the basilisk

[pt4ever at yahoo.com]

Original Yahoo! HPFG Header:
No: HPFGUIDX C1009
From: pt4ever
Subject: the basilisk
Date: 4/8/00 4:58 pm  (ET)

As some of you may or may not know, I'm a college student (a freshman)
majoring in English. I'm currently taking an English course called, "The
Bible As Literature," and, while I was working on an assignment today,
I came across something in the book "Signs and Symbols in Christian Art"
by George Ferguson. Forgive me if this was already mentioned/discussed
prior to me joining the club, but in the book, I found an entry for
"basilisk":

"The basilisk is a fabulous animal, half cock and half snake. And
according to legend, the bsilisk could kill merely by its glance. In early
symbolism, the basilisk was commonly accepted as the symbol of the Devil
or the Antichrist, an interpretation based on a passage from Psalm 91:13,
which reads 'thou shalt tread upon the adder and the basilisk and trample
under foot the lion and the dragon.' These four animals were interpreted
by St. Augustine as four aspects of the Denvil, who was trodden down
my the triumphing Christ. Though a well-established symbol, and often
represented in the Middle Ages, the basilisk rarely appears in Italian
paintings of the Renaissance."

I'd always thought that the basilisk was a creation by Ms. Rowling, but
I guess I was wrong! Furthermore, since the basilisk is representative
of the Antichrist, and in CoS Harry Potter defeats it, how could the
HP books be promoting witchcraft as a form of devil worship? That's a
pretty good argument for those who insist that anyone who reads HP is
going straight to hot sizzling hell.

There's also a picture, albeit a small one, of a basilisk in my book,
if anyone would like me to scan it and post it on the photos page.

I'd better get back to my homework now. :)

-- JoAnna