A serpent meant renewed life of the year. […] To them was intrusted the management of the thread of life. […] The fire of Hestia was a symbol of the life of the State. […] Clearly, the monster that deprived Adonis of life is only a symbol of the frosty winter, before whose freezing blast all life in nature decays.” […] He married Eurydice*, and their life was full of happiness.