medieval-religion: Scholarly discussions of medieval religion and culture
> The modern equation of
> ancient _basiliskos_ with the Horned Viper (Cerastes cerastes) of North
> Africa, Israel, and the Arabian peninsula relies on the latter snake's
> being crested (hence, metaphorically, crowned). As far as I am aware,
> that feature does not occur in any ancient Greek or Latin description of
> a basilisk.
Nor, I am sure, does the Horned Viper possess the basilisk's putative ability to kill
anyone who looks at it. This actually features in one of the earliest (to my
knowledge) warnings of Health Hazards in the Arts. Theophilus in his early 12th-
century Diversis Artibus claims that basilisks are one of the necessary ingredients in
making "red gold" (whatever that is). He then goes on at some length to explain
how to raise them in ceramic vessels buried in the ground, so that one can easily
avoid their deadly gaze.
Cheers,
Jim Bugslag
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