The Ourobóros as an Auroral Phenomenon

Bibliographic Data

ID7523378
AuthorsMarinus Anthony Van Der Sluijs (corresponding author), Anthony L Peratt
Year2009
Volume46
Issue1
Pages3-41
Publication date2009-01-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueJournal of Folklore Research (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0737-7037 • E-ISSN: 1543-0413
PublisherIndiana University Press (PUBLISHER • US)
DOI10.2979/jfr.2009.46.1.3
OpenAlexW2055128706
LanguageEN
Citations received3
References cited27

This article traces the spread and development of the motif of the ouroboros , or circular serpent, and proposes that it originated in descriptions of an intense aurora. The earliest artistic examples of the ouroboros date to ±5000–±3000 BCE. The theme proliferated in Egypt and spread to the classical world during the Hellenistic period. In the earliest traditions, emphasis was on the ouroboros' associations with the sun god, the creation of the world, the circular ocean, darkness or underworld thought to surround the earth, and a mythical combat. From late antiquity onwards, the ouroboros acquired more sophisticated meanings, including a link with the ecliptic band or the zodiac, the lunar nodes, the alchemical process, and eternity. In China, the ouroboros largely remained a purely decorative motif, while its most common role in the equatorial regions of America, Africa and Oceania was as a form of the cosmic ocean. In reviewing hypotheses concerning the origin of the motif, we consider the antiquity of the theme, its near-universality, its geographic link with the outermost boundary of the visible world, and aspects of the dragon's prosopography—such as its precious orb, its filamentation, its twin aspect, and its radiant color scheme. It is proposed that the archetype was inspired by a surge of intense auroral phenomena including a plasma instability type known as a diocotron instability, witnessed by human beings towards the end of the Neolithic period

Art · Epistemology · Literature · Phenomenon · Cultural and Mythological Studies · Literature, Magical Realism, García Márquez · Philosophy · Youth Culture and Social Dynamics

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