Basilisk image. Basilisk is the origin of the mythological creature. Thomas of Cantimpre. "Book about the nature of things"
Mythology puts forward about the monster Basilisk different hypotheses, according to some legends, he emerged from a rooster’s egg, which was hatched by a toad. According to others, he is a creature of the desert, according to others, he was born from the eggs of an ibis bird, which lays them through its beak. The creature lives in caves because it feeds on stones; even Basilisk eggs are very poisonous and kill instantly.
Basilisk - who is it?
The mythical Basilisk has struck fear into people for centuries; it was greatly feared and worshiped; even now you can see images of the mysterious monster on bas-reliefs. Basilisk is translated from Greek as “king”; it was described as a creature with the head of a rooster, toad eyes and a snake tail. On his head there is a red crest resembling a crown, which is why the character received his regal name. In ancient times, people believed that Basilisks lived in deserts, and even created them by killing all living creatures. The water that the monster drinks also turns into poison.
Does the Basilisk exist?
Scientists have been struggling with the answer to this question for years. different countries. They formulated several versions that explain who from the animal world could be called Basilisk:
- In the 4th century BC, Aristotle mentioned a very poisonous snake, especially revered in Egypt. As soon as he started hissing, all the animals ran in panic.
- The chameleon lizard is a little similar to this creature; it is also called Christ’s lizard for its ability to run on water. But she does not know how to kill, as the inhabitants of the Venezuelan jungle are sure of.
- There are similarities between the Basilisk and the iguana, which has a growth on its head and a leathery ridge on its back.
Scientists agree that the Basilisk exists only in the imagination, in ancient times dangerous snakes and people often attributed unusual abilities to incomprehensible creatures. Hence the legends about scary monster, which kills with a glance from a distance. In heraldry, the following image of the Basilisk has been preserved: the head and body of a bird, dense scales, and a snake tail. He was also immortalized in bas-reliefs; the creepy creature can be seen in the Swiss city of Basel, where there is a monument to this patron of the city.
What does a Basilisk look like?
Legends have preserved several descriptions of this creature, and they have changed over time. The most common option: a dragon with the head of a rooster and the eyes of a toad, but there are others:
- Second century BC. The monster Basilisk is presented as big snake With bird's head, frog eyes and bat wings.
- Middle Ages. The snake transformed into a rooster with the tail of a huge viper and the body of a toad.
- Beyond the Middle Ages. The basilisk was represented as a rooster with dragon wings, tiger claws, a lizard tail and an eagle beak, with bright green eyes.
Basilisk in the Bible
Such a monster was not spared biblical stories. The sacred texts mention that Basilisks supposedly lived in the deserts of Egypt and Palestine. It was called “saraf”, which means “burning” in Hebrew. Cyril of Alexandria writes that such a creature could be a baby asp. Considering that they called asps poisonous snakes, we can conclude that we're talking about about these creatures of the animal world. In some texts of the Bible, the asp and the basilisk are mentioned separately, so today it is difficult to say which creature began to be called the “basilisk serpent.”
Basilisk - Slavic mythology
The basilisk is rarely mentioned in Russian mythology; only a mention has been preserved of a snake that was born from a rooster’s egg. But in conspiracies it is often mentioned, calling it Basilisk, personifying a snake. The Russians believed that the Basilisk bewitches with its gaze, so the color “Basilisk,” which transformed over time into “Cornflower,” was also considered dangerous.
This attitude was transferred to Cornflowers, believing that they harm crops. After the adoption of Christianity, the feast of the martyr Basilisk of Komansky fell on June 4, who began to be called the Lord of Vasilkov. The peasants meant power over these flowers, not snakes. On the Basilisk holiday, it was forbidden to plow and sow, so that the Cornflowers would not slaughter the rye later.
Legend of the Basilisk
Many legends about the Basilisk have been preserved in mythology; there were even prohibitions and orders for those who met him. The basilisk snake is special, but death could be avoided if:
- See the monster first, then it dies.
- You can destroy this snake only by hanging yourself with mirrors. The poisoned air will be reflected and kill the beast.
The Roman poet Lucan wrote that the mythical creature Basilisk, along with such demonic creatures as the asp, amphibene and ammodite, came from blood. Legends Ancient Greece They say that the gaze of this enchanted beauty allegedly turned a person into stone. The monstrous creature inherited the same gift. Some researchers believe that we are talking about a snake with a lightning-fast reaction; its throw was so fast that the human eye could not catch it, and the poison acted instantly.
“...Tell me, which of them can be finished off with the help of a mirror?
Anyone. If you hit me right on the head.”
A. Sapkowski “The Witcher”
I. Basilisk in the Ancient World
Emitting whistle
and frightening of all reptiles,
whoever kills before he bites -
subjugates them all to himself,
king of boundless deserts,
destroying everyone without poison...
Ninth book "Pharsalia"
“In ancient times, the basilisk was the name given to a small snake with a white mark on its head, living in the Libyan desert and known for its deadly poison and ability to move with its head raised. Images of the basilisk adorned the headdresses of Egyptian pharaohs and statues of gods. In Horapollo's Hieroglyphics we find an interesting passage concerning the attitude of the ancient Egyptians towards this amazing creature:
“When they want to represent the word eternity, they draw a snake with its tail hidden behind its body. The Egyptians call this snake Urayon, and the Greeks call it Basilisk... If it dies on any other animal, without even biting it, the victim dies. Because this snake has the power of life and death, they place it on the heads of their gods."
IN Greek"basilisk" means " little king" Like its name, our idea of the basilisk comes from Greece. For the Greeks, the basilisk was one of the wonders of the “overseas desert”, but until our time the Greek literary sources they didn’t hear about the basilisk. An article about the basilisk is contained in the “Natural History” of the Roman writer Pliny the Elder (1st century AD), including one written based on the works of Greek historians and chroniclers.”
“Near the Hesperian Ethiopians flows the spring of the Niger, which is believed by many to be the source of the Nile<..>Near him lives the catoblepas beast, in which all the members of the body are small, but the head is huge and heavy, and therefore always inclined to the ground, otherwise the human race would be threatened with destruction, for everyone he looks at immediately perishes. The serpent vasilisk has similar power. His homeland is the province of Cyrenaica, he is no more than twelve inches in length *, and on his head he has a white crown like a diadem. By whistling, he puts all the snakes to flight. He moves without twisting his body repeatedly, like the others, but moves by raising his middle part upward. With just its smell it destroys bushes, burns grass, destroys stones, that’s what its harmful power is. They say that once they managed to pierce him with a spear from a horse, but the deadly force passing through this spear destroyed not only the rider, but also the horse itself. For such a monster, which the kings passionately wanted to see dead, the seed of weasel is deadly. In nature there is a mate for everything.”
Pliny the Elder. Natural history. VIII, 77-79.
Pliny further writes that “if you throw a basilisk into a weasel’s hole, the weasel will kill him with its stench - but it will also die.” Pliny does not explain how one can throw somewhere a creature that cannot be touched.
This is the “real” basilisk. His main feature, enshrined in his name, is royalty. Perhaps it is associated with a special mark on the basilisk's head or with its ability to move without lowering its head (this aspect was apparently very significant for the ancient Egyptians). It is also noteworthy that the incredible destructive power lies in such a small creature. The word “basilisk” can, in a certain context, be translated as “little tyrant.” It is not surprising that the basilisk carries within itself mainly the negative qualities of a “royal creature”.
The basilisk is practically not mentioned in ancient literature. The only exceptions are a couple of passages from the Old Testament and the Greek poem “Ethiopica” by the Greek Polyodorus, in which the existence of the “evil eye” is confirmed by the fact that “the basilisk kills everything that gets in its way with just a look and breath.” In the Acts of Ammianus Marcellinus (IV century AD), one of the characters is compared to a basilisk, “which is dangerous even at a distance.” Lucan's Pharsalia describes the battle of Cato's army with snakes. The Basilisk puts the snakes to flight and confronts the army alone. The soldier defeats the basilisk and escapes the fate of the horseman described by Pliny only by cutting off his own hand holding the spear.
In each of these passages, the basilisk deserves mention not for its “crown” or raised head, but for its venom. Also, Pliny himself did not limit himself to studying the mysterious properties of the animal itself, but also noted that its blood has special meaning for those who practice black magic:
“The blood of the basilisk, from which even snakes flee, because it kills some of them with its smell, and whose gaze is said to be fatal to a person, the Magi attribute amazing properties: when liquefied, it resembles mucus in color and consistency; when purified, it becomes more transparent than dragon’s blood. They say that she can fulfill requests addressed to rulers and prayers to the gods, relieves illnesses, and endows amulets with magical and harmful powers. It is also called the blood of Saturn.”
Pliny the Elder. Natural history. XXIX, 66.
The epitomer of “Natural History” and compiler of the book “On Things of Interest” Solin (3rd century) added the following information to Pliny’s story:
“The Pergamonians purchased the remains of the basilisk for a lot of money so that in the temple painted by Apelles, spiders would not weave their webs and birds would not fly.”
Solin. “About remarkable things”, 27.50
In the Physiologist, written in Alexandria between the 2nd and 4th centuries, the basilisk is no longer a small snake, like Pliny’s, but a monster with the body of a toad, the tail of a snake and the head of a rooster. You can kill him by pointing him with a mirror Sun rays into his eyes; in other versions, he is petrified upon seeing his reflection in the mirror.
II. Basilisk in Christendom
Middle Ages
A typical medieval description of the basilisk is found in Rabanus the Maurus:
“He is called Basilisk in Greek, in Latvian - regulus, the king of snakes, which, seeing him, crawl away, for with his smell (olfactu suo) he kills them. And it kills a man when he looks at him. Not a single flying bird escapes his gaze unharmed, and from a distance he will devour it with the fire of his mouth. He, however, is defeated by a weasel, and people let him into the caves where he is hiding; at the sight of her he runs; she pursues him and kills him... It is half a Roman foot long*, painted with white spots. Basilisks, like scorpions, love waterless areas, and when they come to water, they spread hydrophobia and madness there. Sibilus ("Hissing") - the same as basilisk; it kills with its hiss even before it bites or burns with fire.”
Hraban the Moor. About the universe. Ch. 3: About snakes. Col. 231
And since information about the basilisk was available to medieval readers, the natural question arose about where such a rare animal came from. English scientist Alexander Nekam (12th century) accidentally said in his work:
“Whenever an old rooster lays an egg, which is hatched by a toad, a basilisk is born.”
Alexander Nekam. About the nature of things. I, 75
Moreover, it is an elderly rooster, and not a chicken. This meager information was enough for alchemists, who for a long time developed ways to grow a basilisk from a hermaphrodite rooster. One can only guess about the smells in the laboratories after the unsuccessful hatching of chicken eggs by swamp toads. Thomas of Cantimpre, in The Book of the Nature of Things, talks about the basilisk, combining information from various sources:
“The basilisk, as Jacob [de Vitry] writes, is a serpent, which is said to be the king of the serpents, which is why it is called basilisk in Greek, which in Latin means “prince.” Basilisk - unparalleled evil on this earth, seven feet in length, marked on the head with white spots arranged like a diadem. With his breath he crushes stones. All other snakes fear and avoid this snake, because they die from its mere smell. He kills people with his gaze. Thus, if he sees a man first, he immediately dies, but if, as Jacob, [Archbishop] Akki, claims, a man is first, then the serpent dies. Pliny, talking about the catoblepas beast, notes that it kills people with its gaze, and adds: “The basilisk snake also has a similar property.” The Experimenter reports in his book why this happens. So, he writes that the rays emanating from the eyes of a basilisk damage a person’s vision; when vision is damaged, other sensations, for example those associated with the brain and heart, also perish, which is why a person dies. Basilisks, like scorpions, pursue those tormented by thirst , and when they come to the waters, they infect them with dropsy and obsession. The basilisk destroys not only people and other living creatures, but even makes the earth deadly and desecrates wherever it finds refuge. In addition, he destroys grass and trees with his breath, destroys fruits, crushes stones, and contaminates the air, so that not a single bird can fly there. When it moves, it bends the middle part of the body. All the snakes are afraid of his whistle and, as soon as they hear it, they immediately take flight. The victim that is bitten by it is not eaten by animals, and birds do not touch it. Only weasels can defeat him, and people throw them into the caves in which the basilisk is hiding. As Pliny writes, by killing him, the weasels themselves die, and thus comes the end of natural enmity. For there is nothing in the world that cannot be destroyed by a natural enemy. But even a dead basilisk does not lose its power. Wherever his ashes are scattered, spiders cannot weave their webs, and deadly creatures cannot sting. And also this happens in those places where there are temples in which parts of his body are kept. They say that in Greece there is a temple sprinkled with these ashes. They say that silver sprinkled with basilisk ashes takes on the color of gold. There is one species of basilisks that can fly, but do not leave the borders of their kingdom, for the Divine Will has established this so that they do not turn to devastate the world. There is another type of basilisk, but see about it in the book about birds, in the chapter on the rooster: “A rooster, decrepit in old age, lays an egg from which a basilisk hatches. However, this requires the coincidence of many things. He places the egg in the abundant and hot manure, and there it is warmed, as if by parents. After a long time, the chick appears and grows on its own, like a duckling. This animal has the tail of a snake and the body of a rooster. Those who claim to have seen the birth of such a creature say that this egg does not have a shell at all, but a skin that is strong and so durable that it cannot be pierced. There is an opinion that the egg laid by a rooster is carried by a snake or toad. But we believe that this is doubtful and very uncertain, because the writings of the ancients only say that a certain type of basilisk hatches from an egg laid by a decrepit rooster.”
Thomas of Cantimpre. "Book about the nature of things"
Basilisk and Alexander the Great
Alexander ruled, having won power over the whole world, once gathered a large army and surrounded a certain city, and in this place he lost many soldiers, who did not have a single wound. Very surprised by this, he called the philosophers and asked them: “O mentors, how can it happen” that my warriors die on the spot without a single wound? They said: “This is not surprising, there is a basilisk on the wall of the city, whose gaze strikes the warriors and kills.” And Alexander said: “What is the remedy against the basilisk?” They answered: “Let a mirror be placed higher between the army and the wall on which the basilisk sits, and when he looks in the mirror and the reflection of his gaze returns to him, he will die.” And so it happened.
Roman deeds. Chapter 139
The story of how Alexander managed to defeat the basilisk is known thanks to the “Roman Acts” and the new, updated edition of the “History of the Battles of Alexander the Great” that appeared in the 13th century. Most likely, the popularity of the collection of short stories determined the need to include the plot in the novel itself. And the trick with which they managed to defeat the basilisk was borrowed from the story about Alexander the Great’s visit to the valley where snakes guard diamonds.
“From there they went to a certain mountain, which was so high that they reached its top only after eight days. Above, a huge number of dragons, snakes and lions attacked them, so that they were exposed to great dangers. However, they got rid of these misfortunes and, having descended from the mountain, found themselves on a plain so dark that one could hardly see the other. The clouds floated so low there that you could touch them with your hands. On this plain grew innumerable trees, the foliage and fruits of which were very tasty, and the most clear streams flowed. For eight days they did not see the sun, and at the end of the eighth day they reached the foot of a certain mountain, where the warriors began to suffocate in the thick air. The air was less dense at the top and the sun was out, so it was lighter. After eleven days they reached the top and saw a light on the other side have a nice day, and, having descended from the mountain, they found themselves on a huge plain, the ground of which was unusually red. On this plain grew countless trees, no more than a cubit high, whose fruits and leaves were as sweet as figs. And they also saw there many streams, whose waters were like milk, so that the people did not need any other food. Having wandered over this plain for one hundred and seventy days, they came to high mountains, the peaks of which seemed to reach the sky. These mountains were hewn like walls, so that no one could climb them. However, Alexander's soldiers discovered two passages cutting the mountains in the middle. One path led north, the other towards the eastern solstice. Alexander wondered how these mountains were cut, and decided that not by human hands, but by the waves of the flood. And then he chose the path to the east and walked along this path for eight days. narrow passage. On the eighth day they met a terrible basilisk, the chick of the ancient gods, which was so poisonous that not only with its stench, but even with its look, as far as one could see, it infected the air. With one glance he pierced the Persians and Macedonians so that they fell dead. The warriors, having learned about such a danger, did not dare to go further, saying: “The gods themselves blocked our path and indicate that we should not go further.” Then Alexander began to climb the mountain alone in order to examine from afar the cause of such a misfortune. When he got to the top, he saw a basilisk sleeping in the middle of the path. When he senses that a person or some animal is approaching him, he opens his eyes, and whoever his gaze falls on dies. Seeing this, Alexander immediately descended from the mountain and outlined boundaries beyond which no one was allowed to go. He also ordered a shield to be made six cubits long and four wide, and on the surface of the shield he ordered a large mirror to be placed and made himself wooden stilts one cubit high. Putting the shield on his hand and standing on stilts, he moved towards the basilisk, putting out the shield so that neither the head, nor the sides, nor the legs were visible from behind the shield. He also ordered his soldiers that no one dare cross the established lines. When he approached the basilisk, he opened his eyes and in anger began to examine the mirror in which he saw himself and therefore died. Alexander realized that he was dead, approached him and, calling his soldiers, said: “Go and look at your destroyer.” Hastening to him, they saw a dead basilisk, which the Macedonians immediately burned at the command of Alexander, praising the wisdom of Alexander. From there, together with his army, he reached the limits of this path, for mountains and rocks rose up before him, rising like walls. They returned along the path back to the aforementioned plain, and he decided to turn north."
History of the battles of Alexander the Great. XIII century
Perhaps the version of the victory over the basilisk set out in the “History of the Battles of Alexander the Great” was influenced by another short story from the “Roman Acts” (in fact, by climbing the tower and bending thin sheet iron, Socrates uses a parabolic mirror to see the reflection of dragons in it):
“During the reign of Philip, one road passed between the two mountains of Armenia, and for a long time people used it often, and then it happened that due to the poisoned air, no one could go this way without dying. The king asked the wise men about the reason for such a misfortune, but none of them knew the real reason this. And then the summoned Socrates told the king to build a building the same height as the mountains. And when this was done, Socrates ordered to make a mirror from flat damask steel, polished and thin on top, so that in this mirror one could see the reflection of any place in the mountains. Having done this, Socrates climbed to the top of the building and saw two dragons, one from the side of the mountains, the other from the side of the valley, who opened their mouths at each other and incinerated the air. And while he was looking at this, a certain young man on horseback, unaware of the danger, set off that way, but immediately fell from his horse and gave up the ghost. Socrates hurried to the king and told him everything he saw. Later, the dragons were captured and killed through cunning, and so the road again became safe for all travelers.”
Roman deeds. Chapter 145
Christianity
Since the scribes of the bestiaries were, as a rule, people from the bosom of the church, a reasonable question arose regarding the basilisk present in these texts in a timely manner - what kind of basilisk is it in the eyes of our Lord, is it pleasing to the latter, and what is it identified with? The answer, of course, was found directly in the Old Testament, “where this beast appears in typical roles for the devil (in its medieval understanding): as an instrument of Divine vengeance (“I will send snakes, basilisks against you, against which there is no conspiracy, and they will hurt you, says the Lord” - Jeremiah 8:17); a hostile demonic guardian of the desert (“Who led you through the great and terrible desert, where there were snakes, basilisks, scorpions and dry places” - Deut. 8:15); an enemy who awaits destruction (“you will step on the asp and the basilisk; you will trample on the lion and” - 11 p. 90:13). As a result, in demonology, the basilisk became a symbol of open tyranny and violence of the devil. “Basilisk means the devil, who openly kills the careless and imprudent with the poison of his abominations,” wrote Hraban the Maurus (On the Universe. Col. 231).
Weyer, including the basilisk in the nomenclature of the names of the devil, explains the meaning of this name in the same spirit: the devil, like the asp and the basilisk, is capable of “winning at the first meeting,” and if the asp immediately kills with a bite, then the basilisk - with a look (On deceptions, Ch.21, §24)"
As a consequence, the image of a basilisk, which Christ tramples, is characteristic of the Middle Ages.
Renaissance
Edward Topsell, in The History of Snakes, says that the rooster with the snake's tail may exist (to deny this fact would be to go against church dogma), but, in any case, it has nothing in common with the basilisk. Brown in 1646 goes even further: “This creature is not only not a basilisk, but does not exist in nature at all.”
The surprising thing is that as soon as the myth of the rooster basilisk was rejected, the African basilisk was also forgotten. During the Renaissance, many “stuffed” basilisks were created, made up of parts stingrays and other fish, often with painted eyes. Such stuffed animals can still be seen today in the museums of Venice and Verona. Most images of the basilisk dating back to the 16th–17th centuries are based on precisely such models.
Literature and fine arts (from the Middle Ages to the 19th century)
There are numerous images of the basilisk on church bas-reliefs, medallions and coats of arms. In medieval heraldic books, the basilisk has the head and claws of a rooster, a bird's body covered with scales, and a snake's tail; it is difficult to determine whether its wings are covered with feathers or scales. Renaissance images of the basilisk are extremely diverse. Something resembling a basilisk is depicted in Giotto's frescoes in the Scrovengi Chapel in Padua.
Carpaccio’s painting “Saint Tryphonius Slaying the Basilisk” is also of interest. According to legend, the saint exorcised the devil, so in the painting the basilisk is depicted as, according to the painter, the devil should be: he has four paws, the body of a lion and the head of a mule. It's funny that, although for Carpaccio the basilisk is not a mythological creature, but rather the devil, the name played a role and the picture influenced the further understanding of the basilisk.
The Basilisk is mentioned quite often in literature, although it is never the main character. In addition to numerous commentaries on the Bible and bestiaries, which clearly call the basilisk the embodiment of the devil and vice, his image is often found in English and French novels. In Shakespeare's time, prostitutes were called basilisks, but the English playwright used this word not only in its contemporary meaning, but also referring to the image of a poisonous creature. In the tragedy "Richard III", Richard's bride Lady Anne wants to become a basilisk, a poisonous creature, but at the same time regal, as befits a future queen.
In the poetry of the 19th century, the Christian image of the basilisk-devil begins to fade. In Keats, Coleridge and Shelley, the basilisk is rather noble Egyptian symbol than a medieval monster. In “Ode to Naples,” Shelley calls on the city: “Be like the imperial basilisk, slay your enemies with invisible weapons.”
"Slavic bestiary"
One of the mentions of the basilisk in Russian sources clearly came to us through the Polish census bestiaries (here he is Basiliszek, from the Polish Bazyliszek), referring to Pliny:
Basilisha to whom he lived in the wastelands in Africa<…>On the head there is a colored crown. His head is sharp. His horn is red like fire. the eyes are black. As soon as the mouth dies, the snake will eat more. and whoever reaches the tree before him will die.
HKL. Uvar. 5: 289-290
(the indicated source of information about the basilisk is
"Pliny's Natural History, VIII.21.33; ΧΧΙΧ.19. See SVB: 192).
III. Basilisk in fantasy
In the circus tent, the sorcerer “almost fell asleep under the gaze of the basilisk-belmach. The tortured reptile stared at the audience, giving birth to explosions of horror, the “plant” in the aisle became ill, the buffoon jesters turned to stone and burst into soap bubbles, and the sorcerer sincerely sympathized with the creature, whose gaze had long since faded from a clash with his own kind.”
G.L. Oldie “Shmagia”
"Discworld" by T. Pratchett
The Discworld Basilisk is “a rare animal native to the deserts of Klatch. He looks like a twenty-foot long snake with caustic saliva. There are rumors that his gaze is capable of turning Living being into stone, but this is not true. In fact, his gaze simply grinds the mind into mince, like the knives of a meat grinder.”
Basilisk in JK Rowling's books
In the world of Harry Potter, the basilisk appears as the guardian of the secret chamber in the form of a giant snake. There is also an entry about it in Rowling’s separately published bestiary, where the basilisk on the danger scale is awarded the highest mark - XXXXX (a famous killer of wizards, cannot be trained or tamed):
“The first known Basilisk was bred by Stupid Herpo, a Greek Dark magician with the gift of Spellcaster. After much experimentation, Herpo found out that if egg If a toad hatches, it will hatch giant snake, possessing supernatural and very dangerous abilities.
Basilisk - sparkling green kite, which can be up to 50 feet long. The male Basilisk has a purple crest on its head. His fangs exude deadly poison, but the most terrible weapon Basilisk - the look of huge yellow eyes. Anyone who looks into them will die instantly.
If you provide the Basilisk with enough food (and it eats any mammals, birds and most reptiles), then it can live for a very, very long time. The Basilisk of Stupid Herpo is said to have lived to be 900 years old.
The creation of the Basilisk was declared illegal back in the Middle Ages, although the fact of creation is easy to hide - simply remove the egg from under the toad if the Department of Magic Control comes to check. However, since the Basilisk can only be controlled by a Spellcaster, they are no less dangerous to Dark Mages than to anyone else. Over the past 400 years, not a single sighting of the Basilisk has been recorded in Britain.”
Joanne Rowling " Magical creatures and where to look for them"
Basilisk- according to ancient myths and medieval beliefs, a monstrous animal that looked like a winged serpent with a rooster’s head. A more accurate portrait of a basilisk consists of such features as a cock's crest, swan wings, a dragon's tail and bird feet with spurs. Sometimes even a human face was attributed to the basilisk.
In medieval engravings and drawings, the basilisk was sometimes depicted with the body of a toad, the head of a rooster and the tail of a snake. He owed this image to the legends about his birth, according to which the basilisk could only be born from an egg laid in the “days of the dog star Sirius” by an old, seven-year-old black rooster and hatched in manure by a toad. Moreover, this egg was not oval in shape, but spherical.
The image of a basilisk with a tail in its mouth symbolized the annual cycle and time devouring itself. It should be noted its small size. Sometimes the basilisk did not exceed one foot in length.
Basilisk etymologically comes from the ancient Greek word “basilisk”, which means “king”, which is why it was considered the “king of snakes”. This belief was furthered by Pliny, the senior Roman historian and naturalist of the 1st century, who described the basilisk as a simple snake, distinguished only by a small golden crown on its head. The ancients also wrote about a white mark on his head.
The basilisk was also mentioned in biblical texts, and as a symbol of anger and cruelty. The prophet and king David in Psalm 90 exclaims: “...You will tread on the asp and the basilisk!” The holy prophet Jeremiah compares the Chaldean conquerors who invaded ancient Judea more than 600 years BC in cruelty to the basilisk.
The main feature of the basilisk was considered to be its ability to kill all living things with just one glance. His breath was also deadly. It caused plants to dry out, animals to die and rocks to crack. Pliny gives such a case. The rider who killed the basilisk with a long spear died along with the horse from the poison that reached him through the spear.
It was possible to defeat the basilisk only by reflecting its deadly gaze with a mirror or a shield polished to a shine. Then the monster died from the reflection own view. However, according to some legends, if a person could see a basilisk before it died. Of all the animals, only the weasel, which had no effect, could cause harm to the basilisk. scary look basilisk, but before that she had to eat rue. There was a legend about Alexander the Great, who allegedly managed to see unharmed a monster placed behind a special glass wall.
In the Middle Ages, they also believed that basilisk blood mixed with cinnabar could serve as a preventative against poisons and diseases, as well as give power to prayers and spells.
By the 14th century, the basilisk was also called “basilococcus” or “cockatrice”. In one of the first printed books, “Creature Dialogues,” published in the Netherlands in 1480, the reality of the existence of the basilisk was not questioned. Even scientists believed in the authenticity of the basilisk until the middle of the 16th century, and among the general public this belief lasted until the middle of the 18th century.
Now many naturalists believe that the prototype of the basilisk was either a horned viper from the Sinai Peninsula or a “hooded” cobra from India, which may explain the persistence of beliefs about this extraordinary monster. IN modern science A basilisk is a small, harmless lizard.
The image of the basilisk became popular in medieval architecture. To the most famous works art include images of the basilisk on the church pews in Exeter Cathedral and on the walls of St. George's in Windsor.