Legends of this vicious, gargantuan seven headed serpent date back to well over 1,000 years BC.
Known collectively to the Semitic Canaanites, the Sumerians, the Mesopotamians and the rest of the ancient Syro-Palestinian world as the “The coiling serpent,” “the fleeing serpent” or “the powerful with the seven heads,” the Lotan is considered by many researchers to be a precursor to the most famous of all SEA-MONSTERS — the biblical LEVIATHAN.
That having been said, there are some scholars who believe that the reference made to the Lotan’s “seven heads” may also be associated with the Greek myth of the HYDRA.
It has been also suggested, that tales of this animal might well stem from early eyewitness accounts from ancient mariners who had had the misfortune of encountering the notorious GIANT SQUID while traveling the Mediterranean trade routes.
According to legend, the Canaanite God Baal slew this colossal seven-headed serpent in a battle of epic proportions. Most modern scholars agree that after the Israelites conquered the region known as Palestine in approximately 1000 BC., they incorporated the legend of the Lotan into their own culture, dubbing the beast Leviathan.
© Copyright Rob Morphy 2002 — 2011
