Serpent Herbalists
“Tylon or Tylus [of Lydia] was a son of Earth. One day as he was walking on the banks of the Hermus a serpent stung and killed him. His distressed sister Moire had recourse to a giant named Damasen, who attacked and slew the serpent. But the serpent's mate culled a herb, ‘the flower of Zeus,’ in the woods, and bringing it in her mouth put it to the lips of the dead serpent, which immediately revived. In her turn Moire took the hint and restored her brother Tylon to life by touching him with the same plant. A similar incident occurs in many folk-tales. Serpents are often credited with a knowledge of life-giving plants.”**
—J. G. Frazer, Adonis, Attis, Osiris, part 1 (The Golden Bough, vol. V, 1914, p. 186)
**Frazer’s Footnote: “Thus Glaucus, son of Minos, was restored to life by the seer Polyidus, who learned the trick from a serpent. See Apollodorus, Bibliotheca, iii. 3. I. For references to other tales of the same sort see my note on Pausanias, ii. 10. 3 (vol. iii. pp. 65 sq.). The serpent's acquaintance with the tree of life in the garden of Eden perhaps belongs to the same cycle of stories” (p. 186).
Eve taking medical advice from the Serpent in the Garden—"An apple a day keeps the doctor away" (Eva met slang en appel en liggende leeuw, by Hans Sebald Beham [1523]).
(Source: Rijksmuseum, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons)
