Amphisbaenae, Legendary Creature

Amphisbaenae, Legendary Creature

Illuminated manuscript image from a Medieval bestiary of the Amphisbaena a mythological ant-eating serpent with a head at each end. According to Greek mythology, the amphisbaena was spawned from the blood that dripped from the Gorgon Medusa's head as Perseus flew over the Libyan Desert with it in his hand. Cato's army then encountered it along with other serpents on the march. Amphisbaenae fed off of the corpses left behind. The amphisbaena has been referred to by the poets, such as Nicander, John Milton, Alexander Pope, Percy Bysshe Shelley, Alfred, Lord Tennyson, and A. E. Housman, and the amphisbaena as a mythological and legendary creature has been referenced by Lucan, Pliny the Elder, Isidore of Seville, and Thomas Browne, the last of whom debunked its existence. Medieval and later drawings often show it with two or more scaled feet, and feathered wings or a horned, dragon-like creature with a serpent-headed tail and small, round ears, while others have both necks of equal size so that it cannot be determined which is the rear head.

Album / Science Source / New York Public Library

Model: No - Property: No
Rights questions?

3000 x 3114 px | 26.7 MB

25.4 x 26.4 cm | 10.0 x 10.4 in (300 dpi)