punishment. | record |
| Norse | Myths of the Norsemen: From the Eddas and Sagas | CHAPTER XXVI: THE SIGURD SAGA / CHAPTER XXVII: THE STORY OF FRITHIOF / CHAPTER XXVIII: THE TWILIGHT OF THE GODS / CHAPTER XXIX: GREEK AND NORTHERN MYTHOLOGIES; lines 13084-13166 | high | Sigurd avenges his father's wrongs before seeking a golden hoard, compared with the golden fleece and guarded by a dragon. | record |
| Norse | Myths of the Norsemen: From the Eddas and Sagas | CHAPTER XXVI: THE SIGURD SAGA / CHAPTER XXVII: THE STORY OF FRITHIOF / CHAPTER XXVIII: THE TWILIGHT OF THE GODS / CHAPTER XXIX: GREEK AND NORTHERN MYTHOLOGIES; lines 13084-13166 | high | Gunnar plays such marvellous harp strains that serpents are lulled to sleep, compared with Orpheus or Amphion. | record |
| Norse | Myths of the Norsemen: From the Eddas and Sagas | CHAPTER I: THE BEGINNING / CHAPTER II: ODIN / CHAPTER III: FRIGGA / CHAPTER IV: THOR; lines 2942-3047 | high | Utgard-Loki explains the hidden identities of the contests: Logi as wild fire, Hugi as thought, the drinking horn as connected to the ocean, the cat as the Midgard snake, and Elli as old age. | record |
| Norse | Myths of the Norsemen: From the Eddas and Sagas | CHAPTER II: ODIN / CHAPTER III: FRIGGA / CHAPTER IV: THOR / CHAPTER V: TYR; lines 3495-3611 | high | Loki and Angur-boda have Fenris, Hel, and Iörmungandr; the monsters grow too large for their cave, and Odin sends Hel to Nifl-heim and Iörmungandr to the sea, where the serpent encircles the earth. | record |
| Norse | Myths of the Norsemen: From the Eddas and Sagas | CHAPTER V: TYR / CHAPTER VI: BRAGI / CHAPTER VII: IDUN / CHAPTER IX: FREY; lines 4864-4983 | medium | Frey, god of peace and prosperity, reappears on earth, rules Swedes as Ingvi-Frey and Danes as Fridleef, marries Freygerda after rescuing her from a dragon, and has a son, Frodi. | record |
| Norse | Myths of the Norsemen: From the Eddas and Sagas | CHAPTER XII: FORSETI / CHAPTER XIII: HEIMDALL / CHAPTER XIV: HERMOD / CHAPTER XV: VIDAR; lines 5896-6019 | medium | As Wyrd speaks, the world tree's leaves flutter, the eagle on its top bough flaps, and the serpent Nidhug pauses from destroying the roots; Grid rejoices over Vidar's survival and rule when Surt's fire is slaked. | record |
| Norse | Myths of the Norsemen: From the Eddas and Sagas | CHAPTER XVI: VALI / CHAPTER XVII: THE NORNS / CHAPTER XVIII: THE VALKYRS / CHAPTER XIX: HEL; lines 6660-6800 | high | Odin learns of Loki's brood and banishes them: the serpent to the sea, Fenris to chains with Tyr's aid, and Hel to Nifl-heim, where she receives power over nine worlds. | record |
| Norse | Myths of the Norsemen: From the Eddas and Sagas | CHAPTER XVI: VALI / CHAPTER XVII: THE NORNS / CHAPTER XVIII: THE VALKYRS / CHAPTER XIX: HEL; lines 6802-6953 | medium | Criminal or impure spirits are banished to Nastrond, wade through venom streams and serpent structures, and are washed to Hvergelmir where Nidhug feeds on the dead after gnawing Yggdrasil's root. | record |
| Norse | Myths of the Norsemen: From the Eddas and Sagas | CHAPTER XVI: VALI / CHAPTER XVII: THE NORNS / CHAPTER XVIII: THE VALKYRS / CHAPTER XIX: HEL; lines 6802-6953 | high | Criminal or impure spirits are banished to Nastrond, wade through venom streams and serpent structures, and are washed to Hvergelmir where Nidhug feeds on the dead after gnawing Yggdrasil's root. | record |
| Norse | Myths of the Norsemen: From the Eddas and Sagas | CHAPTER XVI: VALI / CHAPTER XVII: THE NORNS / CHAPTER XVIII: THE VALKYRS / CHAPTER XIX: HEL; lines 6955-7082 | high | Hymir goes fishing at dawn; Thor joins him, kills Hymir's largest ox Himinbrioter, cuts off its head, and rows far out to sea. | record |
| Norse | Myths of the Norsemen: From the Eddas and Sagas | CHAPTER XVI: VALI / CHAPTER XVII: THE NORNS / CHAPTER XVIII: THE VALKYRS / CHAPTER XIX: HEL; lines 7085-7194 | high | Thor baits a hook with an ox head and fishes for Iörmungandr while Hymir catches two whales; Thor's struggle with the serpent makes him press through the boat and stand on the sea bed. | record |
| Norse | Myths of the Norsemen: From the Eddas and Sagas | CONTENTS / LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS / INTRODUCTION / CHAPTER I: THE BEGINNING; lines 739-863 | high | Nidhug, a dragon in Hvergelmir, and countless worms gnaw Yggdrasil's roots, aiming to kill the tree; its death would signal the gods' downfall. | record |
| Norse | Myths of the Norsemen: From the Eddas and Sagas | CHAPTER XIX: HEL / L. E. R. / CHAPTER XXI: BALDER / CHAPTER XXII: LOKI; lines 8051-8171 | high | Loki marries the giantess Angur-boda in Jötun-heim; she bears Hel, Iörmungandr, and Fenris, described as three monsters. | record |
| Norse | Myths of the Norsemen: From the Eddas and Sagas | CHAPTER XIX: HEL / L. E. R. / CHAPTER XXI: BALDER / CHAPTER XXII: LOKI; lines 8422-8532 | high | Skadi hangs a serpent over Loki so venom drops onto his face; Sigyn catches the drops in a cup except when emptying it, and Loki's writhing then causes earthquakes. | record |
| Norse | Myths of the Norsemen: From the Eddas and Sagas | CHAPTER XXIII: THE GIANTS / CHAPTER XXIV: THE DWARFS / CHAPTER XXV: THE ELVES / CHAPTER XXVI: THE SIGURD SAGA; lines 9430-9545 | high | Sigmund has Sinfiotli make bread from meal containing a hidden adder; Sinfiotli kneads the adder into the loaf. Sigmund says Sinfiotli should not eat it, because Sigmund can drink venom unharmed while Sinfiotli can resist reptile stings but not poison eaten in bread. | record |
| Norse | Myths of the Norsemen: From the Eddas and Sagas | CHAPTER XXIII: THE GIANTS / CHAPTER XXIV: THE DWARFS / CHAPTER XXV: THE ELVES / CHAPTER XXVI: THE SIGURD SAGA; lines 9986-10091 | high | Regin waits for a hero to avenge him on Fafnir, whom gloating over treasure has changed into a horrible dragon haunting Gnîtaheid. | record |
| Greek | Phaedrus | Phaedrus / PHAEDRUS / INTRODUCTION.; lines 1114-1188 | low | The passage discusses hypothetical discovery of Christian doctrines in Greek legends, says such interpretations are found in sacred literatures and lack a test of truth, notes two story versions, mentions common opinion as sufficient, and notes the serpent Typho and Socrates' remark that he is a poor diviner. | record |
| Greek | Phaedrus | PHAEDRUS / INTRODUCTION. / ON THE DECLINE OF GREEK LITERATURE. / PHAEDRUS; lines 1538-1589 | medium | Socrates says, 'I must first know myself, as the Delphian inscription says,' and asks whether he is more monstrous than 'the serpent Typho' or a gentler creature. | record |
| Greek | Phaedrus | Phaedrus / PHAEDRUS / INTRODUCTION.; lines 63-152 | medium | Phaedrus asks about the local tradition of Boreas and Oreithyia; Socrates rejects rationalizing mythology, says he does not yet know himself, and compares self-study with inquiry into the serpent Typho. | record |
| Sufi | Poems from the Divan of Hafiz | XXXVIII / XXXIX / XLIII / NOTES; lines 3007-3105 | high | Djemshid believes himself God and wants worship; the God-given royal glory leaves him; the three-headed serpent Zohab takes his throne and later has him sawn in two. | record |
| Sufi | Poems from the Divan of Hafiz | XXXIII / XXXIV / XXXVI / XXXVII; lines 3862-3889 | medium | The note explains the Arabic roots of “bezoar” as meaning annihilator of poison, and cites uses of the term as an antidote, chiefly to snake bites. | record |
| Sufi | Poems from the Divan of Hafiz | GERTRUDE LOWTHIAN BELL / LONDON / WILLIAM HEINEMANN / INTRODUCTION; lines 415-498 | medium | Hadji Kawameddin Hassan is called a second Assaf, while Shah Shudja is linked with Solomon; after a journey Hafiz stays in the vizir’s house and describes a judge’s officer as like a serpent in ambush, forcing him back to his master’s threshold and refuge. | record |
| Hindu | The Ramayan of Valmiki | Canto LXXVI. Debarred From Heaven. / BOOK II. / Canto I. The Heir Apparent. / Canto VI. The City Decorated.; lines 10591-10743 | medium | Manthara claims Dasaratha deceives Kaikeyi, sends her child away, gives wealth and power to Kausalya, and has acted like a serpent or unseen enemy toward Kaikeyi and Bharata. | record |
| Hindu | The Ramayan of Valmiki | BOOK II. / Canto I. The Heir Apparent. / Canto VI. The City Decorated. / Canto IX. The Plot.; lines 11511-11685 | medium | The speaker likens his trust in Kaikeyí to drinking a deadly draught, a deer lured by a hunter, a binding cord, and a heedless child touching a black snake. | record |
| Hindu | The Ramayan of Valmiki | Canto XXVIII. The Dangers Of The Wood. / Canto XXX. The Triumph Of Love. / Canto XXXII. The Gift Of The Treasures. / Canto XXXVII. The Coats Of Bark.; lines 16275-16414 | medium | Kauśalyá calls Kaikeyí cruel and false, says her guile is venomous, and compares her to a freed snake and a dire serpent whose intent has sent Ráma to the wild. | record |
| Hindu | The Ramayan of Valmiki | Canto V. Sarabhanga. / Canto VIII. The Hermitage. / Canto XI. Agastya. / Canto XII. The Heavenly Bow.; lines 28111-28286 | high | Krodhavaśā’s daughters are listed; they become mothers of deer, bears, yak, lions, monkeys, tigers, elephants, warder beasts, cattle, horses, and serpents. | record |
| Hindu | The Ramayan of Valmiki | Canto XII. The Heavenly Bow. / Canto XVI. Winter. / Canto XVIII. The Mutilation. / Canto XIX. The Rousing Of Khara.; lines 28814-28991 | medium | Khara sees his blood-stained sister, asks who mutilated her, compares provoking her to provoking a black snake, mentions her power to use each shape, and vows to kill the offender. | record |
| Hindu | The Ramayan of Valmiki | Canto XII. The Heavenly Bow. / Canto XVI. Winter. / Canto XVIII. The Mutilation. / Canto XIX. The Rousing Of Khara.; lines 28993-29034 | low | Ráma grows furious, shoots fourteen bright arrows at the giant crew, and the arrows pierce their breasts and enter the earth “as serpents through an ant-hill creep”; the fiends fall mangled, blood-covered, and dead. | record |
| Hindu | The Ramayan of Valmiki | Canto XXIII. The Omens. / Canto XXIV. The Host In Sight. / Canto XXV. The Battle. / Canto XXVIII. Khara Dismounted.; lines 30099-30272 | medium | Rāma says he is a king sent to smite the wicked and that his golden shafts will pierce Khara’s breast like serpents entering an emmet’s nest. | record |
| Hindu | The Ramayan of Valmiki | Canto XXV. The Battle. / Canto XXVIII. Khara Dismounted. / Canto XLIII. The Wondrous Deer. / Canto XLVI. The Guest.; lines 33110-33253 | medium | Jaṭáyus warns Rávaṇ that Ráma’s wrath may kill him like Vritra slain by Indra’s lightning, and likens taking Sítá to taking a venomed snake and entering Death’s coils. | record |
| Hindu | The Ramayan of Valmiki | Canto XXVIII. The Rains. / Canto XXXI. The Envoy. / Canto XXXVII. The Gathering. / Canto XL. The Army Of The East.; lines 42607-42771 | high | A fearful water expanse contains a wrath-born flaming horse head in the ocean bed; beyond it is golden Mount Jatarupa, where the thousand-headed serpent Ananta, supporter of the earth, rests and is honored by the gods. | record |
| Hindu | The Ramayan of Valmiki | Canto XXXI. The Envoy. / Canto XXXVII. The Gathering. / Canto XL. The Army Of The East. / Canto XLI. The Army Of The South.; lines 42772-42919 | high | At Mount Kunjar stands Agastya's mansion; nearby Bhogavati is a broad, walled, barred serpent city guarded by venomous serpent youths and ruled by Vasuki, and the searchers must inspect it closely. | record |
| Hindu | The Ramayan of Valmiki | Canto LII. The Exit. / Canto LXIV. The Sea. / Canto LXV. The Council. / BOOK V.(787); lines 44748-44920 | high | Gods, saints, and heavenly bards ask Surasá, mother of the Nágas, to take a terrifying Rákshas form, impede Hanumán’s course, and test his power and strength. | record |
| Hindu | The Ramayan of Valmiki | Canto XI. The Banquet Hall. / Canto XII. The Search Renewed. / Canto XIII. Despair And Hope. / Canto XIV. The Asoka Grove.; lines 46115-46292 | medium | Sítá says Rávaṇ will hear Ráma’s bow, and that Ráma’s shafts, like fiery-headed snakes, will fly, hiss, flame, and bring a fiery deluge on Rávaṇ’s giants. | record |
| Hindu | The Ramayan of Valmiki | Canto XLIII. The Ruin Of The Temple. / Canto XLV. The Seven Defeated. / Canto XLVI. The Captains. / Canto XLVII. The Death Of Aksha.; lines 47615-47734 | medium | “She is no woman but a snake,” whose bite will ruin Ravana and his house. | record |
| Hindu | The Ramayan of Valmiki | Canto LVIII. The Feast Of Honey. / Canto LXV. The Tidings. / BOOK VI.(895) / Canto IV. The March.; lines 48588-48746 | high | The lords dismiss Rávan’s fear, describe his army, and recall his victories over the Serpent-Gods, Mount Kailása, Kuvera and Yakshas, his taking of the magic car, and Maya’s marriage alliance through his daughter. | record |
| Hindu | The Ramayan of Valmiki | Canto LXV. The Tidings. / BOOK VI.(895) / Canto IV. The March. / Canto XI. The Summons.; lines 49087-49274 | medium | Vibhishana warns Ravana not to keep Sita, compared to a deadly serpent, and urges him to restore her to Rama before woodland warriors surround the city and Rama's arrows strike. | record |
| Hindu | The Ramayan of Valmiki | Canto IV. The March. / Canto XI. The Summons. / Canto XX. The Spies. / Canto XXI. Ocean Threatened.; lines 49896-49982 | high | Rama tells Lakshman that mild virtues fail with the base, condemns Ocean’s pride, threatens monsters, serpents, and hidden depths of the sea, rejects mercy, calls for his bow and arrows, and says the Vanars will tread the conquered sea-bed. | record |
| Hindu | The Ramayan of Valmiki | Canto XXXVIII. The Ascent Of Suvela. / Canto XLII. The Sally. / Canto XLIII. The Single Combats. / Canto XLIV. The Night.; lines 51949-52118 | high | Indrajít, enraged and hidden in magical mist, shoots at Rāma and Lakshmaṇ and binds them with the serpent noose, a magic bond none can loose. | record |
| Hindu | The Ramayan of Valmiki | Canto XLII. The Sally. / Canto XLIII. The Single Combats. / Canto XLIV. The Night. / Canto L. The Broken Spell.; lines 52409-52579 | high | The shaft-forms that bound the princes vanish into the ground. | record |
| Hindu | The Ramayan of Valmiki | Canto XLII. The Sally. / Canto XLIII. The Single Combats. / Canto XLIV. The Night. / Canto L. The Broken Spell.; lines 52409-52579 | high | Garuḍ appears as a wondrous sight, 'Disclosed in flames of fiery light,' and serpents flee in dread from his eye. | record |
| Hindu | The Ramayan of Valmiki | Canto XLII. The Sally. / Canto XLIII. The Single Combats. / Canto XLIV. The Night. / Canto L. The Broken Spell.; lines 52581-52761 | high | Rávaṇ hears the Vánars’ thunderous cries, sends envoys, and they return reporting that the Vánars are formed under Sugríva and that Ráma and his brother have been released from their bonds. | record |
| Hindu | The Ramayan of Valmiki | Canto XLIII. The Single Combats. / Canto XLIV. The Night. / Canto L. The Broken Spell. / Canto LX. Kumbhakarna Roused.; lines 53515-53681 | medium | Mahodar rebukes the boast, cites Rama's destruction of night-rovers at Janasthan, calls him terrible as Death, and compares challenging him to waking a deadly snake. | record |
| Hindu | The Ramayan of Valmiki | Canto XLIII. The Single Combats. / Canto XLIV. The Night. / Canto L. The Broken Spell. / Canto LX. Kumbhakarna Roused.; lines 54021-54176 | low | Triśirás tells Rávaṇ to stop lamenting, recalls his armor, bow, shafts, chariot, valor, and god-given strength, offers to sweep away the foes like Garuḍ devouring snakes, and compares the hoped-for fall of Raghu’s son to Narak slain by Vishṇu and Śambar slain by the King of Gods. | record |
| Hindu | The Ramayan of Valmiki | Canto LX. Kumbhakarna Roused. / Canto LXXIV. The Medicinal Herbs. / Canto LXXV. The Night Attack. / Canto CII. Lakshman Healed.; lines 55124-55282 | high | In the renewed fight, each shaft shot by Ravana becomes a flaming red serpent around Rama’s limbs. | record |
| Hindu | The Ramayan of Valmiki | Canto CIX. The Battle. / Canto CXIV. Vibhishan Consecrated. / Canto CXVI. The Meeting. / Canto CXIX. Glory To Vishnu.; lines 56095-56231 | medium | “Thou wilt appear in serpent form / When sinks the earth in fire and storm.” | record |
| Hindu | The Ramayan of Valmiki | CAREY AND MARSHMAN. / SCHLEGEL. / GORRESIO. / HIPPOLYTE FAUCHE.; lines 57756-57837 | high | Rávaṇ goes beneath the earth into Pátála, the water treasure-house inhabited by serpents and Daityas and defended by Varuṇ; he subdues Bhogavatí, the city of Vásuki, subjects the Nágas, reaches Varuṇ’s seat, defeats Varuṇ’s sons, and departs triumphant. | record |
| Hindu | The Ramayan of Valmiki | SCHLEGEL. / GORRESIO. / HIPPOLYTE FAUCHE. / ADDITIONAL NOTES.; lines 57936-58038 | high | Vishnu is described as the preserving power, incarnating for mankind’s preservation; before creation and after temporary annihilation he sleeps on waters on Sesha, while Brahma springs from a lotus from his navel. | record |
| Hindu | The Ramayan of Valmiki | SCHLEGEL. / GORRESIO. / HIPPOLYTE FAUCHE. / ADDITIONAL NOTES.; lines 57936-58038 | high | In the tortoise avatar Vishnu supports Mount Mandara at the ocean bottom while gods and demons use Vasuki as a rope to churn the waters for amrita and other sacred things. | record |
| Hindu | The Ramayan of Valmiki | SCHLEGEL. / GORRESIO. / HIPPOLYTE FAUCHE. / ADDITIONAL NOTES.; lines 58041-58109 | high | Śiva is often represented covered with serpents, which are called emblems of immortality and are worn in his hair, around his body, as rings and earrings, and as constant companions. | record |
| Hindu | The Ramayan of Valmiki | SCHLEGEL. / GORRESIO. / HIPPOLYTE FAUCHE. / ADDITIONAL NOTES.; lines 58449-58532 | high | Small images of Lakshmi or Chaṇḍi may serve the household-deity office; if a snake appears, it may be venerated as guardian of the dwelling. | record |
| Hindu | The Ramayan of Valmiki | HIPPOLYTE FAUCHE. / ADDITIONAL NOTES. / H. H. WILSON. / THE SUPPLIANT DOVE.; lines 59578-59724 | medium | A note on the line about one who “slew of old / The Serpent-Gods, and stormed their hold” says these exploits of Rāvaṇa are detailed elsewhere. | record |
| Hindu | The Ramayan of Valmiki | HIPPOLYTE FAUCHE. / ADDITIONAL NOTES. / H. H. WILSON. / THE SUPPLIANT DOVE.; lines 59844-59934 | medium | Brahma describes Rama with thousand feet, heads, and eyes; bearing the earth and mountains; appearing as the great serpent in the ocean; sustaining the three worlds; and containing gods, day and night, Vedas, and the whole world as his body. | record |
| Hindu | The Ramayan of Valmiki | Canto XXXIX. The Sons Of Sagar. / Canto XL. The Cleaving Of The Earth. / Canto XLI. Kapil. / Canto XLV. The Quest Of The Amrit.; lines 6134-6289 | high | They seized 'the Serpent King, / Vásuki, for their churning-string, / And Mandar’s mountain for their pole.' | record |
| Hindu | The Ramayan of Valmiki | H. H. WILSON. / THE SUPPLIANT DOVE. / INDEX OF PRINCIPAL NAMES / FOOTNOTES; lines 62332-62449 | high | The Nágas are described as human-faced, serpent-bodied demigods dwelling in Pátála under the earth; Bhogavatí is their capital, and serpent worship in India is noted. | record |
| Hindu | The Ramayan of Valmiki | H. H. WILSON. / THE SUPPLIANT DOVE. / INDEX OF PRINCIPAL NAMES / FOOTNOTES; lines 63301-63465 | high | Rāhu is described as a demon with a dragon tail whose severed immortal head and tail cause eclipses by trying to swallow the sun and moon. | record |
| Hindu | The Ramayan of Valmiki | THE SUPPLIANT DOVE. / INDEX OF PRINCIPAL NAMES / FOOTNOTES / ILIAD. XVII. 426.; lines 63689-63846 | high | “Bhogavatí, the abode of the Nágas or Serpent race.” | record |
| Hindu | The Ramayan of Valmiki | THE SUPPLIANT DOVE. / INDEX OF PRINCIPAL NAMES / FOOTNOTES / ILIAD. XVII. 426.; lines 63848-64027 | high | Vásuki is named. | record |
| Hindu | The Ramayan of Valmiki | THE SUPPLIANT DOVE. / INDEX OF PRINCIPAL NAMES / FOOTNOTES / ILIAD. XVII. 426.; lines 64029-64181 | high | “Serpent-gods.” | record |
| Hindu | The Ramayan of Valmiki | INDEX OF PRINCIPAL NAMES / FOOTNOTES / ILIAD. XVII. 426. / GORRESIO.; lines 64295-64428 | high | “Like the wife of a Nága or Serpent-God carried off by an eagle”; the note says bird-serpent enmity is frequent and compares Indra/Ahi, Apollo/Python, and Adam/Serpent. | record |
| Hindu | The Ramayan of Valmiki | INDEX OF PRINCIPAL NAMES / FOOTNOTES / ILIAD. XVII. 426. / GORRESIO.; lines 64295-64428 | medium | “Like the wife of a Nága or Serpent-God carried off by an eagle”; the note says bird-serpent enmity is frequent and compares Indra/Ahi, Apollo/Python, and Adam/Serpent. | record |
| Hindu | The Ramayan of Valmiki | FOOTNOTES / ILIAD. XVII. 426. / GORRESIO. / MACBETH.; lines 64430-64570 | high | Rahu is a dragon-tailed demon that causes eclipses by trying to swallow the sun and moon. | record |
| Hindu | The Ramayan of Valmiki | FOOTNOTES / ILIAD. XVII. 426. / GORRESIO. / MACBETH.; lines 64430-64570 | high | Ashvatara is identified as a Naga or serpent chief under the earth and also as a Gandharva; the note discusses uncertain readings of Ashvatari, including a solar interpretation that brings back the moon from ocean and infernal regions. | record |
| Hindu | The Ramayan of Valmiki | FOOTNOTES / ILIAD. XVII. 426. / GORRESIO. / MACBETH.; lines 64710-64863 | high | Sesha, also Ananta, is a mythological serpent king represented as bearing the earth on one of his thousand heads. | record |
| Hindu | The Ramayan of Valmiki | FOOTNOTES / ILIAD. XVII. 426. / GORRESIO. / MACBETH.; lines 64710-64863 | medium | Agastya is placed far south of Lankā; Bhogavatī is the under-earth capital of serpent gods or demons; Vasuki is named as a Nāga king. | record |
| Hindu | The Ramayan of Valmiki | FOOTNOTES / ILIAD. XVII. 426. / GORRESIO. / MACBETH.; lines 65001-65150 | high | Surasa’s children are described as a thousand mighty many-headed serpents traversing the sky. | record |
| Hindu | The Ramayan of Valmiki | FOOTNOTES / ILIAD. XVII. 426. / GORRESIO. / MACBETH.; lines 65001-65150 | high | Sinhika is mother of Rahu, the dragon’s head or ascending node, called the chief agent in eclipses. | record |
| Hindu | The Ramayan of Valmiki | FOOTNOTES / ILIAD. XVII. 426. / GORRESIO. / MACBETH.; lines 65264-65393 | high | “Serpent-Gods who dwell in the regions under the earth.” | record |
| Hindu | The Ramayan of Valmiki | FOOTNOTES / ILIAD. XVII. 426. / GORRESIO. / MACBETH.; lines 65395-65547 | high | The note identifies the King of the Serpents and names Śankha and Takshak as two of the eight Serpent Chiefs. | record |
| Hindu | The Ramayan of Valmiki | FOOTNOTES / ILIAD. XVII. 426. / GORRESIO. / MACBETH.; lines 65549-65703 | high | A mysterious weapon is described as serpents transformed into arrows that deprive the wounded of sense and motion. | record |
| Hindu | The Ramayan of Valmiki | FOOTNOTES / ILIAD. XVII. 426. / GORRESIO. / MACBETH.; lines 65705-65848 | high | Garuḍ, king of birds and mortal enemy of serpents, is linked to a weapon suited for destroying Rávaṇ’s serpent arrows. | record |
| Greek | The Republic | THE REPUBLIC. / PERSONS OF THE DIALOGUE. / BOOK I. / BOOK II.; lines 10362-10458 | medium | "Thrasymachus seems to me, like a snake, to have been charmed by your voice" | record |
| Sufi | The Sufism of the Rubáiyát, or, the Secret of the Great Paradox | The Sufism of the Rubáiyát, or, the Secret of the Great Paradox / PREFACE / THE AUTHOR. / NOTES; lines 875-1004 | high | A secret is given about finding the serpent coiled within the human spine; it is found in the breath of the senses, divided yet united as the breath of life divine, bringing wisdom of the gods to humans. | record |
| Sufi | The Sufistic Quatrains of Omar Khayyam | LIII. / LVII. / LVIII. / KUZA-NAMA; lines 1427-1469 | medium | The addressed figure is said to have made Man from baser Earth and devised Eden and the Snake; the speaker asks for Man’s forgiveness for sin. | record |
| Sufi | The Sufistic Quatrains of Omar Khayyam | LXXVI. / LXXVII. / LXXX. / LXXXI.; lines 3918-4012 | high | The speaker addresses one who made man from earth and devised Paradise with the Snake, asking that man's forgiveness be given and taken for sin. | record |
| Sufi | The Sufistic Quatrains of Omar Khayyam | STANZA / STANZA / STANZAS WHICH APPEAR IN THE SECOND EDITION ONLY / QUATRAINS OF OMAR KHAYYAM; lines 5114-5258 | low | “There is no original for the line about the snake: I have looked for it in vain in Nicolas” | record |
| Sufi | The Sufistic Quatrains of Omar Khayyam | E.H. WHINFIELD, M.A. / INTRODUCTION / E.H. WHINFIELD / QUATRAINS OF OMAR KHAYYAM; lines 7624-7841 | medium | Rich drinkers die as beggars; the speaker asks for emerald hemp in a ruby pipe to blind care's serpent eye; note: emerald is supposed to blind serpents. | record |