Amphisbaena
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The amphisbaena (
Mythology
According to
Appearance
The amphisbaena has a twin head, that is one at the tail end as well, as though it were not enough for poison to be poured out of one mouth.
—Naturalis Historia
The Amphisbaena however is a snake with two heads, one at the top and one in the direction of the tail. When it advances, as need for a forward movement impels it, it leaves one end behind to serve as tail, while the other it uses as a head. Then again if it wants to move backwards, it uses the two heads in exactly the opposite manner from what it did before.
— Claudius Aelianus, Characteristics of Animals[2]
The amphisbaena grows twin heads, one in the proper place, and the other where the tail should be. For this reason the snake glides in a circular shape, as the heads, contrary to what is right, strain from both ends.
These early descriptions of the amphisbaena depict a venomous, dual-headed snakelike creature. However,
Habitat
The amphisbaena is said to make its home in the desert.[citation needed]
Folk medicine
In ancient times, the supposedly dangerous amphisbaena had many uses in the art of
Origins
In The Book of Beasts,
The Códice Casanatense (c. 1540), a Portuguese book describing the areas the Portuguese had visited, includes an illustration of the flora and fauna of India. One of the animals shown is a two-headed snake (conjoined twin snakes), with one head on each end, much like an amphisbaena. The image is captioned, "two headed snakes of India are harmless".[8] It is possible a sighting of an animal like this was the origin of the amphisbaena.
In media
In Dante's Inferno, the amphisbaena is listed as one of the types of reptiles that torment thieves in the seventh bolgia.
In John Milton's Paradise Lost, after the Fall and the return of Satan to Hell, some of the fallen angelic host are transformed into the amphisbaena, to represent the animal by which the Fall was caused, i.e. a snake.[9]
Amphisbaena appears in some editions of the tabletop roleplaying game Dungeons & Dragons.
Amphisbaena has appeared in several video games as an enemy or boss monster, including La-Mulana and Bravely Second: End Layer. A creature called Amphisbaena appears in the games Castlevania: Symphony of the Night and Portrait of Ruin but bears little resemblance to other renditions of the creature, appearing as an eyeless 4-legged reptile with the upper body of a human woman sprouting from its long tail instead of a double-headed serpent.
In the 1984 animated film Gallavants, an amphisbaena (called a 'Vanterviper' in the film) appears as a minor antagonist. The two heads, a red one named Edil and a blue one called Fice, frequently disagree and argue, and sing a song about their miserable plight.
The amphisbaena is mentioned in
recalls past events. The amphisbaena was endangering the region of Kovir until the beast was slain by Geralt's hand.Amphisbaena is referenced in RWBY, an animated web series created by Monty Oum, in the form of an evil creature called Grimm. Of the different Grimm, the amphisbaena appears to be the King Taijitu, a two-headed snake or serpent. The king's name references the taijitu, a symbol or diagram in Chinese philosophy representing Taiji in both its monist and dualist aspects. The Grimm's coloration visually symbolizes the taijitu, with one head and body section black and the opposite side white.
The amphisbaena appears in the Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles episode "Battle Nexus: New York." This version is one of the known champions of the Battle Nexus. Big Mama had Michelangelo and Meat Sweats compete to feed each of its heads in order to satisfy the amphisbaena. They managed to work together to pull it off.
Brandon Sanderson's novel Skyward has a character whose name is Arturo Mendez. His call sign is amphisbaena.
Use as a Proverb
The amphisbaena appears also in the popular saying "to the amphisbaena, Perseus is good" which can have various meanings depending in the connotation in which it is used. However, one main meaning lies in the connection between Perseus and the amphisbaena and its creation. Though created out of the violent death of Medusa by Perseus, it shows that the creation will always see the creator in a positive light.
See also
References
- ^ "When Cato the Younger's army marched through Libya". Archived from the original on 2014-12-22. Retrieved 2014-11-30.
- ^ "Aelian, Characteristics of Animals, 9.23".
- ^ "Solinus, Polyhistor, 27.29".
- ^ Puttock, Sonia (2002). Ritual significance of personal ornament in Roman Britain. Oxford: Archaeopress. p. 93.
- ^ "Amphisbaena". Mythical-Creatures-and-Beasts.com. Retrieved 2019-02-19.
- ^ "Amphisbaena - All About Dragons". allaboutdragons.com. Retrieved 2019-02-19.
- ^ "The Book of Beasts".
- ^ Mason, Peter (2012-01-01). ""Cobras da Índia de duas cabeças não fazem mal". Codex Casanatense 1889, fl. 91". Anais de História de Além-Mar.
- ^ Paradise Lost, 10.524
Bibliography
- Hunt, Jonathan (1998). Bestiary: An Illuminated Alphabet of Medieval Beasts (1st ed.). Hong Kong: Simon & Schuster. ISBN 0-689-81246-9.
- Levy, Sidney J. (1996). "Stalking the Amphisbaena", Journal of Consumer Research, 23 (3), Dec. 1996, pp. 163–176.
External links
- Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. I (9th ed.). 1878. p. 774. .
- Theoi Greek Mythology : Amphisbaena