Stories of women and snakes have always fascinated me. From ancient archaeology of snake Goddesses on Crete, to mythology of Medusa, to Biblical era Eve; women and snakes have been combined in stories around sexuality and consciousness, or rather a knowingness.

Slithering around that knowingness –were notions of sinfulness, shaming and blaming. From my own Catholic upbringing, women were cast as the source of “original sin” connected through Biblical Eve who listened to the serpent and tempted Adam to eat the fruit from the tree of knowledge. In doing so, they were to gain an awareness of their own nakedness, and with it sexuality, and shame, and were cast out from the Garden of Eden.

ORIGINS OF ORIGINAL SIN – FOUNDED ON MISTRANSLATION

Many of you will be familiar with the doctrine of “original sin”, but it turns out to have little basis in fact with the Bible. It was Augustine of Hippo (who lived 354-430 CE) who was the first to use the term – original sin - in Latin - peccatum originale. And that term itself was based on a mistranslated passage of Paul the Apostle’s Epistle to the Romans.

SEX AND SIN: FROM CUPID TO CONCUPISCENCE

The idea of concupiscence was explored by Augustine in his autobiography of his “sinful” youth - known as Confessions of Augustine. What on earth is concupiscence, you may well ask? The word had Cupid (desire) in the

middle of it:

Con + Cupi(d) + escere

= with (intensifier) desire beginning of a process / state

Concupiscence is a term for sexual longing or “sinful lust”. Augustine’s regret of his sinful youth and his reflections would, more than a thousand years later, influence the views and values of Protestant Reformers and Catholics alike.

The doctrine of original sin was formalized as part of the Roman Catholic doctrine by the Councils of Trent in the 16th Century – by which original sin was as an inherited spiritual disease or defect in human nature, and also the condemnation that goes with that fault.

Original sin was regarded as being transferred from generation to generation by propagation – during the sexual act that leads to conception.

Confessions of St Augustine

The misogynistic and anti-sex rhetoric blamed Eve for tempting Adam into sin, and linked to the history of bias against women evident in writings and sermons.

EVE LED BY THE SNAKE – OR ENTWINED WITH SNAKE GODDESS?

Eve’s name is Ḥawwāh (חַוָּה‎) in Hebrew - and means living. The word also resembles the word for snake in Aramaic, and etymologically a title given to the Goddess Asherah - Chawat.

Was Eve then linked to the Goddess and snake from the start? It’s a tempting proposition, and one with archaeological precedent, for there is a long tradition of Goddesses portrayed with snakes far back into the archaeological record of the ancient world.

SNAKE GODDESSES & LIFE

The Goddess Qedesh (Qetesh) was represented with a snake in one hand and a lotus flower in the other, standing on a lion. Some believe the snake was a symbol of life renewal as it had an ability to shed its skin in a show of renewal like having multiple lives - and slither on (live on). While the lotus was interpreted as a symbol of bloom, beauty and sexuality in abundance. (The flower of the lotus is also known to have psychoactive properties, and art depicting Goddess rituals features lotus flowers.)

Her name Qedesh meant “holy”, and she was known by epithets as “Mistress of All of the Gods”, “Lady of the Star of Heavens” and “Great of Magic, Mistress of the Stars”. Qudshu (holy) is also used as epithet of the Goddess Athirat / Asherah.

She was also linked with other Goddesses, and in an artefact known as the Winchester College triple Goddess stone her image is inscribed with the names of three Goddesses - Qudshu-Astarte-Anat, conjoining the three female deities of the region.

Qudesh is a Goddess of sexuality, erotic pleasure, life force power and renewal. In the Egyptian steele of Qedesh, she is depicted with the Egyptian male God of sexuality Min with his penis erect at one side, and the Canaanite God Resheph on the other side of her. She stands front-facing, naked and powerful and beautiful; the snakes and lotus as power symbols.

Steele of Qedesh (1292-1186 BCE) Dynasty XIX, Museum Egizio. Image: Wikicommons

Dating back even further, on the island of Crete at Knossos have been found other presumed Goddesses (or possibly crowned priestesses) wielding snakes with distinctive Minoan dress with bare breasts.

Minoan Snake Goddess / priestess figurines from Knossos, Crete. Collection of Heraklion Museum. Image: Anne O Nomis, 2019.

Little is known of Minoan Crete, as the writing form Linear A has never been translated, although many attempts and claims of translation have been made. What we do know from artifacts on Crete is that a “Great Goddess” was worshiped. The Great Goddess is depicted in gold Minoan seals being worshiped, and in clay figurines and artifacts. Wall paintings are full of women in the distinctive Minoan dress, seemingly playing a prominent role in Minoan visual culture.

As part of my new work, I had a talented dressmaker Asham Martini recreate the Minoan costume worn by the snake Goddess or priestess figurines, based on the archaeological artifacts and ancient wall paintings from Knossos, now in Heraklion Museum on Crete.

The figures of the women also wore dresses with breasts exposed. Interestingly however all modern-day replicas I’ve ever come across online have always had the breasts covered, and in doing so losing a significant part of their signification effect.

On the day of the shoot, photographer Kristyna Hessova proposed getting in real snakes – and before I knew it a snake handler was arranged and I was posing for the photographs in c1650 BCE replica costume and a real snake. It was a fascinating experience to be clothed in this opulent flounced skirt with breasts out, and gave me some insight into the power of the attire.

                

Photographs of Anne O Nomis in Minoan Snake Goddess / priestess dress with snake, Melbourne, 2021. Image: Copyright Kristyna Hessova @ Photographer. Minoan Costume credits to Asham Martini.

Some scholars have argued that Minoan Crete may have been a matriarchal culture, following on from the anthropologist and author Maria Gimbutas. While it is unclear whether this is the case on Crete, with translators still unable to decipher their writing, it is interesting that matrilineal culture has a tendency towards symbolic emphasis of breasts. (As an example the Ede matrilineal culture in Vietnam, features breasts and crescent moon on the “women’s ladder” on the front of their longhouse hut. While other symbols carved into the rafters – such as elephants – emphasize the importance of their matrilineal focus, with elephants themselves led by a matriarch.)

      

Carved breasts and crescent moon on Ede culture longhouse, Hanoi, Vietnam. Image: Photograph by Anne O Nomis

In 2019, hundreds of protestors lay naked on the concrete outside Facebook’s offices in New York, with enlarged photographs of male nipples covering their genitalia, holding up enlarged photographs of male nipples in the air. Photos of male nipples covered the women’s own nipples – making their point on the gendered ridiculousness of such policies and laws.

The campaign #freethenipple was spearheaded by filmmaker Lina Esco in 2012, who created a documentary of herself running through the streets of New York topless. Several celebrities such as Rhianna, Miley Cyrus and Chrissy Teigen since posted photos on social media to support Esco’s campaign.

What underlies this fear of breasts, if not women’s power and sexuality entwined with it? A power which our patriarchal society believes must be contained, brought under control of law, censorship, and slut-shamed.

The most ancient image I have so far found dates back to c2600-2400 BCE of a topless figure who appears to be a woman holding snakes was found engraved on a chlorite vessel believed to be originally from Iran, in the British Museum collection. Just above her shoulder is a star-rosette which is a symbol strongly associated in nearby Mesopotamia with the Goddess of sexuality and warrioress powers, Inanna / Ishtar.


Chlorite vessel depicting figure believed to be a woman with snakes and other animal. (c2600-2400 BCE) British Museum ME 128887 

The image of the ‘Mistress of Animals’ (Potnia Theron) became popular motif in the ancient Greek world, depicting a powerful Goddess demonstrating her mastery and taming of a variety of wild animals.

In Egyptian religion, the Eye of Ra is depicted by a disc with cobra snakes, and personified by a wide range of Goddesses (including Hathor and Wadjet amongst them), as the feminine counterpart of the God Ra. The snakes protecting all direction of the cardinal points, embodying the vigilant protectress who keeps watchful eye for threats and is ready to strike at enemy threats.


Four golden uraei cobra figures, bearing sun disks on their heads. (From reverse side of the throne of Pharaoh Tutankhamun (1346–1337 BC). Valley of the Kings, Thebes, New Kingdom (18th Dynasty). Image: Wikicommons

In the contemporary era I find much of interest in these ancient Goddesses whose symbolism was entwined with snakes, and as I come to giving a workshop on the topic of Boundaries, I have been meditating on snake symbolism.

In 2021, marches and protects have been taking place around the world around the treatment of sexual assaults and rape and how this is being dealt with.

Heads raising, we will tolerate this no longer, a collective hiss changing consciousness, we stand in our power.

ABOUT ANNE

Anne O Nomis is our resident Dominatrix teacher of the Seven Realm Arts certificate course, and author of ‘The History & Arts of the Dominatrix’. She holds a Masters in Comparative Art and Archaeology from UCL, and her new work is on ancient Goddesses and the qursu sex ritual. Anne is hosting an online workshop for everyone on Boundaries informed by her knowledge on 28th March and streaming until the 11th April 2021 at Passionfruit with info here.