The serpent, or snake, is one of the oldest and most widespread mythological symbols. The word is derived from Latin serpens, a crawling animal or snake. Snakes have been associated with some of the oldest rituals known to humankind and represent dual expression of good and evil.
Meditating Buddha being shielded by the naga Mucalinda. Cambodia, 1150 to 1175
The Sumerian deity, Ningizzida, is accompanied by two gryphons Mushussu; it is the oldest known image of two snakes coiling around an axial rod, dating from before 2000 BCE.
Vishnu resting on Ananta-Shesha, with Lakshmi massaging his "lotus feet"
An ancient painting of Nüwa and Fuxi unearthed in Xinjiang
The ouroboros or uroboros is an ancient symbol depicting a serpent or dragon eating its own tail. The ouroboros entered Western tradition via ancient Egyptian iconography and the Greek magical tradition. It was adopted as a symbol in Gnosticism and Hermeticism and most notably in alchemy. Some snakes, such as rat snakes, have been known to consume themselves.
An ouroboros in a 1478 drawing in an alchemical tract
First known representation of the ouroboros, on one of the shrines enclosing the sarcophagus of Tutankhamun
A highly stylised ouroboros from The Book of Kells, an illuminated Gospel Book (c. 800 CE)
Engraving of a wyvern-type ouroboros by Lucas Jennis, in the 1625 alchemical tract De Lapide Philosophico. The figure serves as a symbol for mercury.