Basilisk (English spelling)

Japanese: バジリスク（英語表記）Basilisk

An imaginary monster that lives in the desert. Also known as Basilicock or Cockatrice. It is a snake with crown-shaped spots on its head, and is highly venomous, and if it meets your gaze, you will die, according to Pliny the Elder's Natural History. Its name comes from basiliskos (Greek for "little king"). In Egypt, it was believed to have the appearance of a four-legged chicken with a cockscomb, yellow feathers, broad wings, and a snake's tail. It is said to be born from an egg that was developed in the womb of an ibis, a snake-eating bird that lives on the banks of the Nile, or to be born from a rooster's bastard egg that was warmed by a toad or snake.

Source: Heibonsha World Encyclopedia, 2nd Edition Information

Japanese:

砂漠に棲息する想像上の怪獣。別名バジリコックBasilicock，コッカトリスCockatrice。頭に王冠の形の斑点を持つ蛇で，毒気が強く，視線に会うと死ぬと大プリニウスの《博物誌》にはある。その名はbasiliskos(ギリシア語で〈小王〉の意)に由来する。またエジプトでは，鶏冠と黄色い羽毛と幅広い翼と蛇の尾を持つ4本足の鶏の姿と信じられていた。ナイル河畔に住み蛇を食うトキに似た鳥イビスの胎内で育った卵から生まれるとも，雄鶏のできそこないの卵をヒキガエルか蛇が温めて生まれるともいわれる。

出典　株式会社平凡社世界大百科事典第２版について　情報

<<: Runner's Spot - The starting point

>>: Basilisk - Common basiliscus