The above image is of fossilised snake remains in sedimentary rock laid-down well over 100 million years ago. However it seems that after the last Great Extinction of geological time, which caused the demise of the dinosaur dominated world, about 58 million years ago the species of snake and their populations multiplied. The above title is the subject of my last W.E.A. class under the heading ‘History of not very nice things’, (although clearly not all would agree that snakes are not very nice I am thinking here mostly of a traditional reputation).
In myth, legend and early history snakes got a bad reputation. There are versions of the Adam and Eve and Creation story in the Christian religion (Book of Genesis, first Book of the Old Testament), in Judaism (Torah) and in the Muslim religion (Quran), although with significant differences. In the Book of Genesis account it is a ‘serpent’ that tempts Eve to eat of the fruit of the tree of knowledge of good and evil, a creature then forced to crawl evermore ‘on its belly’ as a result of God’s retribution (although one might wonder how a ‘serpent’ moved before). Following the suicide of her partner Mark Anthony Queen Cleopatra of Egypt took her own life in 30B.C. by ‘clasping an asp to her breast’ (probably a Nile python). As poisonous snakes use their poison to stun or kill their prey or to deter an attacker Cleopatra must have handled it roughly.
Snakes are carnivorous and either consume their prey whole (the jaw and skull bone structure have evolved in such a way to make this possible), crush it to death first (e.g. anaconda) or first stunning it with poison.
There are relatively few parts of the World that have no native snake populations, the southern region of South America and the Atlantic Ocean being two. Various islands also have no snakes e.g. New Zealand and Ireland (story of St. Patrick), this ,presumably, related to the break-up of land masses.
So, what is the problem with snakes?