[[serpent-worm-eel-snake]] [[jupiter-columns]] - [[green-mi1990]]: "ram-headed serpents: these occur particularly in Romano-Celtic Gaul. The symbolism is generally interpreted as representative of the combined imagery of fertility (the ram was symbolic of fecundity in the Classical world) and regeneration. These hybrid creatures often accompany beneficent deities of abundance or healing: Cernunnos and the Celtic equivalent of Mercury or Mars in his Gaulish role as guardian against misfortune are examples." - [[green-mi1990]]: "Snakes feature in a number of Irish myths. This itself is interesting because, since there are no snakes in Ireland, the implication must be that these snake-myths are of great antiquity. [...] The Ulster champion Conall Cernach has an encounter with a great treasure-guarding snake. The Welsh cleric Giraldus Cambrensis wrote an account of a gold torc guarded by a snake in Pembrokeshire well. The theme of a treasure-guarding serpent is widespread in European legend: it has its equivalent, for instance, in Fafnir of Norse myth."