Though the stars of this region have been seen as a serpent for thousands of years, their symbolic meaning remains uncertain. It is thought likely that the Serpent and its bearer Ophiuchus are related to the Greek healer-god Asclepius. The Greeks believed that the serpents of Asclepius could cure diseases, and so belong a long association between serpents and medicine that continues to our own time.
The stars of Serpens form the shape of a long writhing snake that starts near the Northern Crown, passes southward through Serpens Caput, then through the body of Ophiuchus. When the shape emerges into Serpens Cauda, it turns northward again, and carries on to reach its end into the Milky Way. The tip of the Serpent\'s nose is the faint star Rho Serpentis, while the tip of its tail is marked by the similarly faint Alya. A number of the stars that form part of the Serpent\'s body actually belong to the constellationOphiuchus. Yed Prior, Yed Posterior, Upsilon Ophiuchi, Zeta Ophiuchi and Sabik are all Ophiuchanstars that lie along the star-snake\'s body.
Also to be found within the Serpent\'s Tail is the well-known nebulaM16, better known as the Eagle Nebula because it forms the shape of a flying eagle with outstretched wings. In the heart of this nebula are three towering columns of gas and dust, the subject of one of the Hubble Space Telescope\'s most famous images.