In the Illinois State Capitol rotunda, where there’s already an atheist display and Nativity scene due to the state government’s open forum, there is now a gorgeous Satanic display that says “Knowledge is the Greatest Gift” and features a woman’s hand holding an apple while a snake surrounds it.

It was designed by artists Holiday Gerry and Rosa Posa.

The whole structure, including the base, is about 4 1/2 feet tall, and the arm and apple statue is about 18 inches long. Dave Druker, spokesman for the secretary of state, said the Chicago-based Satanic group had the right, just like religious organizations, to put up its display in rotunda. “Under the Constitution, the First Amendment, people have a right to express their feelings, their thoughts,” Druker said. “This recognizes that.”

That’s… the right answer! It can be weird to see state officials doing their jobs in cases like these, but there you go.

The Snaketivity scene is up in the Capitol, but it’s not yet fully funded. (You can chip in right here.)

Jack Matriko of The Satanic Temple’s blog For Infernal Use Only says that the sculpture “further strengthens the idea of the fruit of the tree of knowledge as a gift to humankind,” adding that he believes “it’s a lovely and striking sculpture.” I would agree. A manger’s got nothing on this structure.

It’s not the first Snaketivity either. A few years ago, another one went up in Michigan. It upset a lot of people who were apparently furious at the idea of knowledge.

