The Aesculapian snake (Zamenis longissimus) is a species of nonvenomous snake native to Europe. Among the largest European snakes, the Aesculapian snake is a mystic icon of medicine throughout the ancient Greco-Roman world.
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Associated with the Greek medicine god Asclepius (Roman Aesculapius), the snake first appears when Asclepius is a demi-god. Having learned much from his father Sun God Apollo, and Chiron the centaur, Asclepius is wiser in medicine and healing than his teachers.
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This comes to the attention of King Minos of Crete, whose son Glaucus has drowned in a vat of honey. He orders Asclepius to bring him back from the dead, and imprisons Asclepius in the tomb with the corpse of Glaucus.
Asclepius is distracted from thoughts of doom by a snake slithering toward him. In panic he grabs his staff and bashes the snake over the head. The snake dies curled around his staff. Suddenly another snake appears with an herb in its mouth.
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The snake puts the herb on the head of the dead snake, who miraculously returns to life. Asclepius is overjoyed. He gets some of the herb and revives Glaucus. Thus is the snake associated with medicine, and especially immortality.
In Rome, a boy Lucius is saved from evil assassins when they see a shed snake skin "slither" from his bed. The terrified assassins flee. His mother Agrippina makes the skin into a bracelet of protection. It sees to work as Lucius becomes Emperor Nero in 54 AD.
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Shed snake skins are often used in rituals of healing magic. They can be worn in a vial necklace or spell jewelry. We already know the snake symbolizes rebirth. Snakes also connect to intuition, subconscious, rhythm of Earth, elemental Water and dreams.
Snakes relate to protection, longevity, the energy of the primal dragon. A snake draws energies of sensuality, prosperity and wisdom. The European grass snake is a heroic symbol of fertility and luck in Baltic lore as the snake Žaltys. The snake knows secrets.
In Germanic lore the Lindwyrm Prince is tricked by a savvy peasant girl into shedding his skins and breaking the spell holding him captive. In most cultures, snakes are strongly connected to healing and medicine.
Snakes, usually venomous, are used to make snake wine in some Asian countries. Snake wine is considered a fortifying elixir best downed with a shot glass.
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The Aesculapian snake is dark, long, slender, in bronze tones and with smooth scales giving it a sheen of metal. Juveniles can easily be confused with young grass snakes (Natrix natrix) as they both have a yellow to white collar patch.
Adult snakes are usually olive yellow, brownish green or almost black. These slender reptiles can grow over 1.8 m (6 ft) long. They're found in France, most of Italy, Greece, the Balkans, north of the Black Sea.
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Isolated populations in Odenwald, Mt. Ararat and others are thought begun by Romans erecting temples to the medicine god Aesculapius, to whom the snakes are sacred. Every Aesculapian temple has its resident snakes.
Accustomed to people, the Aesculapian snakes travel uninhibited among the sick, who come to sleep at the temple. It's said one can have prophetic dreams. Any dreams are reported to a priest, who interprets the dream and prescribes treatment.
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Before the patient sleeps, a sacrificial offering must be made to the god. It's a pay-what-you-can basis. Poor people are not expected to give the sacrifice afforded by a wealthy person. All get the same treatment whether one brings tidbits for snakes or gold for the temple.
The snakes eat rats, mice, shrews, eggs and small birds. The snakes are active by day. In the warmer months of the year, they come out in late afternoon or early morning. They are very good climbers, able to ascend even vertical tree trunks and walls.
They're recorded at heights of 4 - 5 m (13 - 16 ft) and up to 20 m (66 ft) in trees. They forage in the roofs of buildings. The snakes are active even during hibernation to keep body temperature stable. On sunny days they come to the surface and bask.
Aesculapian snakes are secretive and wild individuals care not for human company. If cornered they'll snap and bite but have no venom. They need a wide range of habitation thus don't fare well in captivity. In Roman temples they come and go freely.
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The snakes are sexually mature at c. 4 - 6 years. Breeding occurs annually after hibernation in spring, from mid-May to mid-June. At this time snakes actively seek each other out. Rival males wrestle using their coils. The victorious male gives the female little love bites.
The snakes have sex. The male has two penises and can use either one. The female has a vaginal opening called a cloaca, and scientists have recently discovered two clitorises behind it. The snakes entwine and remain this way for at least an hour, up to several hours.
Two snakes entwined are a fertility symbol of the Chinese primordial deities Fuxi (Fu Xi) and Nüwa (Nügua). They're helpers and teachers of humankind. A creator goddess, Nüwa makes the first people from yellow clay.
In 4 - 6 weeks the female lays about ten eggs. She favors a moist, warm spot especially of organic decomposition. Snake eggs may be laid under hay piles, in rotting wood piles, heaps of manure or leaf mold, old tree stumps.
Often in northern parts of the range, preferred nesting sites or hatching areas may be used by several Aesculapian snakes. They might share their space with grass snakes. In 6 - 10 weeks, the eggs hatch. The baby emerges ready to find its first meal.
As for Asclepius, he comes to a fiery end. Fearing Asclepius will make humans immortal, Zeus kills him with a thunderbolt. He's fully deified as a god. When Apollo learns his son is dead, his cascading tears fall into the divine river Eridanos to become drops of amber.