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Basilisk

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Basilisk is a legendary reptile sometimes called the King of Serpents. Its name comes from a Greek word basileus,meaning king. The Roman naturalist Pliny the Elder (A.D. 23 or 24-79) first described the basilisk in his 37-volumeNatural History. He described it as having a white spot on its forehead resembling a crown. The creature was said to be capable of killing animals and shrubs with its poisonous breath. Pliny also wrote that the serpent moved upright rather than wriggling on the ground.

Legends about the basilisk grew in Europe during the Middle Ages, a period from the 400's through the 1400's.Alchemists (experimenters with chemistry and magic) claimed the ability to create a basilisk. They burned the creature and used the ashes to transform copper into gold. Medieval authors described basilisks that breathed fire and killed with their voices. The Italian artist Leonardo Da Vinci even described the creature. He wrote that basilisks could kill animals and plants simply by staring at them. People could identify the lair of a basilisk by the dead vegetation surrounding its entrance.

Pliny wrote that a basilisk could be killed by the stench of a weasel thrown into the serpent’s lair. Writers in the Middle Ages agreed that only the crowing of a rooster could kill a basilisk. Several medieval writings describe pilgrims carrying roosters for protection from the creature.

Today, a lizard native to the Americas is called the basilisk lizard. This lizard has a crest on its head and can raise the front of its body and run upright on its hind legs.

The basilisk is a reptile.  On its forehead is a white spot.  Some people think the spot looks like a crown.  That is why the basilisk is sometimes called the King of Serpents.

Basilisks are different from ordinary snakes.  They can breathe fire.  Also, they do not wiggle on the ground.  Instead, they move upright as though they have legs.

Basilisks are very dangerous.  They can kill plants and animals by breathing poison on them, staring at them, or speaking to them.  In fact, the entrance way to the home of a basilisk is covered with dead plants. 

There are two ways to kill a basilisk.   You can throw a weasel into the basilisk’s home.  The smell of the weasel would kill the basilisk.  Otherwise, you can carry a rooster.  When the basilisk hears the rooster crow, the basilisk will die.