Cicadas in Myth, Folklore and Tradition
Cicadas are the subject of much myth and folklore, all around the world and throughout history. To the ancient Greeks the cicada symbolized resurrection, rebirth, and immortality and is mentioned as being sacred to the ancient Greek sun god Apollo. Homer mentions cicadas in the Iliad around 9000 BC and compares the discourse of “sage chiefs exempt from war” to the song of the cicada.
Ancient Greeks and Chinese made a habit of keeping male cicadas in cages for the pleasure of hearing them sing. One Greek ode to the cicada says: “We call you happy, O cicada, because after you have drunk a little dew from the treetops you sing like a queen.”
Cicadas have been featured on numerous coins. Members of ancient Roman nobility even wore gold broaches featuring cicadas to hold back their hair.
In Taoism, the cicada is the symbol of the hsien, or soul, disengaging itself from the body at death. Cicadas are also featured in Japanese carvings on small medicine boxes and are mentioned in ancient Hindu law as long ago as 200 BC in India.
The cicada nymph burrowing out of the ground has been a symbol of rebirth or reincarnation in a number of societies. Native Americans believed that cicadas had the power to renew life and made a medicine from them which was used to treat battle wounds.
Many cultures have used cicadas for medicinal purposes for anything from a cure for earaches (China & Japan) to a diuretic (France). In China, shed cicada skins or actual nymphs (all of which are silent) are collected and ground up. A tea made from these skins is given to noisy, crying babies in the hope that the baby will then be quiet like the cicada nymph rather than noisy like the adult cicada.
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