Ophiolatreia: An Account of the Rites and Mysteries Connected with the Origin, Rise, and Development of Serpent Worship in Various Parts of the WorldSellon, Edward
History
Ophiolatreia: An Account of the Rites and Mysteries Connected with the Origin, Rise, and Development of Serpent Worship in Various Parts of the World
Sellon, Edward
Phallicism; Serpent worship
in defending, wherewith the assistants were pleasantly entertained. This
done, they made a masque or mummery with all the personages, and so the
feast ended."
From these traditions we derive several important facts. First, that
Quetzalcoatl was "god of the air;" second, that he was represented as a
"feathered serpent;" third, that he was the great divinity of the
Cholulans; and fourth, that a hill was raised by them upon which they
erected a temple to his glory where they celebrated his festivals with
pomp and splendour.
Combining all these, is it unreasonable to believe that the Pyramid of
Cholula was the base of this temple, and that he was there worshipped as
the Great Spirit of the Air--or of the seasons; the God who produced the
fruitfulness of the earth, regulated the Sun, the wind, and the shower,
and thus spread plenty over the land. It has been thought too, that the
serpent might not improbably typify lightning, and the feathers swiftness,
thus denoting one of the attributes of the air and that the most speedy
and destructive.
Mr. Mayer says:--"I constantly saw serpents, in the city of Mexico, carved
in stone, and in the various collections of antiquities," and he gives
drawings of several of the principal, notably one carved with exquisite
skill and found in the court-yard of the University.
Vasquez Coronado, Governor of New Gallicia, as the northern territories of
Spain were then called, wrote to the Viceroy Mendoza in 1539, concerning
the unknown regions still beyond him to the northward. His account was
chiefly based upon the fabulous relation of the Friar Marco Niza, and is
not entirely to be relied upon. In this letter he mentions that "in the
province of Topira there were people who had great towers and temples
covered with straw, with small round windows, filled with human skulls,
and before the temple a great round ditch, the brim of which was compassed
with a serpent, made of various metals, which held its tail in its mouth,
and before which men were sacrificed."
Du Paix has given many examples of the carving representing the snake,
which he found in his Antiquarian Explorations in Mexico. One found near
the ancient city of Chochimilco represents a snake artificially coiled
carved from a block of porphry. "Its long body is gracefully entwined,
leaving its head and tail free. There is something showy in the execution
of the figure. Its head is elevated and curiously ornamented, its open
mouth exhibits two long and pointed fangs, its tongue (which is unusually
long) is cloven at the extremity like an anchor, its body is fancifully
scaled, and its tail (covered with circles) ends with three rattles. The
snake was a frequent emblem with the Mexican artists. The flexibility of
its figure rendering it susceptible of an infinite diversity of position,
regular and irregular; they availed themselves of this advantage and
varied their representations of it without limit and without ever giving
it an unnatural attitude."
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account