Amphisbaena

Anydragon · Amphisbaena

Amphisbaena
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Amphisbaena (pronounced /ˌæmfɪsˈbiːnə/, plural: amphisbaenae), Amphisbaina, Amphisbene, Amphisboena, Amphisbona, Amphista, Amphivena, or Anphivena (the last two being feminine), a Greek word, from amphis, meaning "both ways", and bainein, meaning "to go", also called the Mother of Ants, is a mythological, ant-eating serpent with a head at each end. According to Greek mythology, the mythological 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, 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.

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. ”
--Pliny the Elder. Naturalis Historia, ca. 77 AD

A 15th century Amphisbaena on a misericord in Buckinghamshire

This early description of the amphisbaena depicts a venomous, duo-headed snakelike creature. However, Medieval and later drawings often show it with two or more scaled feet, particularly chicken feet and feathered wings. Some even depict it as 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. Many descriptions of the amphisbaena say its eyes glow like candles or lightning, but the poet Nicander seems to contradict this by describing it as "always dull of eye". He also says: "From either end protrudes a blunt chin; each is far from each other." Nicander's account seems to be referring to what is indeed called the Amphisbaenia.

Habitat

The Amphisbaena makes its home in the desert.

Abilities

* Swimming
* Hypnosis
* Burrowing
* Poisonous fangs
* Speed
* Its eye contact kills instantly when under a full moon.

Folk medicine

In ancient times, the supposedly dangerous amphisbaena had many uses in the art of folk medicine and other such remedies. It is said that expecting women wearing a live amphisbaena around their necks would have safe pregnancies, however if your goal is to cure ailments such as arthritis or the common cold wear only its skin. By eating the meat of the amphisbaena one could attract many lovers of the opposite sex, and slaying one during the full moon could give power to one who is pure of heart and mind. Lumberjacks suffering from cold weather on the job could nail its carcass or skin to a tree to keep warm, while in the process allowing the tree to fell easier.

Origins

In The Book of Beasts, T.H. White suggests that the creature derives from sightings of the worm lizards of the same name. These creatures are found in the Mediterranean countries where many of these legends originated.

D&D

In the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game, the Amphisbaena is depicted as in traditional myth as a giant serpent with a head at both ends. It travels by grasping one head in the other and rolling like a hoop. The fangs of the Amphisbaena are so poisonous that anything successfully bitten by it dies instantly.

Bibliography

* Hunt, Jonathan (1998). Bestiary: An Illuminated Alphabet of Medieval Beasts (1st ed.). Hong Kong: Simon & Schuster. ISBN 0-689-81246-9.
* Dave. Amphisbaena. Dave's Mythical Creatures and Places. Available: URL http://www.eaudrey.com/myth/amphisbaena.htm. Last accessed 3 May 2005.
* Richards, Johnathan M. "The Ecology of the Amphisbaena." Dragon #215 (TSR, 1995).

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amphisbaena

Anydragon

Amphisbaena

An African dragon with two heads, one at the end of its long tail and at the head end. It has a curiously bird like body with the feet of a rooster, and by grasping the tail head with the other is able to travel by rolling around in this hoop. Usually portrayed as having a scaly body and a pair of feathered wings. The modern day lizard was named for this known dragon.

http://dragonmagick.elswet.com/

Anydragon

Amphisbaena

Latin name: Amphisbaena
Other names: Amfivena, Anphine, Anphivena, Fenmine
A serpent with two heads, one at either end

General Attributes

The amphisbaena is a two-headed lizard or serpent. It has one head in the normal position, and another at the end of its tail. It can therefore run in either direction. Its eyes shine like lamps, and has no fear of cold.

The name "amphibaena" is now given to a legless lizard that can move either forward or backward, though this is a relatively modern use of the name.

Sources (chronological order)

Lucan [1st century CE] (Pharsalia, book 9, verse 843-844): "Dread Amphisbaena with his double head / Tapering...".

Pliny the Elder [1st century CE] (Natural History, Book 8, 35): 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.

Isidore of Seville [7th century CE] (Etymologies, Book 12, 4:20): The amphisbaena has two heads, one in the proper place and one in its tail. It can move in the direction of eaither head with a circular motion. Its eyes shine like lamps. Alone among snakes, the amphisbaena goes out in the cold.

Illustration

The amphisbaena is often depicted as having wings and two feet, with horns on its head.

http://bestiary.ca/beasts/beast144.htm

Anydragon

Amphisbaena

Description A serpent with two heads, and eyes that glow. From the Greek "goes both ways."

Features If cut in half, both halves will rejoin. If the heads hold each other, the amphisbaena can roll along like a hoop. Wearing a live amphisbaena is said to help in pregnancy, and wearing a dead one will help rheumatism. Might actually be an Indian Sand Boa.

Also called Amphista, Amphivena
Mother of ants (it feeds on ants.)

Described By: Pliny- " 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."
Sir Thomas Browne- " a smaller kind of Serpent, which moveth forward and backward, hath two heads...Which double formations do often happen unto multiparous generations, more especially that of Serpents; whose productions being numerous, and their Eggs in chains or links together (which sometime conjoyn and inoculate into each other) they may unite into various shapes and come out in mixed formations." (Pseudodoxia Epidemica)

Links There are 158 different species of worm lizards in the zoological suborder Amphisbaenia. One of these species is probably the origin of this legend. An excellent herpetological resource is the TIGR Reptile Database, which has all of the different species listed and pictures.

http://www.eaudrey.com/myth/amphisbaena.htm

Anydragon · Amphisbaena

Amphisbaena

The Amphisbaena is a Greek serpent with two heads and eyes that glow like candles. It has a head at each end of its body. This is how it got its name which means "goes both ways" in Greek. It is also called the "mother of ants", because it feeds on ants. If it is chopped in half, the two parts will join again. The medical properties of the Amphisbaena were recorded by Pliny. The wearing of a live Amphisbaena is a supposed safeguard in pregnancy. The wearing of a dead one is a remedy for rheumatism. Medieval bestiaries also document the Amphisbaena as a two-headed lizard, and even a two-headed serpent-like fowl.

http://www.pantheon.org/articles/a/amphisbaena.html

Anydragon

AMPHISBAINA

THE AMPHISBAINA (or Amphisbaena) was a fabulous Libyan serpent with a head at each end of its body. A similar creature said to inhabit mythical southern isles in the far south had a tortoise-like body and legs.

The creature was popular in Medieval bestiaries.

THE AMPHISBAENA SERPENT
Aeschylus, Agamemnon 1232 ff (trans. Weir Smyth) (Greek tragedy C5th B.C.) :
"Such boldness has she [Klytaimestra], a woman to slay a man. What odious monster shall I fitly call her? An Amphisbaina? Or a Skylla, tenanting the rocks, a pest to mariners, a raging, devil's mother, breathing relentless war against her husband?"

Aelian, On Animals 8. 8 (trans. Scholfield) (Greek natural history C2nd A.D.) :
"Nikandros asserts that the slough of the Amphisbaina if wrapped round a walking-stick drives away all snakes and other creatures which kill not by biting but by striking."

Aelian, On Animals 9. 23 :
"The Amphisbaina is a snake with two head, 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."

Pliny the Elder, Natural History 8. 85 (trans. Rackham) (Roman encyclopedia C1st A.D.) :
"The Amphisbaena [serpent] has a twin head, that is one at its tail-end as well, as though it were not enough for poison to be poured out of one mouth."

Nonnus, Dionysiaca 5. 146 ff (trans. Rouse) (Greek epic C5th A.D.) :
"[A description of the mythical cursed necklace of Harmonia :] It was like a serpent with starspangled back and coiling shape. For as the twoheaded amphisbaina in very sooth winds the coils between and spits her poison from either mouth, rolling along and along with double-gliding motion, and head crawling joins with head while she jumps twirling waves of her back sideways: so that magnificent necklace twisted shaking its crooked back, with its pair of curving necks, which came to meet at the midnipple, a flexible twoheaded serpent thick with scales; and by the curving joints of the work the golden circle of the moving spine bent round, until the head slid about with undulating movement and belched a mimic hissing through the jaws. With the two mouths on each side, where is the beginning and the end, was a golden eagle that seemed to be cutting the open air, upright between the serpent’s heads, high-shining with fourfold nozzle of the four wings [i.e. an eagle grasps the amphisbaina in its claws]."

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THE AMPHISBAENA TORTOISE
Diodorus Siculus, Library of History 2. 58. 2 - 4 (trans. Oldfather) (Greek historian C1st B.C.) :“[An amphisbaena-like creature was said to be found on the mythical Seven Isles of the southern ocean :] There are also animals among them, we are told, which are small in size but the object of wonder by reason of the nature of their bodies and the potency of their blood; for they are round in form and very similar to tortoises, but they are marked on the surface by two diagonal stripes, at each end of which they have an eye and a mouth; consequently, through seeing with four eyes and using as many mouths, yet it gathers its food into one gullet, and down this its nourishment is swallowed and all flows together into one stomach; and in like manner its other organs and all its inner parts are single. It also ahs beneath its all around its body many feet, by means of which it can move in whatever direction it pleases. And the blood of this animal, they say, has a marvellous potency; for it immediately glues on to its place any living member that has been severed; even if a hand or the like should happen to have been cut off, by the use of this blood it is glued on again, provided that the cut is fresh, and the same thing is true of such other parts of the body as are not connected with the regions which are vital and sustain the person’s life.”

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Sources:

Aeschylus, Agamemnon - Greek Tragedy C5th B.C.
Aelian, On Animals - Greek Natural History C2nd - C3rd A.D.
Diodorus Siculus, The Library of History - Greek History C1st B.C.
Pliny the Elder, Natural History - Latin Natural History C1st A.D.
Nonnos, Dionysiaca - Greek Epic C5th A.D.
Other references not currently quoted here: Aristophanes Frag 19D, Nicander Theriaca .372

http://www.theoi.com/Thaumasios/Amphisbainai.html

Anydragon

Amphisbaena

The Amphisbaena is a seldom heard of dragon that has two heads. Sometimes, this dragon is seen holding its tail (or, rather, its neck) in its mouth as well. Vaguely heard of, this species appears to have come from old snake legends.

Background and Information
Africa is probably where this dragon originated from. In Greek, Amphisbaena means "goes both ways." This creature is serpentile and has a long, skinny body with two heads - one at the tail and one at the neck. Sometimes the Amphisbaena is depicted with feathered wings, forelegs, and other limbs. This is decribed in Lucan's work Pharsalia.[1]

It is said that this creature can roll about either when when it grabs its own neck. And, if the two halfs are severed, they will rejoin as soon as possible. The creature can "go both ways" when rolling, but, obviously, not when walking.[2]

It is written that if you wear a live amphisnaena, you can aid pregnancy. If you wear one when the creature is dead, it will help rheumatism.[3] Some stories claim that when one is trying to lay eggs, one head will aways be awake, ready to ward off enemies.[4] Another remedy is that for chilblains, for the skin of an Amphisbaena is said to reduce the swelling of the hands.[5]

This can also be refered to as the Mother of Ants, as the Amphisbaena feeds upon ants. Other names that the Amphisbaena is refered to by is Amphista and Amphivena.[6]

Women with power were said to were a bracelet carved in the likeness of an Amphisbaena. This showed their powers and perhaps relates to the medical uses above.[7]

When Cato's army fell while marching through Libya, their bodies were left. Some believe that the Amphisbaenas fed off of the corpses left behind.[8]

Their is a snake that is named after this dragon. Why? The snake has markings on the tail that looks like a head. When the snake is attacked or in danger, it lifts its tail to scare away the predator. Some also believe that this snake is actually the basis for the dragon and that the writers who described Amphisbaena simply embellish this snake's qualities.[9] The mythological orgin of this species, however, says that they come from the Gorgon Medusa. After Perseus carried her head, dripping with blood, through the Libyan desert, they were said to be made from her blood.[10]

Quotes
These are quotes from people of the past who are describing this strange creature.

Pliny said, "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."[11]

Sir Thomas Browne said, "A smaller kind of serpent, which moveth forward and backward, hath two heads...Which double formations do often happen unto multiparous generations, more especially that of Serpents; whose productions being numerous, and their Eggs in chains or links together (which sometime conjoyn and inoculate into each other) they may unite into various shapes and come out in mixed formations." (Pseudodoxia Epidemica)[12]

The poet Nicander described it as "slow in motion, two-headed, always dull of eye. From either end protrudes a blunt chin; each is far from each other."[13]

Footnotes

1, Giants, Monsters & Dragons by Carol Rose
2, http://www.eaudrey.com/myth/amphisbaena.htm
3, Giants, Monsters & Dragons by Carol Rose
4, Myths, Gods and Fantasy by Pamela Allardice
5, Myths, Gods and Fantasy by Pamela Allardice
6, http://www.eaudrey.com/myth/amphisbaena.htm
7, Myths, Gods and Fantasy by Pamela Allardice
8, Myths, Gods and Fantasy by Pamela Allardice
9, Giants, Monsters & Dragons by Carol Rose
10, The Book of Dragons & Other Mythical Beasts by Joseph Nigg
11, http://www.eaudrey.com/myth/amphisbaena.htm
12, http://www.eaudrey.com/myth/amphisbaena.htm
13, Myths, Gods and Fantasy by Pamela Allardice

http://www.blackdrago.com/amphisbaena.htm