Besides being the symbol for the astrological sign of Scorpio, and an eight-legged carnivorous member of the arachnid family, the scorpion has been co-opted for about as many different reasons as one could imagine.
It is no surprise anymore to see different versions of the scorpion tattoo on the arms and backs of leather-clad men and women, and it's no coincidence that a 1980s German rock band named themselves after this fiendish-looking species: the Scorpions' "Wind of Change" became a worldwide hit in 1991. Furthermore, the Streamlight Scorpion is a brand of flashlight, and Pirelli Scorpion is a type of light truck tire. Feel like a good read? Nancy Farmer's The House of the Scorpion is a well-known science-fiction novel.
Why have so many companies and individuals decided that they want to represent the scorpion, or that they want to be represented by the scorpion? Well, scorpions are positively imbued with mythological and folkloric significance for one thing. In Greek mythology, the blood that leaked from a dying Medusa's neck was said to turn into scorpions, and in ancient Egypt, the scorpion was associated with Set, the god of the desert, storms, and chaos.
What human being doesn't crave chaos or enjoy a good storm every now and then?
