Joao says strange things:
>Chinese dragons could be crocodiles.
Oh God, I don't even know why I'm acknowledging this statement
but here we go.
It's irrational to insist that mythological constructs are
based on actual animals. Egyptian Seth, for example, is clearly
a composite creature invented purely out of the imagination of
the Egyptians who conceived it. The Chinese dragon is not
a crocodile for the obvious reason that it doesn't even look
anything like a crocodile nor do they fly in the sky. Even
if we COULD associate the dragon with some actual animal,
the specific function it plays in myth is still based on
abstract _symbolism_, not on actual reality!
On the other hand, John states:
>Regarding dragons there is also the dragon as guardian. Legged serpents
>appear on the walls of Babylon, [...]
>Legged serpents also appear in Egyptian iconography.[...]
>Local "priestesses" had the responsibility of catching the snakes to allow
>grain to be retrieved. Cretian statues show
>Goddesses with serpents wound around their arms and European
>myths are full of stories of dragons [...]
>[yadayadayada...]
WHAT IS YOUR POINT, JOHN?? We get the hint already! There are
lots of dragon and serpent stories in world myths. So what?!
Unless we deal with one story at a time and deal exclusively
with actual "dragons", not just serpents, we'll get nowhere
when it comes to answering the original question of the origin
of the dragon concept. As I've said, I've linked it to "rain",
which doesn't mean that every story ever mentioned in history
with a reptile in it must relate to rain. We're getting losing
focus here.
>The association of woman, tree of life and serpent is thus a
>very old one.
That much I agree with, although we're far off focus from the
original topic now. The reason for this particular link has
nothing to do with dragon symbolism.
The serpent here in _this_ instance only symbolizes water, water
on the ground, particularly the never-ending seas from which the
world was born. The tree of life is merely an abstract
representation of the standing Goddess, the Creatrix with
upraised arms holding up the skies. Just like Eve, her feet are
bitten by the serpent -- which is another way of saying that she
stands with her arms to the sky with her feet "bitten" below by
the "waves of the sea" (serpent) below. Now you know the ancient
pagan symbolism underlying the bible that everybody thinks is
so hip nowdays.
Because she holds up the sky, her arms appear like branches
on a tree. So instead of the Goddess, other more abstractified
"central objects" replaced her to hold up the sky -- objects
such as a tree, mountain, pin, hammer, horns & double-axe,
column, etc, etc, etc. Hell, even a giant penis would do here.
This is all about abstract symbolism and each myth or motif has
to be dealt with individually.
>Eve's name in Arabic still links life *heyyat with the serpent
>*hayyat.
That's interesting. I'm looking that up. Perhaps that would
explain any secondary associations between the serpent,
originally signifying only the waters, and the Goddess,
symbolizing ALL of creation (waters, skies, land and everything
else).
>In Hebrew she was HWH, Chawah, known to us as Eve.
Of course, we should all know by now that Eve is the Goddess
and the nasty serpent bite should underline that fact.
>Yah joined with HWH to make the sacred name "the Holy of Holies"
>YHWH.
I'm gonna think about that! :)
- gLeN
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