Figure above:
Interior of a red-figure cup (kylix), from Athens (V century B.C.) and
now in the Vatican Museums, Vatican City. The scene represents Jason
re-emerging from the jaws of a dragon, under the protective glance of
the goddess Athena. Jason had travelled towards the faraway region of
Colchis, with an array of heroes from Hellas, to find the marvellous
golden fleece, which was kept in this remote country under the custody
of a fearful dragon. According to some variants of the myth, the fleece
was guarded into the monster’s jaws and the hero, to seize it,
had to enter into the stomach of the dragon, coming out again semi-unconscious.
This venture conceals probably an initiatory meaning: in effect the
periodical changing of the skin of the serpent was regarded as a symbol
of regeneration and rebirth. Particular knowledge about the medicinal
and healing properties of the herbs was attributed to serpents, which
were animals sacred to the healing god Asclepius. At Epidaurus, the
most famous temple dedicated to Asclepius, the priests nurtured serpents
which were kept in a special building. The staff, with a serpent entwined,
which was the symbol of the god, became the emblem of the medical art
and remains today on the signboards of the pharmacies and drugstores.
[Source: http://wps.ablongman.com/long_powell_cm_7/212/54497/13951273.cw/-/13951332/index.html]
Figure below:
Pottery painting of the VI century B.C., now in the Louvre Museum.
The image shows the fight of Cadmus against a monstrous serpent. The
hero Cadmus was the brother of Europa, the girl abducted by Zeus in
the shape of a bull, and went about in search of his sister. The oracle
at Delphi demanded that he should follow a heifer and in the place in
which it should stop he had to found a new city. The animal led him
in the region that shall be called Boeotia (“the country of the
cow”). Arriving at a spring to draw water, Cadmus came across
a dragon, abiding in a nearby cave and watching over the spring. The
hero fought against the huge serpent and slaughtered it: from the teeth
of the animal, scattered on the soil, came out fearful armed warriors,
which killed each other. From the few survived, the ancestors of the
inhabitants of Thebes traced their descent.
The fight against the serpent is a feat that is characteristic of most
of the mythological heroes, emphasizing their strength and courage.
Subsequently, Cadmus took the girl Armonia in marriage, and all the
gods participated at the sumptuous wedding. One of the daughters of
the couple, Semele, gave birth to Dionysus. According to some versions,
at the end of their life, Cadmus and Armonia were transformed in their
turn into serpents and were identified as deities of the Underworld,
associated with the transition to the land of the dead.
[Source: http://religion.wikia.com/wiki/Cadmus]
