represented, when applied to such unwieldy materials as brick 
and stone, insured for the scribal caste a monopoly of priestly 
power. The easier alphabet and the light, cheap, transportable 
papyrus together effected the transfer of power from the 
priestly to the military class. All this is implied in the myth 
about Cadmus and the dragon’s teeth, including the fall of the 
city states, the rise of empires and military bureaucracies.

     In terms of the extensions of man, the theme of the 
dragon’s teeth in the Cadmus myth is of the utmost 
importance. Elias Canetti in Crowds and Power  reminds us that 
the teeth are an obvious agent of power in man, and especially 
in many animals. Languages are filled with testimony to the 
grasping, devouring power and precision of teeth. That the 
power of letters as agents of aggressive order and precision 
should be expressed as extensions of the dragon’s teeth is