The island Crete has 4 different kinds of snakes and one of these is the Ochendra or the leopard snake or the European rat-snake that belongs to the Colubridae family. It is a non-venomous snake, you can find it in your garden, as I did last year. It scared me when I first saw it but after asking around I understood that this snake wouldn’t do me any harm. As a matter of fact this snake is considered to give you luck and happiness!
It is this kind of snake that the Snake Goddess holds in her hands, this figurine was found in the Palace of Knossos.
This is probably why this snake is seen here as good sign. The rat-snake was years before put in the houses to keep the mice and the rats out of the houses and the storage places. She is usually about 1,2 m long, the females are a bit longer than the males and you can find them everywhere in Greece. They usually come out to hunt for their food early in the morning and at dusk, and they eat nearly only rodents. They even swim to find or catch their prey. Once they cached their prey they kill it by firming it and then they swallow it. They pare once every 2 years and hatching lasts 6-8 weeks. The rat-snake can reach the age of 25.
storytellerontheroad 