Scorpions are scary creatures not to be messed around with. Impressive to say the least. People have been making up stories about scorpions, given their gods scorpion-like characteristics, or scorpion companions for protection since man met scorpion. Here you'll find a tale of Babylonian mythology, a Greek legend, some Egyptian gods and a fable all showing man's respect for this noble arachnid. Enjoy!

Babylonian myth

The Scorpion Men of Babylonian mythology were fiersome warriors. They were the children of Tiamat, the "dragon mother" of the universe. Half-man and half-scorpion, they had human heads and arms and were scorpions from the waist down, with powerful tails that they used in combat. Otherwise they fought with their bows and arrows, which never missed. The Babylonians believed the Scorpion Men were the sacred guardians of their sun god, Shamash. They would open the gates of the Mountain of the East in the morning, so Shamash could rise into the sky, and close the gates of the Mountain of the West behind him in the evening as he descended into the underworld.

Greek legend

A different tale is that of Orion and the Scorpion, a Greek legend. Orion was a follower of Artemis, the goddess of the hunt. Eventually, Orion is said to have raped one of Artemis' female companions, and she decided to kill him for it. Artemis sent the Scorpion after Orion, which tracked him down and killed him with his sting. Orion was then given a place among the stars, far away from the Scorpion to keep him safe. You can still see the constellation of Scorpius rising just as Orion is setting on the western horizon! Another version of this myth tells us that Orion angered the goddess Gaia by planning to kill all the animals, which she had created, causing her to send the giant scorpion to kill him. Orion tried to escape the scorpion by swimming out to sea, but got an arrow through his head instead. Athena had been dared by her brother Apollo to hit a black dot over the ocean, and not knowing it was Orion, she aimed and killed him.

Egyptian legend and myth

The Egyptians were great scorpion fans, and many of their legends feature the animal. An example is the story of Isis, the wife of Osiris, travelling to the Town of the Two Sisters on the Nile delta to escape Osiris's evil brother Seth. Seven scorpions traveled with Isis to protect her and every night she warned the scorpions to be careful and speak to no one, for fear of Seth. They came to the Town of the Two Sisters, along the Nile delta, when a wealthy noblewoman shut the door to her house as she saw the goddess and her companions approach. A poor farmer's daughter offered her home instead. The scorpions, however, where still angered by the noblewoman's behavior, and six of the scorpions gave their venom to the seventh, Tefen, who crawled under the door of the lady's house and stung her son. As the boy was dying, she wandered through the town looking for help. Isis heard her cries and decided to save her son, even though the woman had been inhospitable to her. She named each of the seven scorpions, showing her power over them and detoxifying their combined venom. The noblewoman was so impressed by Isis' unconditional kindness, she awarded her and the peasant girl all she owned! The ancient Egyptians also believed in a scorpion goddess with a woman's head, Meretseger. (She would also appear as a cobra!) She protected the Valley of Kings, where all the Egyptian pharaos lay buried. Meretseger would spit venom at anyone who tried to disturb a pharao's tomb. The people of Deir el-Medina (those who built the royal tombs) thought she would punish workers who committed crimes. But if the victim felt sorry for what she had done, Meretseger would quickly heal the wound. "She who causes the throat to breath" was another Egyptian scorpion goddess, Serket. She was usually shown as a woman with a scorpion on her head. She was the protector of the pharao's and of the dead. The Egyptians thought she could cure bites and stings of venomous animals. Her son, Nehebkau, was a snake with human arms and legs and was supposed to guard the underworld and serve the sun god Re. Nehebkau also guarded people against scorpions and snakes, just like his mother.

The frog and the scorpion

Last but not least, we've got a fable for you. A frog and a scorpion meet on the bank of a stream, and the scorpion asks the frog to take him across on his back. "How do I know you won't sting me?" the frog asks. "If I do, we both drown!" replies the scorpion. The frog agrees, but as they are crossing the stream, the scorpion stings the frog anyway. "Why did you do that?" the frog asks as they both start to drown. "You'll die too!" The scorpion just manages to answer with "It is my nature…" The moral of the story is that you just can't help being what you are. (Or that no good deed goes unpunished, you decide…)

Mythology Links

Arachnology Stories - one of the best pages to look for myths, stories and poems related to arachnids and scorpions !