What Did It Look Like?
The basilisk, also known as a cockatrice or "The King Serpent," was said to be a giant serpent. Some say it had the body of a snake and the head, feet, and wings of a chicken. Others thought that it was just a giant snake and not part chicken at all! Some thought that the basilisk was a deadly serpent... but less than a foot long! It was green and had a marking on its head that resembled a crown.
What Features Did It Have?
Where Did It Come From?
The basilisk was thought to have fire-breath like a dragon and very poisonous venom. Basilisks were said to have lived in the desert, but not because they wanted to, but because their fire-breath would burn down all the plants and trees in other environments, and would kill them. People thought that the basilisk could have originated from the Egyptian Cobra. The word that basilisk comes from is "basiliskos," meaning "little king" in Greek.
The basilisk existed in legends for centuries. People thought that it was the offspring of a rooster or hen that mated with a snake or toad. Others thought that the basilisk hatched from a rooster and hen's egg that had been incubated by a toad.
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