Basilisk (from other Greek βᾰσῐλίσκος - king; also Latin basiliscus, regulus, English basilisk, cockatrice) - a creature mentioned in various sources.
In the Bible, according to a number of commentators, it is one of the names of a dangerous poisonous snake. Although the exact identification is difficult, in some places it can mean a cobra or a viper. In the "Natural History" of Pliny the Elder, the basilisk is a snake endowed with mythical features. In other sources - a mythical monstrous serpent. In particular, the Lusatians believed that the basilisk is a rooster with dragon wings and a lizard tail.
Basilisk in the Bible
Basilisk in the Bible is mentioned in Psalm 90: “You will step on an asp and a basilisk; you will trample on the lion and the dragon” (Ps 90:13). The asp and the basilisk are types of venomous snakes, and the basilisk is the spectacled snake. Traditionally, enemies are likened to snakes in the Bible.
The prophet Jeremiah compares the Chaldeans with the basilisks, who were sent by God to punish the Jews for their wickedness: “For, behold, I will send serpents, basilisks against you, against whom there is no speaking, and they will bruise you, says the Lord” (Jer. 8:17). The basilisk is also mentioned in Deuteronomy, when the dangers and troubles from which the Lord delivered are listed: “... see that your heart is not lifted up and you do not forget the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, from the house of slavery; Who led you through the great and terrible wilderness, where snakes, basilisks, scorpions and dry places where there is no water; Who made for you [a spring] of water from a rock of granite" (Deut 8:14-15).
Interpretation in biblical studies
In the Bible, the word "basilisk", and its synonym "echidna", denoted any poisonous snakes. Although exact identification is difficult, snakes of the asp family, including cobras, and the viper family are suspected. At the same time, two verses of the Bible (Ps. 90:13, Is. 59:5) separate asps and basilisks. Ammian Marcellinus, who lived in the 4th century, also shared asps, echidnas, basilisks, and other snakes.
The "Jewish Encyclopedia of Brockhaus and Efron" indicates some options for identifying the basilisk with certain types of snakes, but the exact solution of the issue was considered difficult. Biblical scholar A.P. Lopukhin considered the biblical basilisk to be an Indian spectacled snake. In the interpretation of the early Christian saint and theologian John Cassian, the basilisk serves as an image of demons and the devil, and the poison of the basilisk is an image of envy.
Ancient representations
Presumably, the myth came from a description of a small poisonous snake, considered sacred in Egypt, from the hissing of which all animals and snakes scatter, which was mentioned by Aristotle in the 4th century BC. e. and Pseudo-Aristotle.
The description of the basilisk as a mythical creature is present in the Natural History of Pliny the Elder (1st century AD), written, among other things, on the basis of the works of Greek historians and chroniclers. According to him, the basilisk lives in the vicinity of Cyrenaica, its length is up to 30 cm, with a white spot on its head, resembling a diadem. Some encyclopedias of the late 19th century attributed to Pliny the missing words from him that the snake is yellow and has growths on its head. All the snakes run away from the hiss of the basilisk. It moves by wriggling not like other snakes, but by lifting up its middle part. It has the ability to kill not only with poison, but also with a look, smell, burn grass and break stones.
Lucan, who wrote in the same years as Pliny, believed that the basilisk appeared from the blood of the murdered Gorgon Medusa, who also had a petrifying gaze. Pliny is echoed by Gaius Julius Solinus in the 3rd century, but with slight differences: the length of the snake is about 15 cm, a spot in the form of a white bandage, does not mention a deadly look, but only the extreme poisonousness of the poison and smell. His contemporary Heliodor wrote about the basilisk, which, with its breath and glance, dries and destroys everything that comes across to it.
Pliny wrote about the legend that once a rider hit the basilisk with a spear, but the poison flowed down the shaft and killed the rider and even the horse. A similar plot is found in a poem by Lucan, who wrote in the same years, about how a basilisk kills a detachment of soldiers, but one of the soldiers escapes by cutting off his hand, which was infected with the poison of a basilisk that flowed down a spear. Pliny wrote that weasels can kill a basilisk with their smell by climbing into its hole, but they themselves die. The enmity between basilisks and weasels was also mentioned in a work attributed to Democritus, who lived in the 3rd century BC. e. From the 2nd century A.D. e. there was a belief that the basilisk dies from the crow of a rooster, and therefore it was advised to carry these animals in a cage. It was allegedly possible to make various amulets and potions from the eyes and blood of basilisks.
Hieroglyphics, 4th century AD e. narrates that the Egyptians had a hieroglyph with a snake, which they called "uraeus", which in Greek meant "basilisk", and it meant "eternity". The Egyptians believed that only this snake is immortal, with its breath it can kill any other creature, and it was depicted above the heads of the gods. This hieroglyph depicted the Sun and the cobra goddess Wajit, the patroness of Lower Egypt. The golden figurine of the uraeus was attached to the forehead of the pharaohs as part of the royal headdress.
Biologist I. I. Akimushkin and other authors assumed that the basilisk is a horned viper. Her image with horns was an Egyptian hieroglyph for the sound "f", and could be mistaken by Pliny the Elder for a snake with a crown, which gave rise to the Greek name for the snake "basilisk" - "king".
Middle Ages
Medieval bestiaries said that the first ingenious way to kill the basilisk was invented by Alexander the Great. The monster killed many of his warriors with his gaze, and then the king brought a mirror to his face - and he died from his own gaze. The mirror became the main weapon in the fight against basilisks, which in the Middle Ages rampaged around dwellings, poisoned wells and mines with their presence. Weasels were still considered natural enemies of basilisks; to defeat the monster, they could only chew on rue leaves. Images of weasels with leaves in their mouths adorned wells and church pews. In the church, carvings of weasels had a symbolic meaning: for a person, the Holy Scripture was the same as rue leaves for a weasel - tasting the wisdom of biblical texts helped to overcome the basilisk-devil.
Another practical recommendation was to look at the monster from under
glass transparent vessel. These explanations were to the advantage of those who at the end of the Middle Ages adapted to make stuffed basilisks - most often they were made on the basis of stingrays, and they were a salable commodity (the last copies were sold in the USA in the thirties of our century; fake stuffed animals are still kept in museums of Verona and Venice), less gullible scientists and writers were surprised: if the gaze of the basilisk is lethal, where does so much evidence come from? Either the witnesses saw another animal, or they are simply lying!
In the Middle Ages, the image of the basilisk was supplemented with new details, according to which it hatches from an egg laid by an old rooster, placed in manure and incubated by a toad. Ideas about appearance also changed: the basilisk began to be depicted as a rooster with a snake's tail, sometimes with the body of a toad, although there were other options. The first such mention is found in Pierre de Beauvais (fr.) Russian. at the beginning of the thirteenth century. He repeats Pliny's description of the basilisk as a crested snake, but also mentions that it is sometimes depicted as a rooster with a serpent's tail, giving a similar image, and that it is sometimes born from a rooster. Despite the fact that belief in a basilisk was akin to church dogmas that could not be denied, Albert the Great in the 13th century considered the stories of a winged basilisk born from a rooster's egg to be fabrications.
In the era of modern times
From the beginning of the 17th century the appearance and the legend about him are somewhat changed. The chronicles reported that a basilisk is born from manure, or from a chicken egg, “hatched” by a snake. Outwardly, it looks like a rooster, or a turkey with the head and tail of a snake. You can kill him with the smell and sight of affection, cock singing.
One of the engravings of Aldrovandi's Natural History of Serpents and Dragons, draws a basilisk with scales instead of feathers and four pairs of legs (According to the Younger Edda, Odin's horse Sleipnir also had eight legs).
He sometimes appeared as a lion with a crest with three spikes. In accordance with folklore notions, the basilisk appeared from a snake egg without yolk laid by an old rooster in a dunghill, which was incubated by a "poisonous" toad or snake. Cockatrice - almost completely identical to the Basilisk: the circumstances of their appearance are identical. But if the chick inherits to a greater extent the signs of a snake, then a lizard-like Basilisk is obtained, and in rarer cases, when there are more signs of a rooster - Cockatrices. He looks like a rooster with a snake's tail and does not have the destructive power of the Basilisk, but if a person looks into the eyes of Cockatrice, he will also turn to stone.
In Slavic mythology
Basilisk is a zoomorphic creature that kills with a look or breath. Ideas about the Basilisk, dating back to ancient sources, were included in medieval bestiaries (collections of descriptions of various animals), penetrated into folklore legends. Western Slavs believed that the Basilisk was created by the devil; looks like a rooster, but has the head of a turkey, the eyes of a toad, the wings of a bat, the tail of a snake. Sometimes he had the appearance of a rooster with dragon wings, a lizard's tail, an eagle's beak. In ancient Russian alphabet dictionaries, the basilisk is described as a snake, at the same time resembling a rooster. The basilisk is born from a cock's egg hatched by a toad, or from an egg laid and hatched by a cock in the altar (cf. other mythological characters that appear from a cock's egg - a devil, flying kites, house spirits that bring wealth to the owner). With a glance, the Basilisk penetrates the walls and turns all living things into stone, the Basilisk himself dies when he sees his reflection in the mirror. With poisonous breath, he poisons the surrounding air, kills birds. Basilisk lives in rock crevices, caves, dungeons, where it guards treasures. He does not need food: it is enough for him to lick a stone to satisfy his hunger. The sight or cry of a rooster is fatal to him. Among the characters of Slavic folk demonology, the Serbian “cock-serpent” and the Russian courtyard (in the form of a snake with a cock’s head) have an outward resemblance to Basilisk.
The image of the basilisk in culture
The basilisk (along with the asp, lion and dragon - based on the 90th psalm) is one of the zoomorphic images of demons or the devil adopted in Christian art.
At the stage of formation of Christian iconography of the period of the 4th - early 9th centuries, Byzantine masters resorted to the conventional language of symbols. Christ over an asp and a basilisk was depicted on the shields of Byzantine lamps. “Christ the victor trampling over the asp and the basilisk” is one of the rare variants of the iconography of Jesus Christ. Notable examples include a 9th-century relief on ivory from the Oxford Library. A similar composition is depicted in the conch of the southern apse of the Cathedral of San Giusto in Trieste. In his left hand, Christ holds an open book, and with his right he blesses. The local saints Iust and Servul are located on either side of him.
“The image of Christ trampling on the asp and the basilisk in the southern apse, obviously, goes back to the mosaic of the Archbishop's Chapel in Ravenna. It is also found on one of the stucco panels in the Baptistery of the Orthodox in Ravenna and was represented in the mosaic of the not preserved Basilica of Santa Croce (1st half of the 5th century), known from the description of the chronicler Andrea Agnello.
One of the icons of the Mother of God, dating back to the 18th century, is called “Step on the asp and the basilisk.” It depicts the Mother of God, trampling the forces of evil.
During the Renaissance, the basilisk was often mentioned in numerous theological texts and bestiaries as an image of vice. In Shakespeare's time, they called prostitutes, although the English playwright himself mentioned him only as a classic snake with a deadly look. In the poetry of the 19th century, the Christian image of the basilisk-devil begins to fade. In the romantic poets Keats, Coleridge and Shelley, the basilisk is more like a noble Egyptian symbol than a monster. In Ode to Naples, Shelley urges the city: "Be like an imperial basilisk, slay your enemies with invisible weapons."
In heraldry, the basilisk is a symbol of power, ferocity and royalty.
Basilisk in the world of Harry Potter
Basilisk (from the Greek βασιλίσκος, "basiliskos" - king) (eng. Basilisk) - a huge snake, also known as the "king of snakes", living for more than one hundred years. A very powerful magical animal. It was first created by Herpius the Malicious, an adherent of black magic, who forced a toad to incubate a chicken egg. Realizing what a terrible monster was born, the magicians banned the breeding of basilisks back in the Middle Ages.
Despite the fact that the Ministry of Magic categorizes the basilisk as XXXXXX - "Deadly for Wizards / Untameable", the basilisk is still a snake, albeit a huge one, so a wyrmtongue wizard who speaks a snake language can talk to him and, with sufficient magical power, it is quite controllable. Tom Riddle, aka Lord Voldemort, even in his youth could command this monster, while Harry Potter, owning the Snake tongue, had no power over the basilisk.
An adult basilisk can weigh two tons or more, and according to Newt Scamander, its length reaches 50 feet (a little more than 15 meters), while the entire body is covered with scaly armored skin, similar in strength to the skin of a dragon and resistant to spells. The basilisk, like any other snake, sheds its skin from time to time.
The similarity of the basilisk with a snake is enhanced by the presence of four poisonous fangs, which are longer than the rest of the teeth in the mouth. The usual life expectancy of a basilisk is about 900 years, some specimens live longer. Basilisks feed on vertebrate creatures, usually small rodents.
I
Basilisk venom is a surprisingly strong magical substance, the only known antidote is phoenix tears, which, in turn, are extremely difficult to obtain. The poison is so strong that it kills a person within minutes, causing drowsiness and a cloudy, blurry look before death.
Basilisk venom retains its properties even several years after the death of the animal. It can also damage inanimate objects so thoroughly that they cannot be repaired, and thus it is one of the few substances capable of destroying Horcruxes. The poisonous fang of the basilisk destroyed two containers of Voldemort's soul - Tom Riddle's Diary (1993) and Penelope Hufflepuff's Cup (1998).
The sword of Godric Gryffindor, which absorbed the venom of the basilisk, also became an effective weapon for destroying Horcruxes. He destroyed three more Horcruxes - Slytherin's medallion (1998), Marvolo Gaunt's ring (1996) and Nagini's snake (1998).
deadly gaze
The basilisk's deadly gaze is considered the most terrible weapon. Two huge yellow eyes are usually the last thing his victims see in this life. Even the "indirect" look of the basilisk, reflected in the mirror, is extremely dangerous - those who catch such a look turn to stone, and only a tincture of mandrake roots can restore them to their original appearance.
The gaze of the basilisk is such a powerful weapon that even ghosts can be struck. True, they can no longer die a second time, but on the other hand, they “petrify” quite peculiarly, turning from pearl-white to coal-black and having lost any ability to move independently. Of all living creatures, only phoenixes are immune to the monster's gaze.
Basilisks are very afraid of all types of spiders without exception and try to leave the area of its active life as soon as possible, and this does not depend on their size.
Aragog, a huge acromantula spider, which the Ministry of Magic, like the basilisk, classified as XXXXX, was so afraid of him that he did not even say his name, just as wizards did not say the name of the Dark Lord.
One possible reason for this horror may be that spiders are extremely vulnerable to the look of the basilisk, since they have a wide angle of vision, almost circular, and therefore have no way to either close their eyes or hide their eyes, as Harry Potter did in Secret room, focusing on the shadow cast by a huge serpent.
Basilisk egg
It is not known why male and female basilisks exist, as they are born from a hen's egg incubated by a toad. But it is quite possible that, unlike the real world, in which hybrids in many cases are not capable of reproduction, basilisks can mate. And that is why Alastor thought that these monsters can lay eggs, and the gift presented to him is "a cunningly disguised basilisk egg."
Such a creature as the Basilisk is described by mythology as a very dangerous and unpleasant entity. If you believe the ancient legends, then this is a monster that has the features of a rooster, a toad, a bat, a dragon, and all living things turn to stone from his gaze. However, are Basilisks real snakes or is it just a mythical dragon from fairy tales?
In the article:
What does the Basilisk look like according to myths
What does a basilisk look like? Legends describe this creature to us as a large monster with the head of a rooster, toad eyes, bat wings and the body of a dragon.
It is worth noting right away that, as in the case of and, this image has been transformed throughout the history of mankind, and new features have been added to it. Today, however, the Basilisk is represented as such.
Rooster head and dragon body
It is believed that if this creature looks at a person or animal, then the victim will immediately turn into stone. There is the only weapon that allows you to deal with this mythical monster - a mirror. People believe that if a monster sees its reflection, it will die immediately.
Basilisk lives most often in deep caves. Fortunately, the Basilisk does not eat animals and people, its diet consists only of stones. , the mystical entity does not come to the surface during the day, it leaves its cave only at night.
The main enemies of the monster are unicorns, since they are too clean animals (it is not clear where this myth came from), spiders and a rooster, evil spirits cannot stand the cry of this bird.
Basilisk Serpent in the Bible
The earliest mention of this monster is found in the Bible. In the translation of the Old Testament from Hebrew into ancient Greek and Latin, this word occurs several times. However, the image that is portrayed to us in the Bible is different from the one that is described today. Such an entity was sometimes described by the Hebrew word "saraf", which translates as "burning" and can symbolize a poisonous snake.
In addition, Cyril of Alexandria made a clarification that this animal may be a baby asp. It is believed that the word "asp" is a synonym for the word "basilisk".
Aspid - venomous snake
In turn, under the word "asp" often meant any poisonous snake. Although today it is very difficult to say with which of them there was an association. It can be assumed that these were indeed cobras, asps or snakes from the family of vipers.
At the same time, we meet with one inconsistency. Two verses from the Bible (Ps. 90:13, Isa. 59:5) separate Asp and Basilisk. Therefore, it is very difficult to guess which snake this mythical entity was identified with.
John Cassian said that this essence itself is a symbol of the devil, the devil. And his poison is envy and malice.
Antique ideas about the dragon Basilisk
Back in the fourth century BC, Aristotle mentioned a small but very poisonous snake, which was revered in Egypt. Its peculiarity was that as soon as the creature began to hiss, any animals, snakes immediately began to scatter in different directions.
According to the myth, this Basilisk lived in the vicinity of Cyreniacus. This creature is no more than 30 centimeters long, it has a white spot on its head. There is also a hypothesis that the creature is actually yellow, and has growths on its head. The basilisk was attributed a variety of features. It was believed that he moves by lifting up the middle part, which is unusual for snakes.
People believed that it kills this creature with the help of poison, a glance, can set fire to plants and destroy stones. Another theory says that this creature appeared from the blood of the murdered Medusa Gorgon, who, as you know, knew how to turn the living into stones with her gaze.
There is an ancient legend describing the clash of warriors and a magical creature. It says that the rider decided to hit the Basilisk with a spear, but died immediately, as the poison seeped through the spear and killed the rider. But the other warrior was more intelligent, he not only cut the Basilisk with a sword, but also immediately cut off his hand so as not to die from the poison of the monster.
Democritus wrote that one of the worst enemies of the Basilisk is a weasel. In ancient times, people believed that these animals could kill a monster with their scent alone. Climbing into the hole, weasels kill the monster, but they themselves also die in the process.
In the 2nd century BC, a theory appeared that the Basilisk could die when he heard the cock crow. It seems like it was believed that with the help of the eyes and blood of basilisks, you can make various amulets and magical decoctions.
In the ancient world, people believed that a magical essence was born from the egg of an ibis bird. A legend was also associated with it, which said that the bird eats snake eggs, and sometimes also lays its own through its beak.
This belief was often explained as follows: by eating poisonous snake eggs, birds infect their own eggs with snakes. Therefore, in ancient Egypt, people often found the eggs of this bird and broke them so that Basilisks would not appear.
Rooster snake from the Middle Ages
In the Middle Ages, as is usually the case, the image of the Basilisk changed a little. According to the legends that have come down from these times, Basilisks were born from eggs carried by an old rooster. Moreover, the egg should be in the manure, and the toad should have incubated it.
Basilisk from the novels "Roman Acts"
The idea of what a monster looks like has also changed significantly. Now, from a poisonous and dangerous snake, the Basilisk has turned into a rooster with a snake's tail. On rare occasions, it has been stated that it has the torso of a toad. However, in some cases it turned out that he still had the body of a dragon.
The first mention of just such a miracle occurs at the beginning of the 13th century. Despite the fact that it was believed that such a dragon-serpent could be defeated with the help of a mirror, questions arose why the creatures had not yet destroyed each other.
Nevertheless, such doubts did not prevent the appearance of a collection of short stories "Roman Acts" in the 13th century. They included legends in which the Basilisk, located on the top of a fortress or mountain, struck various warriors with his gaze. The person who first ordered to make a mirror, with which he managed to defeat the monster, is Alexander the Great.
There was also an opinion that the Basilisk is actually a rooster, which has dragon wings, tiger claws, a lizard tail, an eagle's beak and bright green eyes. On the head of the monster is a scarlet crown. Basilisk has black, scale-like bristles all over its body.
A similar creature is also found in Lithuanian fairy tales. There is a legend about the flying snake Aitvaras. According to the story, he is born from an egg laid by a black rooster. Previously, this egg must lie in the house for 7 years. It is believed that the essence can bring the owners of the house where the egg lay, money and food.
The Poles had an opinion that such a creature was created by the devil himself. Due to the fact that people blamed roosters for the birth of Basilisks, during the Renaissance there were even several court hearings in which black roosters were sentenced to death.
By the way, in the Middle Ages, there was another method to avoid death from the look of the Basilisk. To do this, it was necessary to look at the essence from under a glass transparent vessel.
“…Tell me, which one of them can be killed with a mirror?
Anyone. If you hit right on the head.
A. Sapkovsky "The Witcher"
I. Basilisk in the Ancient World
Emitting whistle
and all frightening reptiles,
who will kill before the bite, -
subdues them all,
king of boundless deserts,
destroying everyone without poison ...
The ninth book "Pharsaly"
“In ancient times, a basilisk was a small snake with a white mark on its head, living in the Libyan desert and known for its deadly poison and the ability to move with its head up. Images of the basilisk adorned the headdresses of the Egyptian pharaohs and statues of the gods. In the "Hieroglyphics" of Gorapollo we find a curious 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 Urion, and the Greeks call it Basilisk ... If it dies on any other animal, without even biting it, the victim dies. Since this serpent has power over 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 Greek literary sources about the basilisk have not reached our time. An article about the basilisk is contained in the Natural History of the Roman writer Pliny the Elder (1st century AD), including one written on the basis of the works of Greek historians and chroniclers.
“Among the Hesperian Ethiopians, the source of the Niger springs, which, as many believe, is the source of the Nile<..>Nearby 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, because everyone he looks at immediately perishes. The serpent basilisk has the same power. His home is the province of Cyrenaica, he is no more than twelve inches long*, and on his head is a white dome like a diadem. With a whistle, he puts to flight all the snakes. He moves, not wriggling his body many times, like the rest, but he walks lifting up the middle part. With just its smell, it destroys bushes, burns grasses, destroys stones, such is its maleficent power. They say that once they managed to pierce him with a spear from a horse, but the deadly force that passed through this spear destroyed not only the rider, but also the horse itself. For such a monster, which the kings passionately desired to see dead, the seed of caress is deadly. In nature, there is a couple for everything.
Pliny the Elder. Natural history. VIII, 77-79.
Further, Pliny writes that "if you throw a basilisk into a weasel's hole, the weasel will kill it with its stench - but it will also die itself." How one can throw somewhere a creature that cannot be touched, Pliny does not explain.
This is the "real" basilisk. His main feature, enshrined in the name, is royalty. Perhaps it is associated with a special mark on the head of the basilisk or with its ability to move without lowering its head (this aspect, apparently, was very significant for the ancient Egyptians). Noteworthy is the fact that an incredible destructive power lies in such a small creature. The word "basilisk" can also be translated in a certain context as "little tyrant". Not surprisingly, the basilisk carries the mostly negative qualities of a "royal being".
The basilisk is practically not mentioned in the literature of antiquity. The only exceptions are a couple of passages from the Old Testament and the poem of the Greek Polyodorus "Ethiopica", in which the existence of the "evil eye" is confirmed by the fact that "the basilisk kills everything that comes in its way with just a look and breath." In the "Acts" of Ammianus Marcellinus (4th 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 single-handedly confronts the army. The soldier slays the basilisk and escapes the fate of the rider described by Pliny only by cutting off the hand that held the spear.
In each of these passages, the basilisk deserves mention not for its "crown" or uplifted 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 is of particular importance 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 look, as they say, is fatal to humans, the Magi attribute amazing properties: liquefied, it resembles mucus in color and consistency, purified becomes more transparent than dragon blood. They say that she can fulfill requests addressed to the rulers and prayers to the gods, relieves ailments, endows amulets with magical and harmful powers. It is also called the blood of Saturn.
Pliny the Elder. Natural history. XXIX, 66.
The epitomator of Natural History and the compiler of the book On Things of Remarkable Solinus (3rd century) added the following information to Pliny's story:
“Pergamons acquired the remains of a basilisk for big money in order to prevent spiders from weaving their webs and birds from flying in the temple painted by Apelles.”
Solin. "About things of interest", 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 a toad's body, a snake's tail and a rooster's head. You can kill him by directing the sun's rays into his eyes with a mirror; in other versions, he is petrified when he sees his reflection in the mirror.
II. Basilisk in Christendom
Middle Ages
A typical medieval description of the basilisk is found in Rabanus Maurus:
“He is called Basilisk in Greek, in Latin - regulus, the king of snakes, which, seeing him, crawl away, because with his smell (olfactu suo) he kills them. And kills a man when he looks at him. Not a single flying bird escapes unharmed his gaze - and at a distance he will devour it with the fire of his mouth. He is, however, overcome by a weasel, and people let her into the caves where he hides; at the sight of her he runs; she pursues and kills him ... The length is half a Roman foot *, painted with white spots. Basilisks, like scorpions, love waterless areas, and when they come to the waters, they spread hydrophobia and madness there. Sibilus ("Hissing") - the same as the basilisk; it kills with its hiss before it bites or burns with fire."
Hraban Moor. About the universe. Ch. 3: About snakes. Col. 231
And since information about the basilisk turned out to be available to medieval readers, a natural question arose about where such a rare animal came from. The English scientist Alexander Nekam (XII century) accidentally mentioned in his essay:
"Whenever an old rooster lays an egg that a toad hatches, a basilisk is born"
Alexander Nekam. About the nature of things. I,75
And it is an elderly rooster, 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 that stood in the laboratories after the unsuccessful incubation of chicken eggs by swamp toads. Thomas of Cantimpre in "The Book of the Nature of Things" talks about the basilisk, combining information from different sources:
“The basilisk, as Jacob [de Vitry] writes, is a serpent, which is said to be a serpent king, which is why it is called in Greek a basilisk, which means “prince” in Latin. The basilisk is the unparalleled evil on this earth, seven feet long, marked on its head with white spots arranged like a diadem. With his breath he crushes stones. All other snakes are afraid of this snake and avoid it, because they die from its smell alone. He kills people with his eyes. So, if he sees a man first, he immediately dies, but if, as Jacob claims, [Archbishop] Akki, a man first, then the snake dies. Pliny, talking about the catoblepas beast, notes that this look kills people, and adds: “The basilisk snake also has a similar property.” About why this happens, the Experimenter reports in his book. So, he writes that the rays emanating from the eye-basilisk cause damage to a person’s vision, when vision is affected, other sensations die, for example, those associated with the brain and heart, 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. Basilisk destroys not only people and other living creatures, but even makes the earth deadly and defiles wherever it finds a haven. In addition, he destroys grasses and trees with his breath, destroys fruits, crushes stones, infects the air, so that not a single bird can fly there. When moving, it bends the middle part of the body. All snakes are afraid of his whistle and, as soon as they hear, they immediately rush to flight. Animals do not eat up the victim bitten by him, birds do not touch it. Only caresses can get the better of him, and people throw them into the caves in which the basilisk lurks. As Pliny writes, having killed him, weasels perish themselves, and thus comes the end of natural enmity. For there is nothing in the world that could not be destroyed by a natural adversary. 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 it happens in those places where there are temples in which parts of his body are kept. It is said that in Greece there is a temple sprinkled with this ashes. It is said that silver sprinkled with basilisk ash takes on the color of gold. There is one variety of basilisks that can fly, but do not leave the boundaries of their kingdom, for the Divine Will has so established that they do not turn to the devastation of the world. There is another type of basilisk, but see about it in the book on 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 an egg in abundant and hot manure, and there it is warmed, as if by parents. After a long time, a chick appears and grows by itself, 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 strong and so strong that it cannot be pierced. There is an opinion that the egg that the rooster lays is hatched by a snake or a toad. But we believe that this is doubtful and very indefinite, because in the writings of the ancients it is said only that a certain kind of basilisk hatches from an egg laid by a decrepit rooster.
Thomas of Cantimpre. "The Book of the Nature of Things"
Basilisk and Alexander the Great
Alexander ruled, having won power over the whole world, once he gathered a large army and surrounded a certain city, and in this place he lost many soldiers, on whom there was not a single wound. Very surprised at this, he called the philosophers and asked them: “O teachers, how can it be that without a single wound my soldiers die on the spot?” They said: "It is not surprising, on the wall of the city sits a basilisk, whose gaze strikes the warriors and kills." And Alexander said: “And what is the remedy for the basilisk?” They replied: “Let a mirror be placed higher between the army and the wall on which the basilisk sits, and when he looks into the mirror and the reflection of his gaze returns to him, he will die.” And so it happened.
Roman deeds. Ch.139
The story of how Alexander managed to defeat the basilisk is known thanks to the "Roman Acts" and the new, supplemented 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 it was possible to defeat the basilisk, was borrowed from the story of 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 summit only after eight days. From above, a great multitude of dragons, snakes, and lions attacked them, so that they were exposed to great dangers. However, they got rid of these misfortunes and, descending from the mountain, found themselves on a plain so dark that one could hardly see the other. The clouds there floated so low that you could touch them with your hands. On this plain grew innumerable trees, the leaves and fruits of which were very tasty, and the most transparent 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 soldiers began to suffocate in the thick air. Up above, the air was less dense, and the sun came out, so it became lighter. Eleven days later they reached the summit, and on the other side they saw the radiance of a pure day, and descending from the mountain, they found themselves on a vast plain, the land of which was unusually red. In this plain grew innumerable trees, no more than a cubit high, their fruits and leaves were sweet like figs. And they also saw many streams there, whose waters were like milk, so that people did not need any other food. Wandering over this plain for one hundred and seventy days, they approached high mountains, the tops 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 that cut through the mountains in the middle. One path led north, the other towards the eastern solstice. Alexander thought about 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 for eight days he walked along this narrow passage. On the eighth day they met a terrible basilisk, the fledgling of the ancient gods, which was so poisonous that not only with its stench, but even with its glance, as far as one can 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 alone began to climb the mountain in order to consider from afar the cause of such a misfortune. When he was at the top, he saw a basilisk sleeping in the middle of the path. As he learns that a person or some animal is approaching him, he opens his eyes, and whoever his eyes fall on, he dies. Seeing this, Alexander immediately descended from the mountain and outlined the boundaries beyond which no one could go. And he also ordered to make a shield six cubits long and four wide, and on the surface of the shield he ordered to place a large mirror and made himself wooden stilts one cubit high. Putting the shield on his hand and standing on stilts, he moved towards the basilisk, putting up 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 should dare to cross the established borders. When he approached the basilisk, he opened his eyes and in anger began to look at the mirror in which he saw himself and therefore died. Alexander realized that he was dead, went up to him and, calling his soldiers, said: "Go and look at your destroyer." Hurrying to him, they saw a dead basilisk, which the Macedonians immediately burned at the behest of Alexander, praising the wisdom of Alexander. From there, together with the army, he reached the limits of this path, for mountains and rocks stood before him, rising like walls. On the path they returned back to the aforementioned plain, and he decided to turn north.
History of the battles of Alexander the Great. 13th century
It is possible that the version of the victory over the basilisk presented in the History of the Battles of Alexander the Great was influenced by another short story from the Acts of Rome (in fact, having climbed the tower and bending a thin sheet of iron, Socrates uses a parabolic mirror in order to see in it reflection of dragons):
“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 because of the poisoned air, no one could go this way, avoiding death. The king asked the wise men about the reason for such a misfortune, but none of them knew the true reason for this. And then the summoned Socrates told the king to erect a building of the same height as the mountains. And when this was done, Socrates ordered to make a mirror of 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 went up 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, went that way, but immediately fell off his horse and expired. Socrates hurried to the king and told him everything he had seen. Later, the dragons were captured and killed by cunning, and so the road again became safe for all those passing by.
Roman deeds. Ch.145
Christianity
Since the scribes of bestiaries were, as a rule, people from the bosom of the church, a reasonable question arose in time regarding the basilisk present in these texts - what kind of basilisk is it in the eyes of our Lord, is it pleasing to the latter, and with what is it eaten to be identified? The answer, of course, was found directly in the Old Testament, “where this beast plays typical roles for the devil (in its medieval understanding): as an instrument of Divine vengeance (“I will send snakes, basilisks against which there is no incantation, and they will bruise you, says the Lord” - Jer. 8:17); a hostile demonic guardian of the desert (“Who led you through the great and terrible wilderness, where snakes, basilisks, scorpions and dry places” - Deut. 8:15); an enemy awaiting 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. “The basilisk means the devil, who openly kills the careless and imprudent with the poison of his vileness,” wrote Hraban 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 able to "win 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, and characteristic of the Middle Ages, the image of a basilisk, which Christ tramples on.
Renaissance
Edward Topsell, in The History of Serpents, says that a rooster with a snake tail may exist (to deny this fact would be to go against church dogma), but, in any case, it has nothing to do with the basilisk. Brown in 1646 goes even further: "This creature is not only not a basilisk, but does not exist at all in nature."
Surprisingly, once the myth of the rooster basilisk was discarded, the African basilisk was also forgotten. During the Renaissance, many "stuffed" basilisks were created, made up of parts of stingrays and other fish, often with painted eyes. Such stuffed animals can still be seen today in the museums of Venice and Verona. Most of the images of the basilisk dating back to the 16th-17th centuries are based on 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 paws of a rooster, a bird's body covered with scales, and a snake's tail; it is difficult to determine whether his wings are covered with feathers or scales. Images of the Renaissance basilisk are extremely diverse. Something resembling a basilisk is depicted in the frescoes of Giotto in the Scrovenghi chapel in Padua.
Of interest is the painting by Carpaccio "Saint Tryphonius, casting down the basilisk." According to legend, the saint banished the devil, so the basilisk is depicted in the picture 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 the devil, the name played its role and the picture influenced the further idea of the basilisk.
Basilisk is mentioned quite often in literature, although it is never the main character. In addition to numerous commentaries on the Bible and bestiaries, unambiguously calling 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 modern sense, but also referring to the image of a poisonous creature. In the tragedy Richard III, Richard's fiancee, 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 more of a noble Egyptian symbol than a medieval monster. In Ode to Naples, Shelley urges the city: "Be like an imperial basilisk, fight enemies with invisible weapons"
"Slavic bestiary"
One of the mentions of the basilisk in Russian sources clearly came to us through the Polish censuses of bestiaries (here he is Baziliszek, from the Polish Bazyliszek), referring to Pliny:
Basil to whom he lived in the wasteland in aѳpїkіya<…>on the head to have a crown of flowers. his head is sharp. his horn is red like fire. eyes are black. as the mouth dies, so the big step of the snake eat. and whoever before him the tree m to t rushes to t and t dies.
HCL. Uvar. 5:289-290
(the indicated source of information about the basilisk is
"The Natural History of Pliny, VIII.21.33; ΧΧΙΧ.19. See SVB: 192).
III. Basilisk in fantasy
In the tent circus, the sorcerer “almost fell asleep under the gaze of the walleye basilisk. The tortured reptile stared at the audience, giving rise to explosions of horror, the “planting” in the aisle became ill, buffoon jesters turned to stone and burst with soap bubbles, and the sorcerer sincerely sympathized with the creature, whose gaze had long since died out from a skirmish with his own kind.
G. L. Oldie "Shmagia"
"The Flat World" by T. Pratchett
The flatworld basilisk is "a rare animal found in the deserts of Klatch. He looks like a snake twenty feet long with caustic saliva. Rumor has it that his gaze is able to turn a living being into stone, but this is not true. In fact, his gaze simply grinds reason into minced meat, like meat grinder knives.
Basilisk in JK Rowling books
In the world of Harry Potter, the basilisk appears as the guardian of the secret chamber in the form of a giant snake. Also, an entry about him is present in Rowling's separately published bestyria, where the basilisk was awarded the highest mark on the danger scale - XXXXX (a known 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 an Exorcist. After much experimentation, Herpo found out that if a toad incubates a chicken egg, it will hatch into a giant snake with supernatural and very dangerous abilities.
The Basilisk is a gleaming green serpent that can reach 50 feet in length. The male Basilisk has a crimson crest on its head. Its fangs exude deadly poison, but the most terrible weapon of the Basilisk is the look of huge yellow eyes. Anyone who looks into them will die instantly.
Given enough food to feed a Basilisk (and it feeds on all mammals, birds, and most reptiles), it can live for a very, very long time. Foolish Herpo's Basilisk is said to have lived to be 900 years old.
The creation of a Basilisk was declared illegal as early as the Middle Ages, although the fact of creation is easy to hide - just remove the egg from under the toad if the Fairy Control Department comes with a check. However, since only the Caster can control the Basilisk, they are just as dangerous to Dark Mages as they are to anyone else. For the past 400 years, not a single fact of the appearance of the Basilisk has been recorded in Britain.
JK Rowling "Magical Beasts and Where to Find Them"
One of the most amazing and interesting demonic creatures of the pagan world of the Slavs is the basilisk, whose image goes deep into archaic times. The basilisk was feared and admired, because its appearance both attracts and frightens. So who is this basilisk?
Basilisk in Slavic mythology is the so-called unclean spirit. The name of this demonic creature comes from the Greek "basileus" - "king", which indicates its high status among the dark otherworldly forces. Sometimes the basilisk is also called the king of snakes.
Basilisk was widely known not only to the Slavic peoples, but also in Western Europe.
What does a basilisk look like
Most often, the basilisk appears in the form of a half-bird, half-snake. Although sometimes it is described as just a snake. But still more often, in his images there are bird motifs - similar to a rooster or a turkey. Also in the description of the basilisk there are such zoological motifs as the eyes of a toad, the wings of a bat, and the like.
In some places, the basilisk is said to look like a large lizard, or have the body of a toad, the tail of a snake, and the head of a rooster, crowned with a crest in the form of a diadem or adorned with a shining gem.
Legends about the origin of the basilisk
Almost all versions of the origin of the basilisk, one way or another, are associated with the incubation or bearing of a chicken or rooster egg.
In Rus', there was a belief that a rooster over seven years old could lay an egg, from which a fiery serpent or a basilisk would hatch.
In some places, the belief about the basilisk sounds different: once every hundred years, a rooster is allowed to lay down a small ugly egg-spore (it has one yolk and no protein), and if a girl wears such an egg under her arm for six weeks, then a basilisk will hatch from it.
Sometimes it was also believed that a basilisk could be born from a cock's egg incubated by a toad.
In British legends, there are references to a basilisk hatched from a duck egg. The inhabitants of that area subsequently did not eat duck eggs for a very long time.
Where does the basilisk live?
The basilisk lives, according to popular belief, in crevices of rocks or in caves, in deserted and abandoned places. In addition, he can also live in the attic or in the courtyard of the house where his owners live. In this case, he can live in the same place where house spirits usually live - under the stove, in the basement, and so on.
Features of the life of a basilisk
One of the interesting features of the basilisk is that it practically does not need food, because in order to satisfy its hunger, it is quite enough for him to simply lick a stone. But, in some European sources it is mentioned that basilisks eat human meat and are able to devastate the entire area where they live.
Basilisk Danger
The most common danger that a basilisk carries to a person is its deadly look. According to beliefs, grass and crops dry out from his sight and breath, rocks crack, animals and people perish.
By the way, it is interesting to note that some myths say that the deadly gaze of the basilisk is also deadly for him - he dies when he sees his reflection in the mirror. Therefore, you can get rid of this dangerous creature by placing a mirror near its habitat. Or you should always carry a small mirror with you.
People also believed that the basilisk could connect with the sorcerer and live invisibly in him, granting him magical power, or fulfill all the orders of his “stepmother”, who carried him under his arm (takes revenge on her offenders, drags her silver and gold and the like).
According to some beliefs, the basilisk can also cohabit with women, and especially powerful witches and sorcerers will be born from such a connection.
© Alexey Korneev
This is a mythical creature, which in Greek means “king”, and from Latin it translates as “small king”.
Basilisk references in various sources
Mentions of the basilisk are found in the legends of different peoples. So, in ancient Roman legends, he was considered one of the most dangerous creatures, endowed with incredible abilities. In the mythology of the ancient Romans, this creature was endowed with such a terrifying appearance that it was considered possible to defeat it only by showing the creature its own reflection. The cry of the simplest rooster was also considered an effective way to overcome the basilisk.
Antique engravings reveal the image of this mythical creature in the form of a small yellow snake with horns on its head.
In the Middle Ages, the basilisk began to be represented somewhat differently. It was believed that this real creature, created by the Devil, had wings like a dragon, claws like a tiger, a tail like a lizard and an eagle's beak. According to other sources, this creature was with the body of a toad, a snake's tail and a rooster's head. Moreover, the crest on the head looked more like a diadem in shape, for which the basilisk was often called the snake king. The weapon of this creature was its terrifying gaze, fiery breath and poison, which literally burned trees and heated mountains. It was believed that this creature was born once every hundred years from an egg laid by a black rooster that is seven years old, and a toad was supposed to incubate the egg.
In addition to references in Roman and Slavic mythology, the basilisk is also found on the pages of the Bible. In the Latin translation of the edition, Jerome the Blessed in the Vulgate mentions this creature twice. The author translated the Hebrew word "serpent" as "basilisk". In other translated editions, there is no mention of this creature. This creation is on the pages of the writings of Jeremiah. The prophet compares with these creatures the Chaldeans sent by God as a punishment for all the unrepentant. In the book of Psalms, there is also a mention of a basilisk.
Basilisk habitat
People believed that these mythical creatures were found in warm, preferably desert places. These creatures, according to mythological consciousness, contributed to the formation of deserts. In the place where the basilisk settled, all living things died out: both vegetation and living beings, the waters became rotten, with the help of which the creature quenched its thirst.
The Bible indicates that these creatures were found in the desert expanses in Palestine and Upper Egypt.
Basilisks, according to mythology, lived in caves that supplied them with food, because the creatures fed exclusively on stone rocks. This creature was active at night, when it is impossible to hear cock cries. Basilisks were also afraid of unicorns, considering them to be very "pure" representatives of the animal world.
Basilisk weapons
According to the beliefs of the Romans and Slavs, it was possible to cope with the monster with the help of a cock's cry and ermines. Ermines, having chewed the leaves of the rue, will not be afraid of the creature and will be able to defeat it by attacking from the front. People, going on a journey, often took a rooster with them in a cage in order to be protected in case of an unwanted meeting with a basilisk. Another effective way to deal with the creation was a mirror surface. By showing the basilisk its reflection, it could be killed.
Basilisk venom
According to mythology, the poison of this creature was very strong. So, Pliny the Elder mentions that one fighter, who pierced the basilisk with a spear, fell dead from his horse. The poison entered the body of the warrior through the handle of the weapon! Lucan, on the other hand, describes the situation, de a more experienced brave man, after fighting the monster with a sword, cut off his hand, which held the weapon.
It was believed that the eggs of this mythical creature were also endowed with poison, and whoever ate them was in danger of death.
Basilisk always kills first. If a person sees this monster first, then the creature will die. This is due to the fact that with the help of the glance of the basilisk, poison is produced, which is transmitted through the air into the respiratory tract of a person, thereby poisoning him. But in the case when someone first sees this creature, then in order to defeat it, it is necessary to have a mirror. Basilisk, seeing his reflection, immediately dies.
