Basilisks - King of Serpents

Description Early Basilisks were described as small snakes with a crest on the head like a crown (from the Greek "basilieus" meaning king, as in "king of snakes".) The basilisk was extremely poisonous and even its breath or glare could be fatal.In Heraldry, it is mostly the same as a Cockatrice, sometimes differentiated by an additional head (often a dragon) at the end of the tail.

Features Very poisonous. Its appearance is so dreadful, that if it could see itself in a mirror it would burst apart with horror and fear. Can be killed by weasels, or by a rooster crowing.

Wise travelers would bring a rooster or a weasel with them, if traveling into unknown lands.

Also Called King of Serpents

Amphysian Cockatrice

The cockatrice was originally described as taking the form of the basilisk, but by the 1400's the name had morphed from basilisk to basilicok to cockatrice, helped by a mention in Chaucer's Canterbury Tales. This is probably where it picked up the partial attributes of a Cock, and became a different creature. In the same manner, the Basilisk originally referred to a small snake with a crest on its head (like a crown, hence the title "king") Of course, as time went on and the stories got more exaggerated, the snake got bigger and deadlier. In the Middle Ages, legends told that the basilisk could only be killed by a weasel or a cockerel, and many travelers carried these other animals in case they encountered a basilisk.

Described By: Aldrovandus- portrays the basilisk as having 8 legs.

Topsell- "The King of Serpents, not for his magnitude or greatnesse: For there are many Serpents bigger than he, as there are many foure-footed Beastes bigger than the Lyon, but, because of his stately pace, and magnanimous mind: for he creepeth not on the earth like other Serpents, but goeth half upright, for which all other serpents avoyde his sight."

Pliny- "The Serpents called basilisks... It is produced in the province of Cyrene (ancient Greek city of Cyrenaica), being not more than twelve fingers (inches) in length. It has a white spot on the head, strongly resembling a sort of diadem. When it hisses, all the other serpents fly from it...It destroys all shrubs, not only by contact, but even those it has bresthed upon; it burns up all the grass too, and breaks the stones, so tremendous is its noxious influence. It was formerly a general belief that if a man on horseback killed one of these animals with a spear, the poison would run up the weapon and kill, not only the rider, but the horse as well. To this dreadful monster the effluvium of the weasel is fatal."

Symbolizes In Christian art, it is the emblem of sin and the spirit of evil. The image above is often used in heraldry, even though it is different than many of the descriptions.

Might actually be There is a lot of confusion in the literature about what a basilisk is; Some descriptions of the basilisk sound like a Cobra, and some sound more like scorpions.

Holy Lance - the lance that pierced Jesus while he was on the cross.

According to legend, the Holy Lance (also known as the Spear of Destiny, Holy Spear, Lance of Longinus, Spear of Longinus or Spear of Christ) is the name given to the lance that pierced Jesus while he was on the cross.

The lance is mentioned only in the Gospel of John (19:31–37) and not in any of the Synoptic Gospels. The gospel states that the Romans planned to break Jesus' legs, a practice known as crurifragium, which was a method of hastening the death during a crucifixion. Just before they did so, they realized he was already dead and that there was no reason to break his legs. To make sure he was dead, a soldier (extra-Biblical tradition gives this man the name Longinus) stabbed him in the side. ( Jesus' side is pierced with a spear, Fra Angelico (c. 1440), Dominican monastery of San Marco, Florence. - leftmost photo)

… but one of the soldiers pierced his side with a lance, and immediately there came out blood and water.' John 19:34

The phenomenon of blood and water was considered a miracle by Origen (although the water may be explained biologically by the piercing of the pericardial sinus secondary to cardiac tamponade.)^{[citation needed]} Catholics generally see in it a deeper meaning: it represents the Church (and more specifically, the sacraments of Baptism and the Eucharist) issuing from the side of Christ, just as Eve was taken from the side of Adam.

The Holy Lance in the Schatzkammer of Vienna (left)

Archangels – higher-ranking angels in the hierarchy of angels

Archangels – higher-ranking angels in the hierarchy of angels

Archangels (Lat. archangelus, pl. archangeli) are superior or higher-ranking angels.^[1] Archangels are found in a number of religious traditions, including Islam, Judaism and Zoroastrianism. In Biblical Christianity, the only archangels ever clearly named as being of the order are Michael and Gabriel; Raphael is mentioned in the Deuterocanonical book of Tobit, and Uriel is mentioned in the Pseudepigraphal Book of Enoch.

The word archangel derives from the Greek αρχάγγελος archangelos = αρχ- arch- ("first, primary, chief or highest") and άγγελος angelos ("messenger").

Orthodox icon (the left picture) of the seven archangels. From left to right: Jegudiel, Gabriel, Selaphiel, Michael, Uriel, Raphiel, Barachiel. Beneath the mandorla of Christ are representations of Cherubim and Seraphim.

Leviathan - a Biblical sea monster or creature

Leviathan (Hebrew: לִוְיָתָן, Standard LiwyatanTiberian Liwyāṯān ; "Twisted; coiled") is a Biblical sea monster referred to in the Old Testament (Psalm 74:13-14; Job 41; Isaiah 27:1). The word leviathan has become synonymous with any large sea monster or creature. In the novel Moby-Dick it refers to great whales, and in Modern Hebrew, it means simply "whale".

The word Leviathan is also mentioned in Rashi's commentary on Genesis 1:21: "God created the great sea monsters - Taninim." Jastrow translates the word "Taninim" as "sea monsters, crocodiles or large snakes". Rashi comments: "According to legend this refers to the Leviathan and its mate. God created a male and female Leviathan, then killed the female and salted it for the righteous, for if the Leviathans were to procreate the world could not stand before them."

A commentary on this prayer in the Artscroll prayer-book (p. 725) adds: "The Leviathan was a monstrous fishTalmud Baba Bathra 74b, where it is told that the Leviathan will be slain and its flesh served as a feast to the righteous in [the] Time to Come, and its skin used to cover the tent where the banquet will take place." created on the fifth day of Creation. Its story is related at length in the

There is another religious hymn recited on the festival of Shavuot (celebrating the giving of the Torah), known as Akdamut, wherein it says: "...The sport with the Leviathan and the ox (Behemoth)...When they will interlock with one another and engage in combat, with his horns the Behemoth will gore with strength, the fish [Leviathan] will leap to meet him with his fins, with power. Their Creator will approach them with his mighty sword [and slay them both]." Thus, "from the beautiful skin of the Leviathan, God will construct canopies to shelter the righteous, who will eat the meat of the Behemoth [ox] and the Leviathan amid great joy and merriment, at a huge banquet that will be given for them." Some rabbinical commentators say these accounts are allegorical (Artscroll siddur, p. 719), or symbolic of the end of conflict.

In a legend recorded in the Midrash called Pirke de-Rabbi Eliezer it is stated that the whale which swallowed Jonah narrowly avoided being eaten by the Leviathan, which generally eats one whale each day. In a hymn by Kalir, the Leviathan is a serpent that surrounds the earth and has its tail in its mouth, like the Greek Ouroboros and the Nordic Midgard Serpent.

Legend has it that in the banquet after the end of conflict, the carcass of the leviathan will be served as a meal, along with the behemoth and the ziz.