to the spirits of the clouds, the thunder and lightning, that the rain may fall on the growing crops.." In the northwestern Indian city, Banaras, a festival called Naga Pancami is celebrated during the rainy season of Sravana (July/August) to pay homage to the supernatural snakes or deities. Thousands of people gather around snake pools called Naga kuan that are said to lead to Nagaloka, the lavish underwater world of these snake deities or Nagas. Worshippers bathe in and jump from the ledges into the pools as a way to honor them and ensure that they provide things like fertility of the land and its people, and protection from the poisons (wrath) of its bite. In this region, females are more numbered as the worshippers of Nagas, which most closely resemble religious ritual. Literary Symbolism Derived from Myth Snakes taken from stories of mythology are expressed throughout the use of language. Examples include... See also Aapep - an ancient Egyptian deity who embodied chaos and appears in art as a giant serpent Ahi or Vritra - a serpent or dragon in Hinduism, the personification of drought Atum - an ancient Egyptian deity of creation, sometimes depicted as a serpent Bobbi-Bobbi - to the Binbinga people of northern Australia, a huge supernatural snake who lived in the heavens in the Dreamtime Echidna - in Greek mythology, a half-woman and half-snake monster Eobshin - the goddess of the storage and wealth in Korean mythology, believed to be a black snake with ears Glycon— an ancient snake god, having a large and influential cult within the Roman Empire in the 2nd century; the contemporary satirist Lucian proclaimed the god a hoax, supposedly represented by a hand puppet Illuyankas - a serpentine dragon in Hittite mythology Leviathan - a monstrous Biblical sea serpent Jörmungandr - a sea serpent in Norse mythology Meretseger - an ancient Egyptian cobra-goddess Nehustan - a Biblical bronze serpent which God told Moses to erect, but was later destroyed when it became an idol Rod of Asclepius - a serpent-entwined rod wielded by the Greek god Asclepius, a deity associated with healing and medicine Serpents in the Bible Serpent (symbolism) Snakes in Chinese mythology Tefnut - an ancient Egyptian deity of moisture, sometimes depicted as a lion-headed serpent Sheshnag - an ancient hindu god, supposedly he keeps earth on his head Medusa - a woman cursed by Athena to become