Pet snakes

Table of Contents

Excerpt from the book De Romani written by the Senator Appius Claudius Pulcher Gavius. Chapter on the use of pet snakes in magic.
Through the Mediterranean, we all keep an unlikely animals as pet: snakes. Pet snakes are very useful for several reasons. The first one is obviously to eat rodents, which is useful for every owner of a farm estate. However, our interest in snakes go beyond this.
Indeed, snakes are also associated with a lot of symbolism and with different gods. This includes important gods like the Egyptian Isis and the Greek god of healing Asclepius, or local gods like Angitia from central Italy or our household Lares which often take the form of snakes. Thus, snakes are symbolically linked to rebirth through the shedding of their skin, healing through the properties of their venom, and protection through the killing of aggressors.
Because of this symbolism, jewellery in the form of snakes is extremely popular throughout the Mediterranean and helps anchoring this kind of magic. Whenever you look around in Rome, you can be sure to spot some on the arm of anyone sporting a purple toga.
However, having the animal itself around works even better. A snake living inside a house can be used to reinforced its wards, or to help the Lares manifest better and be more efficient in their protection of the household. It would be a fool indeed who would reject such easily gained benefits!
Healers also frequently wear a snake while working magic on a patient. In such cases, the spells need to be linked to the snake's life energy, so that they can be influenced by the animal to take on the shape that is required to give them the desired properties. Although such use is not something I would risk recommending to anyone not specialised in such magic, as otherwise you are more likely to merge your body with the snake and end up like some strange Medusa or other Gorgon!
Most commonly, snakes are used as co-participents of rituals, as rituals are partly powered by symbolic magic itself. Less frequently, snakes can be used as ingredients for rituals and crafting. This is especially the case with any magic linked to divination. However, be careful! While many of us get attached to our pet snakes, do not commit the mistake of confusing them with wild animals only good for sacrifice! No proper Roman would let such ridiculous sentimentalism get in their way.
Finally, the another interesting use of snakes is to use them in ritual suicide. A famous example is, of course, the Egyptian Queen Cleopatra, but many aristocrats have had to have recourse to this unfortunate mean to avoid dishonour.

Rod of Asclepius by CatherineMunro, Anka Friedrich and NetterKalle on Wikimedia Commons

Roman silver snake jewellery by The Met

What species?

The favourite pet snake of all Romans is the natrix helvetica or barred grass snake. You will find this animal in Gaul, Italia, Britannia, Helvetica, and Western Germania. It can grow over a meter long, and it has a dark grey-green upper body with black barring along the flanks, a pale stomach, and a distinctive yellow and black collar around the neck. While wild snakes prefer to eat amphibians, they will never say no to any juicy mice.
This animal makes a fun pet for any children and a great attraction at parties thanks to its thanatosis, during which the snake becoming completely limp to feign death. They are even such good actors as to throw up blood and the content of their stomach to make the act more convincing! However be careful as those snakes can also spread a fluid smelling of nauseating garlic from its anal glands!
In addition, do not let yourself be intimidated by its ability to triangulate its head to resemble a poisonous snake, or to raise the front of its body and flatten its head and neck so that it resembles a cobra's hood. It is a very docile animal who almost never bite a human and does not own any venom.

Barred grass snake by Benny Trapp on Wikimedia Commons

Barred grass snake feigning death by Piet Spaans Viridiflavus on Wikimedia Commons

But if you desire a snake that is a little more exciting, choose the vipera aspis or aspic viper. It gives very painful bites that can even occasionally kill people! A sure way to teach their place to any would-be robbers. It lives in Gaul and Italia, and it is a little smaller, never more than 80 cm. It has, of course, a triangular head, and is light brown with darker dorsal brown markings.

Aspic viper by Orchi on Wikimedia Commons

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