Corresponding Author: Dr David Harrison, david.harrison.phd@gmail.com
Abstract
For the past few years, I’ve been visiting Kosovo and Albania and have been working on a number of academic projects. One such project was to transcribe anew the Notes on Illyria from the rough handwriting of Oxford educated British archaeologist Arthur Evans. Evans was based in Croatia during the early 1880s, though he was arrested as a spy by the Austro-Hungarians in 1882 and returned back to England. He then went on to visit Greece. In 1884, Evans was appointed Keeper of the Ashmolean Museum and in the same year, he gave the Ilchester Lectures on the Slavic conquest of Illyricum, though these remain unpublished. Evans’s Notes remain interesting as they convey his ideas of the Balkans in a late nineteenth century context, Evans using his knowledge of Classical sources. It is from this, that his discussion of Cadmus emerges, and this became an idea for a paper, especially catching my interest in regards to the snake symbolism that I had seen at various locations on my visits to Kosovo and Albania. The paper that can be accessed in this post was published by Academia Letters and was an ‘orphaned’ incomplete work that was attached to the original project of the transcribing of Evans’s Notes on Illyria, which became unfinished due to the Covid-19 pandemic and the subsequent lockdowns. I had transcribed a good number of pages from Notes on Illyria, and one day in the near future I will post the transcription on Academia.
When the archaeologist Arthur Evans (1851-1941)1 was writing his Notes on Illyria, he collected all the sources he could muster, plundering his Classical education and conducting professional research in archaeology and Balkan history. Central to the early part of his Notes was the Encheleans; a mysterious tribe of ‘snake people’ that occupied Illyria, and were said to be founded by Cadmus, who, along with his wife Harmonia, were transformed into
snakes.2
Snakes were an important part of Albanian folklore, from the way the symbol of the snake permeated into Albanian art, appearing on gravestones, on the dresses of Albanian women, being incorporated into architecture and being part of their ritual practices.3
This paper will explore this cultural aspect to the Albanian people and how it has formed part of their cultural identity. The paper will also draw on the recently transcribed Notes on Illyria of Arthur Evans (transcribed by the author) and how the Encheleans and ‘snake people’ were central to Evans’ developing argument on how he believed the western part of the Balkan Peninsula was the location for this tribe.
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1 Arthur Evans wrote of his experiences in the western Balkans in Through Bosnia and Herzegovina, which was published in two editions in 1876 and 1877, and Evans became a correspondent on Balkan affairs for The Manchester Guardian. His archaeological work in the region along with his classifications and transcription work has been of great value to scholars of Balkan and Mycenaean studies. See Bejtullah Destani, (ed.), Ancient Illyria: An Archaeological Exploration by Arthur Evans, (London: I.B. Tauris, 2006).
2 The transcribed notes of Arthur Evans by the author will accompany the paper when published.
3 See the excellent thesis by Flamur Doli, ‘Decoration from the House Snake Cult Belief System, as Evidenced in Kosovan Vernacular Architecture’, Architecture Faculty, Prishtina University, Republic of Kosovo, Thesis Kosova, No.1, (2009), pp.128-129. See also Abolala Soudavar, ‘ASTYAGES, CYRUS AND ZOROASTER: SOLVING A HISTORICAL DILEMMA’, Iran, Vol. 50 (2012), pp.45-78, in which Soudavar discusses the mythical Indo-Iranian ‘snake man’.
Corresponding Author: Dr David Harrison, david.harrison.phd@gmail.com
Citation: Harrison, D.D. (2022). Arthur Evans and his notes on Illyria; the snake people and cultural identity in Albania and Kosovo. Academia Letters, Article 5629
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Serpent imagery within a religious context is something that commonly appears in the Old Testament, examples being in the Book of Genesis, where the serpent appears to Eve in the Garden,4 and where the rod of Arron turns into a serpent when he casts it down in front of Pharaoh at the beginning of Exodus. 5 Here the serpent represents fear, knowledge, power and evil, though the snake can also represent healing, such as when Moses made a bronze serpent for a standard, that when looked upon, could heal a man of a poisonous snake bite. 6 In the New Testament, Christ foretells his crucifixion and resurrection by using the symbol of the serpent as uplifting the Son of Man, so that everyone who possess faith may have eternal life. 7 Here, we have the balance of the meaning of the symbolism of the serpent, and this rich meaning can assist us in recognising its significance to Albanian culture. Indeed, the snake in Albania represented fertility and power, and having occurred on gravestones, it could also reflect the cycle of life; that of life, death and rebirth. Its presence in Albanian architecture represents protection, as the image of a snake on a dwelling can act as a guardian. Indeed in Kosovo and Albania, it is still considered an ill omen to kill a snake if found in or around the home.
When we examine the notes of Arthur Evans, his interest in the Enchaleans as a tribe linked to the actions of Cadmus or Kadmus, provides us with a look at the legend and specifically at the way the serpent may have been embedded in early local folklore. Evans states ‘In Illyria in the black river (there is) a tomb of Harmonia (and) Kadmus men of the eels close to their home. (The Greek translated)’, and indeed, the name of the Encheleans could be translated as the eel eaters or the snake men, enchelus being similar to the Greek ἔγχελῠς. These Encheleans are referred to by Evans as being situated by Lake Ohrid (though he also refers to Scylax as placing them along the Illyrian coast), and Evans was also familiar with the legend of Cadmus and Harmonia transforming into snakes or dragons, with the son of Cadmus being named Illyrius. The Greek legend has Cadmus as king of Thebes, assisting the Encheleans against the Illyrians after consulting the Oracle. He defeated the Illyrians, and thus became king of the Encheleans. Greek Mythology has Cadmus killing a water dragon, which brought him ill-fortune, and after remarking to the Gods that if they were so cared for the life of a serpent, he may well become one himself, after which he transformed into a serpent, leading his wife Harmonia to ask for the same fate for herself.
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4 The New English Bible, (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1970), Genesis, 3:2-7, p.3.
5 Ibid., Exodus, 7:8-13, p.67.
6 Ibid., Numbers, 21:7-9, p.173.
7 Ibid, John, 3:13-17, p.114.
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Another half woman- half serpent creature was Lamia, a seductress according to Greek mythology, which again reminds us of snakes as fertility symbolism and is also reminiscent of the various Slavic Dragons that inhabit the folklore of other Balkan states such as Serbia and Bulgaria, the serpent and dragon imagery obviously being important in a wider cultural context throughout the Balkan peninsula. Yet another example is the ‘Dragon man’ of Balkan folklore; a part human, part serpent mythical creature that possesses supernatural powers to curse or protect. However, the ethno-cultural importance of the snake cult within the Albania cultural regions is interesting, the snake being seen as a guardian of the home and as a fertility symbol. This use of the snake as a powerful protection symbol certainly continues in modern Albanian culture. There is still in existence a popular belief that to find the ‘House Boa’ in the home is a sign of good luck, and to kill the snake is considered a great sin. There is also the continued use of what is termed the snake ritual by practitioners of Albanian magic, with a snake being used in a ritual as part of a curse.
8 The symbol of the snake as a guardian takes on a geometrical, zoomorphic form when seen on Albanian and Kosovan architecture and furniture. An early example of this zig-zag abstract style of the image of a snake can be seen in the Neolithic period on a clay figure of a snake that was found in the Neolithic settlement of Tjerrtorja, near Pristina. Other archaeological artefacts dating from the 6th -5th centuries BCE includes silver snake bracelets found in an Illyrian grave in Banjë Pejës, and certainly point to evidence of a snake cult, setting it firmly in the Illyrian period.
9 During the latter medieval period, when the Balkan states were fighting the invading Ottomans, the name Dragon was given to certain Balkan noblemen who protected their lands from the Muslim invaders. Albanian nobleman George Kastrioti – otherwise known as Skanderbeg (1405-1468), has been referred to as ‘Balkan’s Dragon’, Skanderbeg fighting the Ottomans during the fifteenth century. 10 Other Eastern European noblemen from this period also used the title of Dragon, more famously Vlad Dracul II (before 1395-1447) and
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8 Notes and observations by the author while travelling in Kosovo and Albania. The blood and intestines of the snake are used in particular during the ritual.
9 Flamur Doli, ‘Decoration from the House Snake Cult Belief System, as Evidenced in Kosovan Vernacular Architecture’, Architecture Faculty, Prishtina University, Republic of Kosovo, Thesis Kosova, No.1, (2009), pp.128-129.
10 See Edlira Dhima and Ismail Qemal, ‘SKANDERBEG, AN EMBLEM IN WORLD LITERATURE’, European Scientific Journal, (January 2013), vol.9, No.2, pp.164-169, on p.164.
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his son Vlad Dracula III (1428/31-1476/77), both of Wallachia. Vlad Dracul was made a member of the Order of the Dragon, an Order founded in 1408 by Sigismund of Luxemburg, who was king of Hungary and Croatia, the Order being fashioned after the military Orders
of the Crusades with a purpose to fight the Ottomans.11 The name certainly held power in the region and would have held a deeper meaning for the noblemen of the region during the period.
The mythology of the ‘snake people’ discussed by Evans in his Notes is certainly still embedded in the region, especially in Kosovo, Albania, and parts of Bosnia, Montenegro and Macedonia, with the powerful symbolism of the snake still being used for protection in
modern times. Snake designs can still be seen on older buildings, and snake traditions are still to be found in the local superstition and in rituals. Though traditions of snake men and Dragon men are still strong in folklore throughout the Balkan region as a whole, it is with the Albanian speaking regions that the snake rituals and beliefs are still predominant.
Bibliography
Conrad, Joseph L., ‘Bulgarian Magic Charms: Ritual, Form, and Content’, The Slavic and East European Journal, Vol.31, No.4, (Winter, 1987), pp.548-562.
Destani, Bejtullah, (ed.), Ancient Illyria: An Archaeological Exploration by Arthur Evans, (London: I.B. Tauris, 2006).
Dhima, Edlira and Qemal, Ismail, ‘SKANDERBEG, AN EMBLEM IN WORLD LITERATURE’, European Scientific Journal, (January 2013), vol.9, No.2, pp.164-169.
Doli, Flamur, ‘Decoration from the House Snake Cult Belief System, as Evidenced in Kosovan Vernacular Architecture’, Architecture Faculty, Prishtina University, Republic of Kosovo, Thesis Kosova, No.1, (2009).
Florescu, Radu R., and McNally, Raymond T., Dracula: Prince of Many Faces, His Life and Times, (New York: Hachette Book Group, 1989).
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11 For a detailed history of Vlad Dracula, see Radu R. Florescu and Raymond T. McNally, Dracula: Prince of Many Faces, His Life and Times, (New York: Hachette Book Group, 1989).
Corresponding Author: Dr David Harrison, david.harrison.phd@gmail.com
Dr. David Harrison is author of The Genesis of Freemasonry and the Lost Rites and Rituals of Freemasonry and many other books…
