If we were to sow our teeth,
There would come stories
To make us shudder
Like the one about a desperately
Happy old man who gave up
His love of life to become
A gravedigger and lied
To those asking whose grave
He dug, falsely saying
He was looking for treasure
But so far had found only gold.
Spartoi: the ‘sown men’ of Greek mythology, born from dragon’s teeth. Cadmus in founding Thebes had for good reason slain a dragon, sacred to Ares, and was advised by Athena to sow its teeth. The line of the Spartoi ends in a great many tragic stories, those of Oedipus and his spawn among them. In death, Cadmus and Harmonia, his wife, became snakes. It does not seem to have been a punishment. It is worth noting that Cadmus is said to have brought the Phoenician alphabet to Greece. The result we all know well. One might ask why are snakes sacred to the gods. To understand that would be a treasure. It may be necessary like Cadmus to become one.