Cockatrice
From European folklore, the Cockatrice is a dragon-rooster hybrid with petrifying gaze. One glance can turn living beings into stone, leaving a trail of lifeless statues in its wake.
At a glance
- Tradition
- European folklore (general)
- Trait family
- The Stone-Gazers
- Kin
- Basilisk (derived from)
Kinship
Lines of descent added by hand and approved one at a time.
- Basilisk derived from
why
The Cockatrice is historically an offshoot of the Basilisk: medieval translators rendered the Latin basiliscus as "cockatrice", and the two names were used interchangeably in English bestiaries and Bible translations for centuries before the cockatrice hardened into a distinct monster hatched by a serpent or toad from a rooster's egg.
Near this figure
Symbols
Judged against the description by a model. Meanings are our own paraphrase.
- Dragon is image-domain The dragon denotes chaotic instinctual power, guardian of hoarded treasure and fertility, destructive in the West and, in China, the beneficent waterlike way of things.
why
From European folklore, the Cockatrice is a dragon-rooster hybrid with petrifying gaze.
- Snake is Snake is a broad serpent symbol of creation and guardianship; South American traditions name Snake a primordial earth-maker and giver of hunting arts.
why
Legend has it that the Cockatrice is born from an egg laid by a rooster and incubated by a toad or snake under specific astrological conditions.
Traits
Read from the figure's description, which a model wrote. Open "why" for the sentence a trait came from.
Form
- Hybrid of multiple animals
why
This bizarre hybrid is typically depicted with the head, legs, and wings of a rooster, while its body and tail resemble that of a serpent or dragon.
- Born from rooster egg incubated by toad
why
Legend has it that the Cockatrice is born from an egg laid by a rooster and incubated by a toad or snake under specific astrological conditions.
Behaviour
- Petrifying gaze turns victims to stone
why
The most distinctive and terrifying feature of the Cockatrice is its ability to turn living beings into stone with a mere glance, making it one of the most dangerous creatures in mythology.
- Weakness to specific animal or object
why
Weasels are also said to be immune to its gaze and capable of killing the beast.
- Deceived or repelled by mirror reflection
why
Folklore suggests that the crow of a rooster can kill it, and that it can be defeated by tricking it into seeing its own reflection.
Offensive powers
- Petrifying gaze
why
The most distinctive and terrifying feature of the Cockatrice is its ability to turn living beings into stone with a mere glance, making it one of the most dangerous creatures in mythology.
Roles
Judged from the works' own entries, not from the description. Carries: the figure holds the role. Meets: the role is in its stories, held by something it meets.
- Hero meets
3 citations
- Ad de Vries, Dictionary of Symbols and Imagery, s.v. "Cockatrice."
- Arthur Charles Fox-Davies, A Complete Guide to Heraldry.
- Carol Rose, Giants, Monsters, and Dragons, s.v. "Cockatrice."