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06618_Field_TCUM T183.txt
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1996-04-10
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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