Animals occupy an extensive space among the symbol group which has survived as a part of the human culture and belief systems by means of collective memory. In this respect, the snake may be the most controversial and the most ubiquitous symbol perceived in contradictory terms. The serpent, which appears in legends, fairy tales and myths throughout different periods and cultures, embodies alternations of good and evil. How does this contradiction found in oral and written tradition translate into image in visual expression? An iconographic evaluation of the serpent symbol on the basis of ancient material and cultural resources will enable the social perception variables to be examined with visual evidence. In this respect the evaluation of visual data pertaining to the Greek -Roman period will also include reference to the earliest serpent symbols found in Göbeklitepe reliefs made by a hunter gatherer population. Undoubtedly, what the snake symbol in the reliefs made twelve thousand years ago meant for the people who made them can only be assumed. Yet, its properties like mysteriousness, eeriness, ability to shed skin may provide an answer as to why the serpent often found a place in visual narratives. On the other hand, the Serpens-snake symbol found in the written sources of the Sumerian, Hittite and classical Hellen-Roman mythology, assumes a multi-faceted metaphorical and symbolic content and is transformed into a figure with richer visual interpretations. In this article, we share the results of a study which presents this process of transformation of the snake figure with written and visual data. In this article, a proposal is put forward as to the discussion of possibility that the findings on tumuli previously considered as representations of phallus may in fact be representations of the snake figure due to the close relationship of the serpent with the cult of the dead and the underworld. As a matter of fact, the fact that there are no other examples of the phallus symbol in burial or tomb iconography constitutes a basis for proposal. According to another view, these symbols on tumuli were influenced by Anatolian mother goddess idols and thus came into use as grave cippus. It is understood that the issue of the findings on tumuli has not been dealt exhaustively and sufficiently and needs to be re-evaluated with reference to the cult of the dead and burial traditions.