Ouroboros was first seen in ancient Egypt as a symbol of the sun and represented the travels of the sun disk, though it didn't get its name until it moved onto the Phonecians and then the Greeks. Since then it's been found in mythology (representing the Milky Way), Gnosticism and alchemy (representing Mercury), Norse legend (Jormungand), the Aztec serpent God Queztacoatl, Chinese alchemical dragons and Hindu, where the dragon circles the tortoise that supports the elephants that carry the world.
