Slithering across Verse : The Multifarious Functions of Snake Imagery in Manuel Philes’ Poetry

This chapter aims to illuminate the fluctuations that snake imagery could experience when used in different contexts. Philes demonstrates three different literary approaches when dealing with this reptile. First, some of his epigrams offer some scientific, yet poetic descriptions of snakes. Then, Philes writes tetrastichs inspired by the pharmacological poem of Andromachus (first century CE). Finally, in various poems Philes denotes the snake as a bad creature, referring to the long tradition of equating the snake with the sin. Tracing the snake as it slithers across Philes’ verses offers meaningful insights into both the unity and the diversity of the poet’s oeuvre.