Creature Feature: Saint Patrick's Snakes

Top of the mornin' to you all! Er, afternoon. I know I haven't posted much lately- my life has been a bit hectic- but I plan on writing much more in the next coming weeks! Today I'd like to focus a bit on a myth surrounding Saint Patrick's Day, and, no, it doesn't involve alcohol (sorry to disappoint!). 

I'll start by quoting National Geographic: 

"The St. Patrick mythology includes the claim that he banished snakes from Ireland.

It's true no snakes exist on the island today, Freeman said. But they never did.

Ireland, after all, is surrounded by icy ocean waters—much too cold to allow snakes to migrate from Britain or anywhere else.

But since snakes often represent evil in literature, "when Patrick drives the snakes out of Ireland, it is symbolically saying he drove the old, evil, pagan ways out of Ireland [and] brought in a new age," Freeman said.

The snakes myth and others—such as Patrick using three-leafed shamrocks to explain the Holy Trinity (Father, Son, and Holy Ghost)—were likely spread by well-meaning monks centuries after St. Patrick's death, Freeman said."

There ya have it folks- Saint Patrick never drove the snakes out of Ireland. The country is one of only a few in the world that doesn't have snakes (such as Greenland and Antarctica). Since snake populations are fairly slow to colonize new areas, they never made it across from Britain before the melting glaciers from the Ice Age separated it from Ireland completely. In fact, the emerald isle only has one native reptile: the viviparous lizard. The snakes were merely a representation of evil. (You can read more here!)

Snakes have been used as a symbol of evil in a variety of contexts. For example, in the Bible, a serpent lures Eve to eat the forbidden fruit in the Garden of Eden. And they were used to represent Jews in antisemetic propaganda (like the children's story The Poisonous Serpent). In Norse mythology, the god Jormungandr, who looks like a snake, is the arch enemy of Thor. 

But it's not all bad. The staff of Hermes with two entwined snakes, known as the "caduceus", is commonly used for North American medical organizations. And many groups throughout history saw snakes as representations of love, power, and other positive qualities so much so that they incorporated serpent images in their jewelry. 

How can you not love a face like that?

I know there are a lot of people out there who are afraid of snakes, and many who may even want them eradicated. But let me point out that snakes, like all animals (except mosquitoes) have a very important role in the ecosystem. Although they can be deadly, most want nothing to do with humans and are quite afraid of us. So don't get your facts from that Anaconda movie. If you see a snake, just don't touch it. And if anyone needs help remembering that, you have my permission to tie them to a chair and make them listen to this Steve Irwin-inspired song.  

As always, thank you for reading! I hope you come back soon to see my latest posts, and Happy Saint Patrick's Day!