Herps in Society and Culture: the Testudines and Tunes

The representation of reptiles and amphibians can often times seem negative and cold but some of my favorite myths and stories incorporate them either as bad omens or as protectors from evil forces. What I find really interesting is how the tortoises and turtles have been represented in the arts and music. One of the original myths I heard connecting the tortoise to music is from Homer’s” Hymn 4 to Hermes” in which the God Hermes is born and shortly after his birth stumbles upon a tortoise walking about at the mouth of his cave. Seeing the tortoise, Hermes praises and admires the testudines and speaks to all the power in warding off evil that tortoises can bring alive but that “if you die, then you shall make sweetest song.” And with that Hermes scoops up the tortoise and uses him to make the first Lyre which as soon as Hermes strummed the strings the heavens filled with the  songs of the gods as the sweet sounds emitted from the Shell were truly something to behold.  While a little brutal, this also gives testament to the high regard that these Testudines had in society of ancient Greece and other civilizations. There longevity and mysterious, calm, and seemingly tranquil nature made turtles and tortoises a focus of many artists, poets, philosophers and musicians. They are viewed as world builders in some cultures and as power protection against spells as their aquatic habitats led some cultures to believe they had connection to the underworld. But to bring things back to the music, there is a more modern depiction of how the folklore surrounding turtles and music that I’d like to bring up.          

 

             The band the Grateful Dead is known for their images of dancing bears but there is another animal that makes it appearance on much of the album artwork and other items. The terrapins playing music on the cover of their album Terrapin Station is just one of the many images associated with the band that depict a turtle playing an instrument. The meaning of the album is about enlightenment and how to get there. The album not uses the imagery of the terrapin but also incorporates the themes of longevity and tranquility associated with these animals. Since the album, the terrapin has appeared on much of the bands artwork and even so far as to have their bassist be the “turtle man” otherwise known as Oteil Burbridge often seen playing a green bass with shirts depicting geometry similar to the carapace of the animals.         

  

             I personally find the tranquility and peace associated with the longevity of turtles in mythology and art to be quite nice. I think that humans in ancient times saw these organisms who lived long lives and lived at what appears to be a slower pace as a model for what people should do when things got to hectic. The poets and sculptors also held these animals in high regard and the turtle and tortoise are still held in fairly high cultural standings.