 What is Lord Ganesh? The arms, the tusks and the flailing, the thunderbolts of the gods or even the unstable decline of the manifestation during the squatter man event. Ganesh is often depicted holding the two and either squatting or standing on an animal. He is the lord of beginnings and the remover of obstacles of both material and spiritual kinds. Interestingly enough, he also places obstacles in the path of those who need to be checked. Because of these attributes, Ganesh is widely revered by almost hereditary classes of Hindu society and in all parts of India by all people, regardless of any spiritual affiliations. His image is found everywhere in many different forms and he is invoked before the undertakings of any task. Ganesh is also associated with the first chakra or energy wheel which underpins all of the other chakras and represents conservation, survival and material well-being. He is considered to be a patron of the arts, of sciences and of letters. Devotees believe that if Ganesha is worshipped, he grants success, prosperity and protection against adversity. The attributes and characteristics of Ganesh have evolved over many centuries of Indian history. Several of the sacred Hindu texts relate myths and antidotes associated with his birth and exploits and help to explain his distinctive iconography. Iconic representations of Ganesh show considerable variation. His form changing over time from that of a simple elephant in earliest depictions to the Ganesh we know today, typically having the head of an elephant and a large, rotund belly. The demise of the squatter man, as shown in the Ganesh depictions, is the turning point in human history. Ganesh emanates from this assembly of the gods as witnessed in the sky, treading on the beast. Ganesh may also be portrayed using the snake as a sacred thread aloft in both hands, coiled at his ankles or as a throne. The best known story of all concerns Ganesh wrapping the snake around his stomach as a belt to hold his insides together and the legend states that the moon in the sky on seeing this has a hearty laugh at his expense. Seemingly annoyed by this, Ganesh pulls off one of his tusks and hurls it at the moon. This is a representation of a very unstable event in prehistoric times, as witnessed by an ancient observer. Ganesh and Medusa seems connected across cultural divides with very discreet characteristics present in these reliefs. The snake belt, the thunderbolts of the gods, these are unmistakable connections and yet there are many more connections still to be made.