Basilisk | 10 curiosities about this mythological being

Many of us upon hearing the word Basilisk mentally transported ourselves to the «Secret Chamber» of the Harry Potter book and imagined the immense snake they faced the little wizard and his friends.However, like several of the fantastic creatures that JKRowling describes in his novels, they are not entirely the fruit of his imagination, but are based on beings from the Greco-Roman or Nordic mythology .The writer acknowledged that he made a deep study of these fantasy beings before introducing them in his writings.In Mysterious we have seen other settlers of the mythological universe such as Caladrius and on this occasion we want to approach 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.His origin is a in Greek mythology that described him as a small snake, bearer of a lethal poison, which also could kill with his eyes .

3.In the first Greek descriptions, the basilisk was born from a chicken egg , but this must have been feathered by a toad and was a snake that wore a kind of crown on its head, measuring approximately «20 fingers» according to Pliny the Elder.

Basilisk | 10 curiosities about this mythological being

4.In the thirteenth century, issues related to his birth were further refined and it was concluded that was born from a deformed egg that would have put a 7-year-old rooster of age.This egg should be incubated for 9 years by a toad and therefore, 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 that it provoked that the stones should be cracked and the plants withered.It was said that for that reason he lived in desert areas, he undid the rocks and killed all the vegetation.

6.As JKRowling collected in his novels , mythology gave the basilisk the power not only to kill with his eyes, but to petrify anyone who saw his reflection in a mirror or another similar surface.

Basilisk | 10 curiosities about this mythological being

7.In the Old Testament the basilisk is cited 7 times in 4 different books : Isaiah, Proverbs, Jeremiah and Psalms.

8.To kill a basilisk there were few methods.The two most common were: making sing to a rooster , since it was thought that this sound terrified the basilisks, or with the smell of a weasel , which although it killed him, meant the sacrifice of the exposed animal.

Basilisk | 10 curiosities about this mythological being

9.Currently, when talking about an animal called basilisk, naturalists refer to the « common basilisk », a lizard that is native to Central America and is capable of walking on water.

Basilisk | 10 curiosities about this mythological being

10.When we say that someone" has become like a basilisk "or" put on a basilisk "we mean that someone is very angry or very furious and he is even able to kill with his eyes.

Do you know any more curiosity about basilisks? Share it with us!

If you were interested This article, you may want to meet other mythological beings by reading the post:

-4 creatures of Greek mythology that you wish existed

Images: JoJan, Solbaken

Comments

The nahual, the sorcerer who could become an animal

In the mythological or spiritual universe there is a concept that is teriomorphism or teriantropia.It consists in the supposed ability of some special human beings to change shape and take that of an animal.In Mysterious we talk about the skin-walkers Navajos, the precursors of the JKRowling animagus and on this occasion, following your suggestions, we wanted to approach the figure of Nahual, the sorcerer who could become an animal of Mesoamerican cultures. The Nahual The concept of Nahual or Nagual is diverse since it does not match exactly in all Mesoamerican cultures.We will try to collect the traits that are common to most.Nahual is the person who He has the ability, whether physical or spiritual, to take the form of an animal .Usually it is a shaman or sorcerer and uses his power in a beneficial or negative way according to his personality. Nahuales, Codex Borgia Nahualism would be the transforming capacity of the nahual and is a skill that lies in the spiritual essen...

Ines de Castro. The story of Queen Cadaver

Although it may seem so, the story that we are going to tell you in this article does not correspond to a chapter of Game of Thrones or any other fantasy series.The facts that we are going to narrate have a real historical origin , although it is true that sometimes it is not known to what extent the truth is mixed with the legend and in this case it is so mysterious to believe that everything is real.If you continue reading this article, you will know the history of Ines de Castro, «Queen Cadaver» . The death of Ines de Castro Ines was the daughter of a very powerful Galician family, the house Castro .Prince Pedro I of Portugal (1320-1367) fell blindly in love with Ines de Castro and led by the passion they secretly married without even Pedro's father, the King Alfonso IV I knew From then on, the life of Ines and Pedro became one of the most tragic and beautiful love stories of all time. When Alfonso IV learned of the marriage of his son and fearing possible poli...

Objects that appear and disappear. Has it happened to you?

Surely it has ever happened to you, you are looking for something and there is no way to find it , you look in a place that you had previously reviewed and surprisingly, « there it is » .Parapsychologists have an explanation for this phenomenon they call " Jotts " (Just One of Those Things) or " DOP " (disappearing object phenomena) and science too. Objects that appear and disappear. Has this happened to you? Objects that appear and disappear The parapsychologist Mary Rose Barrington, president of the Oxford University Society for Psychical Research, who has studied these phenomena distinguishes 4 types of Jotts : The Appearing : It is when the object was in a place that is not the usual one and appears in its place. The one who walks : It is when an object is not in the place in the one we thought we had left and we find it in another where we would never leave it consciously. The one who Returns : It is when the object disappears from the...

They find a Loch Ness monster! Although not the one we expected

After decades of speculation and searching, a team of researchers has finally found the legendary Loch Ness monster from Scotland.Well, something like that. Find a Loch Ness monster! Although not what we expected An underwater robot has recently discovered a 30-foot model of the mythical beast of the lake , which was once used in the Billy Wilder movie of 1970 «The private life of Sherlock Holmes».The strut sank during filming in 1969. For almost 50 years, the fake monster settled at the bottom of Loch Ness. Finally, it has been recovered thanks to the supervision of the Norwegian company Kongsberg Maritime, which partnered with VisitScotland and the research group focused on the Loch Ness Project to study the bottom of the lake. expedition, called "Operation Groundtruth," has used an underwater robot called Munin to map the depths of the lake , using a probe and the camera of the team.I capture the images that match the measurements and the shape of the Nessi...

5 Legendary hidden treasures that are still missing | Will they find them?

Surely during our childhood, most of us have fantasized about finding some hidden treasure after living incredible adventures.Thanks to this article you will discover the legends of five treasures that still remain hidden, despite the many efforts made to bring them to light.You will think that all this is science fiction, but around the world there are hidden treasures that no one has yet managed to find. Malaysia , Colombia or United States are some of the countries to which we will travel to try to put some light on the mysteries surrounding these hidden treasures.If your dream has always been to go in search of a buried fortune or you would just like to look like Indiana Jones , you will love this article.What are you waiting for? Discover them! Content Index 5 Hidden treasures.What is true in the legends that surround them? 1.The Nazi treasure of Lake Toplitz After the fall of the followers of Adolf Hitler and the end of the World War II , the stories on ...

I terrify! 3 Japanese urban legends

Yes, the Japanese are particularly macabre as far as horror stories and urban legends are concerned.That is why today we bring you some of the most popular and terrifying urban legends of Japan .Continua reading and discover what it's all about. I'm terrifying! Japanese urban legends 1.Yuki-onna Yuki-onna is a beautiful woman who appears in the mountains during the colder nights .It is said that this woman has an incomparable beauty: white skin, long black hair and wears a white kimono. Apparently Yuki-onna appears to travelers floating above the snow. This spirit deflects men from their path until they get lost and die of cold.They also usually get in the car of their victims and freeze them with their icy breath and take their lives. Is it revenge that leads this spirit to act in this way? Apparently not, simply Yuki-onna feels great pleasure to see his victims die .Other versions explain that he does it to stay with their souls or to have more strength.Be ...

Bury photos in the cemetery | What does it mean? Witchcraft

Cemeteries or graveyards are the places where the remains of people who have died are buried.The word cemetery comes from the Greek "κοιμητήριον" and means "place to sleep." However, since ancient times, cemeteries or places of burial, the earth and the bones of the deceased have been used to practice various rituals.One of the ones that attracts the most attention and that has been notified to the authorities of different graveyards of the world, on various occasions, is the finding of photographs in anomalous situations.Join us to find out what it means to bury photos in the cemetery and if it has anything to do with witchcraft or black magic. The use from the land of cemeteries to practice black magic, especially in case of curses or necromancy, it is not something recent.Apparently the ancient Egyptians had already used land and bones extracted from funerary sites for their practices cas magicas.There are currently many stories related to Dark Cemeteries ...

3 Psychopompos or soul guides in the aftermath

In many ancient mythologies and religions the souls of the dead need a guide to enter the world of the dead.These guides that can be benign or terrifying, are called "psychopompos" .The name comes from the Greek "psychopompos", "Psyche" which is the soul and pompos which means "guiding" or "leading".Join us to know 3 Psychopompos or guides of souls in the aftermath . 3 Psychopompos or guides of the souls in the afterlife Anguta in the Inuits legends When an Inuit moria , it was believed that "Anguta" came to look for him .This psychopompo He led him first to the "Adlivun" or underworld, which was a kind of purgatory, in which the deceased was scourged until he purged the evil he had done in life.They calculated that he remained in this place for a year, until he was prepared to continue your trip to the «Land of the Moon» , the equivalent to heaven. Anguta was sometimes accompanied by Pinga , ...

The legend of the Bakeneko, the fearsome cats of Japan

In Japon , the cat is one of the most revered animals .In Mysterious we learned about the existence of an island basically populated by cats or A Japanese company that adopted 9 cats And increased productivity! The legend of the Bakeneko, the fearsome cats of Japan , began to appear in the literature of that country around 1603 , although it was possibly forged many centuries before.At that time it was decreed that no individual could own a cat and everyone should be freed , letting them roam the streets.The reason was that the rats were endangering the production of rice and silk and the only way to end the plague was to free the feline population.Cats moved in groups, appeared in strange places and unexpectedly and sometimes terrified the population, which He began to weave stories and legends about them.His cold character and the fact that traditionally they will be related to death contributed to reinforce them. The legend of the Bakeneko For any cat to become a Bake...

The legend of Lobizon, the Guarani werewolf | Get rid of the 7th child!

In many cultures throughout the world and in history legends have appeared about fantastic beings, half man, half wolf.Werewolves or lycanthropes have known each other since ancient times and in Mysterious we tell you about the origin of the word «lycanthrope» in the post: Do you know who was Licaon, the king who gave name to LICANTROPIA ?, In this Greek myth we see Zeus turn a man into a wolf, but the stories about these characters are not European heritage and this time we want tell you about the legend of the Lobizon, the werewolf Guarani . The Guarani people live in a region that includes areas of Paraguay, Northeast Argentina, eastern Bolivia and the Southwestern Brazil.Before the arrival of the colonizers, the Guarani people had their own beliefs and mythology that were mostly absorbed by Christianity in their syncretizing process or forgotten since they were not written and transmitted orally. One of the myths that e have remained the Lobizon or werewolf of Guarani mytholog...

Mystery Unsolved

Search This Blog