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A column of burning snakes August 2, 2010

Posted by Beachcombing in : Ancient, Modern
A column of burning snakes

Beachcombing has before him on his desk a volume from Frazer’s Golden Bough, perhaps the most famous work of comparative mythology ever written. In it Frazer quotes from Athenaeum (1869) concerning a difficult to forget and cruel bonfire. At Luchon in the Pyrenees on Midsummer Eve: a hollow column, composed of strong wicker-work, is raised [...]