Dwellers of the sky : serpent in the greco-roman zodiac

Abstract EN

The Ancient Egyptians were close observers of the heavenly bodies behavior from prehistoric times, which evidenced by the numerous astronomical tools and scenes they left.

Throughout the Egyptian history, images of night sky decorated coffins, tombs, temples and some other different kinds of monuments.

These images served as a theoretical and visual tribute to the solar cycle and bore strong renewing associations.

This article investigates the function of the serpent within a various collection of ancient Egyptian zodiacs dating back to the Greco-Roman Period, which was readily incorporated into the existing tradition of astronomical iconography.

In order to explain the adoption of the serpent, this article examines its role in the astronomical images.

There are no actual evidences for serpent iconography found in ancient astronomical scenes before the Greco-Roman Period, I ample to prove that knowledge of those creatures existed from the earliest time, and pervade the Egyptian symbolism.

The details of the serpent picture have sketched and valid for the Greco-Roman Egypt, starting from the Third Century B.C.