žalčių karalienė) and the Latvian folk fairytale "The grass snake's bride" (Zalkša līgava). These works include another common theme in Baltic mythology: that grass snakes wear crowns (note grass snake's yellow spots) and that there is a king of snakes who wears a golden crown. In some traditions the king of snakes changes every year; he drops his crown in spring and the other snakes fight for it (possibly based on the mating of grass snakes). Today grass snakes hold a meaning of house blessing among many Latvians and Lithuanians. One tradition is to put a bowl of milk near a snake's place of residence, although there is no evidence of a grass snake ever drinking milk. Driven by late 19th century and 20th century Romantic nationalism, grass snake motifs in Latvia have gained a meaning of education and wisdom, and are common ornaments in the military, folk dance groups and education logos and insignia. They are also found on the Lielvārde Belt. The grass snake has also become one of the main symbols of the Lithuanian neo-pagan movement Romuva. Roman Virgil in his 29 BC Georgics (book III, lines 425-439: ) describes the grass snake as a large feared snake living in marshes in Calabria, eating frogs and fish. Gallery References External links Amphibians and Reptiles of Europe Natrix Reptiles of Europe Reptiles of Russia Reptiles of Azerbaijan Snakes of China Reptiles described in 1758 Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus Articles containing video clips