“The earth was formless and deserted and darkness covered the abyss and the Spirit of God hovered over the waters.” […]” (Genesis, 1.2)
When people talk about sea monsters, they often quote a specific Bible verse in Genesis (1.21), “God created sea monsters.” In my opinion, however, the most mysterious and fascinating message is hidden in the sentence that opens this article. The word “abyss,” in fact, in Hebrew tehom (תהום) carries with it very interesting images and meanings: tehom may not only denote the dark depths of the seas but also a terrible primordial monster.
The term tehom, in fact, according to historian Heinrich Zimmern, is related to the Babylonian Tiamat, a god representing the primordial chaos that anticipates creation. The appearance of this deity? An immense and monstrous sea serpent, equipped with horns.
Sea serpents accompany the oldest legends and myths: immense and ungovernable, they are often considered enemies of man. On closer inspection, this is actually not always the case: unpredictable, gigantic, and mysterious, the serpents that dominate the waters represent the indomitable and unpredictable power of nature, with no particular negative connotations.
In the next few lines we will find out which are the most important sea serpents that have populated mythology and ancient seafaring stories over the millennia.
First, however, a few premises.
– Sea snakes. Why? I have often wondered why, in many cultures, the image of the sea serpent exists. Observing the myth, we realize that man has put together two of the most fearsome and mysterious elements that exist: the ruthless land serpent and the unknown deep sea.
– Snakes and dragons. It is most interesting to note that dragons and sea serpents have been the same thing for centuries. The dragons of the ancients, in fact, were nothing but horrible giant snakes, hidden in the waters. It will only be in the Middle Ages that dragons will be imagined with paws and throats of fire.
– Sea snakes in biology. Snakes in Middle Eastern and European legends are not to be confused with sea snakes (Hydrophiinae), which actually exist. Highly venomous and colorful, they inhabit the waters of Australia and Southeast Asia. They are quite similar in size to common snakes and are unlikely to have inspired the dragons of myth. In art, we find them in Samuel Coleridge’s very famous “Ballad of the Old Sailor.”
Read More – SEA SERPENTS: MONSTERS OF THE MYTHOLOGICAL DEEP.
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