Many of us upon hearing the word Basilisk We mentally transport ourselves to the «Secret Chamber» of the book of Harry Potter and we imagine the immense snake that the little wizard and his friends faced. However, like several of the fantastic creatures that J.K. Rowling describes in his novels, are not entirely the fruit of his imagination, but rather They are based on beings from Greco-Roman or Norse mythology.. The writer recognized that she made a deep study of these fantasy beings before introducing them into her writings. In we have seen other inhabitants of the mythological universe such as Caladrius and on this occasion we want to get closer to the Basilisk.
Basilisk. 10 curiosities about this being
1. The word basilisk comes from the Greek «basiliskos» and means «little king». He was considered the king of snakes.
2. Your origin is in Greek mythology who described it as a small snake, carrying a lethal poison, which also could kill with a look.
3. In early Greek descriptions, the basilisk was born from a chicken eggbut this should have been hatched by a toad and it was a snake that wore a kind of crown on its head, measuring approximately «20 fingers» according to Pliny the Elder.
4. In the 13th century, the questions related to his birth were more refined and it was concluded that was born from a deformed egg would have laid a 7 year old rooster old. This egg was to be incubated for 9 years by a toad and that is why, when the basilisk was born, it had the head of a rooster, the body of a toad and the tail of a snake.
5. Not only was it a lethal animal, but its simple breath was so harmful which caused the stones to crack and the plants to wither. It was said that for this reason he lived in desert areas, he himself dismantled the rocks and killed all the vegetation.
6. As JK Rowling recorded in her novels, mythology granted the basilisk the power not only to kill with its gaze, but to petrify anyone who sees their reflection in a mirror or other similar surface.
7. In the Old Testament the basilisk is cited in 7 occasions in 4 different books: Isaiah, Proverbs, Jeremiah and Psalms.
8. To kill a basilisk There were few methods. The two most common were: doing sing to a roostersince this sound was thought to terrify the basilisks, or with the smell of a weaselwhich although it killed it, meant the sacrifice of the exposed animal.
9. Currently, when talking about an animal called a basilisk, naturalists refer to the «common basilisk»a lizard that is native to Central America and is capable of walking on water.
10. When we say that someone «has become like a basilisk» or «has become like a basilisk» we mean that someone he is very angry or very angry and is even capable of killing with his gaze.
Do you know any other interesting facts about basilisks? Share it with us!
If you were interested in this article, you may want to get to know other mythological beings by reading the post:
– 4 creatures from Greek mythology that you wish existed
Images: JoJan,