Who was the Serpent in the Garden?

It was so decidedly a real serpent, that all its species, which had before walked on their feet, were condemned to crawl on their bellies. No serpent, no animal of any kind, is called Satan, or Belzebub, or Devil, in the Pentateuch.

Voltaire once wrote:

In the story, this one creature is responsible for the existence of all suffering. It literally ruins everything. And it knowingly and sneakily causes this to happen. Why? What did the authors intend this creature to be?

Where did such malicious intent come from?

And was this supposed to be a real snake, or a representation of something else? 

A bunch of primitive, incredibly inept, superstitious morons with no concept of logic nor reason wrote the book of Genesis. The end.

Where did such malicious intent come from? 

This is an interesting question, are you talking about the malicious intent of the author, or of the character of the snake? I never could find malice in what the snake was saying, which was basically wouldn't it be nice to know what your boss is thinking, what he thinks is good versus bad? Again not sure why god put this snake in the garden in the first place, or the trees for that matter. If Adam was basically like god's employee, and the garden was basically where he worked, then god did a real bad job of eliminating occupational hazards and interviewing prospective garden residents. 

I wonder if its intent wasn't about placing "blame" on woman, but about establishing relationships and archetypal behavior patterns.

Or a warning to Hebrew men not to trust their women, perhaps?  It's likely patriarchy was so entrenched no-one even noticed it so it needed no explanation!

But it's worth noting that Genesis was not written by Christians. It was written by ancient Hebrews 

You need to go back to where this story actually originated, Mesopotamia,and you will read this creation epic in its original form. The two brothers involved are named Enlil and  his half brother Enki the serpent lord<<<<   see that serpent Lord. 

Well it's safe to say Snakes don't talk. So this never occurred. 

Voltaire once wrote:

How many times should he have written it?

The bible isn't big on 'aetiological' myths (ie 'just-so' stories, except maybe for tribes and peoples about which it is almost obsessed).  There is one myth snuck in about rainbows and this looks like a just-so story for why snakes have no legs got in there.

I don't think Milton invented the idea Satan was the tempter of Eve, but he did a lot to make it popular.

Th' infernal Serpent; he it was, whose guile

Stird up with Envy and Revenge, deceiv'd

The Mother of Mankind, what time his Pride

Had cast him out from Heav'n, with all his Host

Of Rebel Angels,

I wonder if its intent wasn't about placing "blame" on woman, but about establishing relationships and archetypal behavior patterns.

Yeah I'm gonna be cynical and say it was at least 50% about placing blame on women. Y'know I used to have an Eve Was Framed shirt, I wonder what happened to that...

I'll have to agree with keith that patriarchy was so entrenched this aspect of the story probably wasn't even remarked upon.

In the story, this one creature is responsible for the existence of all suffering. It literally ruins everything. And it knowingly and sneakily causes this to happen. Why? What did the authors intend this creature to be?

Temptation, the snake represents our flesh nature.

Where did such malicious intent come from?

It's what man contends with in these physical bodies.

And was this supposed to be a real snake, or a representation of something else? 

Adam and Eve are representative of mankind, and the "serpent" represents the pull of carnality or the opposing forces in this world. (Flesh vs spirit).

A bunch of primitive, incredibly inept, superstitious morons with no concept of logic nor reason wrote the book of Genesis. The end.

This story is part of the heritage of humanity, and so it is part of my heritage as a human being. The influence this one narrative has had on our world has been pretty profound, and I thought worthy of reflection. I examine many ancient religions in such a way. Our stories are mirrors.

Where did such malicious intent come from? 

This is an interesting question, are you talking about the malicious intent of the author, or of the character of the snake? I never could find malice in what the snake was saying, which was basically wouldn't it be nice to know what your boss is thinking, what he thinks is good versus bad? Again not sure why god put this snake in the garden in the first place, or the trees for that matter. If Adam was basically like god's employee, and the garden was basically where he worked, then god did a real bad job of eliminating occupational hazards and interviewing prospective garden residents. 

This story is part of the heritage of humanity,

Well maybe 30% of humanity, not impressive really.

This story is part of the heritage of humanity,

Well maybe 30% of humanity, not impressive really.

You're hardwired to minimize the influence and importance of religion wherever possible.

But I'd say even the most influential religions don't get much higher than your percentage there. A religion doesn't need to have like 80% popularity in order to greatly shape history -- or to attract my interest.