“In the neighbourhood of Thebes there are sacred serpents perfectly harmless to man.  These they bury in the temple of Zeus, the god to whom they are sacred.”  (Herod. ii. 74.) At Epidaurus in Argolis the serpent was held sacred as the symbol of Æsculapius.  Clement of Alexandria (Exhort. c. ii.) gives a fuller list of animals worshipped by various nations.  Compare also Clement. Recogn. V. 20.