A basilisk is a mythological creature, actually a mythological hybrid. The name translated from the Greek (βασιλίσκος) and Latin (regulus), literally means “little king”.
In the ancient Roman mythology this creature had been endowed with features so terrifying, that the only possible and effective way to undo the monstrosity was to have it face its reflection in a mirror. However, scream of a common rooster had also proven itself an efficient measure against a basilisk. Ancient engravings depict it as a middle-size yellow-coloured serpent with small horns atop its head.
In Medieval times, the imaging of a basilisk slightly changed. It was deemed to be a really existing creature, created by the Devil himself, i.e., with wings of a dragon, talons of a tiger, tail of a lizard and beal of an eagle.
According to other testimonies, basilisk possessed the toad’s body, snake’s tail and rooster’s head. Thereby, the caruncle atop its head resembled a diadem, which lead to it being referred to as the “king of all snakes”.
Basilisk’s “weapons” are its terrifying glance and, fiery breath and venom, that literally incinerated the trees and heated the mountains.
The beast had also been mentioned across the pages of Bible, namely in the Book of Jeremiah (Liber Ieremiae) and the Psalms (Liber Psalmorum; particularly, 91:13, where it is referred to as “super aspidem” (king of snakes, or serpents)).
According to certain beliefs, a basilisk would be born once in a hundred years, hatched from an egg, to be laid by a black rooster and sat upon by a toad.
People believed a basilisk to inhabit warm, preferably deserted places. Myths present the basilisks as the ones that caused deserts to emerge, as places inhabited by these beasts had been rendered barren, neither plants nor any living being could survive, and waters would become foul.
A basilisk would normally be active at night, when no rooster would scream. It would stay away from unicorns, as the latter were seen as the “purest” of all animals on Earth.
Roman and slavic tradition reveals, that a monstrosity of basilisk could be fought against with the screaming rooster or an ermine. The latter, having chewed the rue leaves, would have no fear of a basilisk and attack its front. Another efficient measure to kill the beast, was the surface of a mirror, gazing at which, the creature would drop down dead.
The basilisk’s venom was extremely toxic. So were its eggs, and eating one would result in death. It always kills first. If not, and human being is the first to sight the beast, this means imminent undoing for the latter (e.g., basilisk).
This can be explained in the following way: basilisk’s glance generates venom, that reaches human’s airways over the air, thus envenoming him or her. However, should somebody see a basilisk first, one just needs a mirror to undo the creature, for it dies just by envisioning its own reflection.
Modern literature also tends to mention these creatures in the works. Authors like Shelley (Percy Bysshe Shelley, 1792-1822), Coleridge (Samuel Taylor Coleridge, 1772 - 1834) and Keats (John Keats), describe it as the symbol of royal magnificence and power. And the novel by J. K. Rowling, titled “Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets”, a basilisk is shown as a giant serpent with a deadly glance, capable of petrifying a human being, thus turning it into stone.
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