Egyptian craftsmen often represented the snake as a protective goddess, symbol of divine life and order.
On a fresco of the 21st Dynasty (Papyrus of Herub), a snake is eating its own tail: it's Ouroboros. What does this symbol mean ? The snake biting its own tail represents the cyclical nature of the universe. In the first book of Horapollon hieroglyphs: "When the Egyptians want to represent the world, they paint a snake biting its own tail. Each year this animal sheds its skin an loses its old age; in the same way, in the world, each annual period rejuvenates through change".

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