Legendary serpents

Serpens () is a constellation in the northern celestial hemisphere. One of the 48 constellations listed by the 2nd-century astronomer Ptolemy, it remains one of the 88 modern constellations designated by the International Astronomical Union. It is unique among the modern constellations in being split into two non-contiguous parts, Serpens Caput (Serpent Head) to the west and Serpens Cauda (Serpent Tail) to the east. Between these two halves lies the constellation of Ophiuchus, the "Serpent-Bearer". In figurative representations, the body of the serpent is represented as passing behind Ophiuchu

mythical or fictional animal with parts taken from various animals

ancient serpent-like chthonic water monster, with reptilian traits, that possessed many heads, in Greek mythology

Quetzalcoatl () (Nahuatl: "Feathered Serpent") is a deity in Aztec culture and literature. Among the Aztecs, he was related to wind, Venus, Sun, merchants, arts, crafts, knowledge, and learning. He was also the patron god of the Aztec priesthood. He is also a god of wisdom, learning and intelligence. He was one of several important gods in the Aztec pantheon, along with the gods Tlaloc, Tezcatlipoca and Huitzilopochtli. The two other gods represented by the planet Venus are Tlaloc (ally and the god of rain) and Xolotl (psychopomp and its twin).

In European bestiaries and legends, a basilisk ( or ) is a legendary reptile reputed to be a serpent king, who causes death to those who look into its eyes. According to the Naturalis Historia of Pliny the Elder, the basilisk of Cyrene is a small snake, "being not more than twelve inches in length", that is so venomous, it leaves a wide trail of deadly venom in its path, and its gaze is likewise lethal.

thumb|Jörmungandr in the sea during Ragnarök, drawn by the Norwegian illustrator [[Louis Moe in 1898.]] In Norse mythology, Jörmungandr (, see Etymology), also known as the Midgard Serpent or World Serpent (, "worm of Midgard"), is an unfathomably large and monstrous sea serpent or worm who dwells in the world sea, encircling the Earth (Midgard) and biting his own tail, an example of an ouroboros. As a result of him surrounding Midgard, the beast is referred to as the World Serpent. Jörmungandr releasing his tail is one of the signs of the beginning of Ragnarök.

In various Asian religious traditions, the Nāgas () are a divine, or semi-divine, race of half-human, half-serpent beings that reside in the netherworld (Patala), and can occasionally take human or part-human form, or are so depicted in art. Furthermore, nāgas are also known as dragons and water spirits. A female nāga is called a Nagini (Hindi: Nagin). According to legend, they are the children of the sage Kashyapa and Kadru. Rituals devoted to these supernatural beings have been taking place throughout South Asia for at least 2,000 years. They are principally depicted in three forms: as entir

thumb|The Kiss of the Enchantress (Isobel Lilian Gloag, ), inspired by Keats's "Lamia", depicts Lamia as half-serpent, half-woman

thumb|right|A dragon-like ouroboros in a 1478 drawing in an alchemical tract

earth-dragon of Delphi

Greek mythological serpent

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legendary deadly cryptid of the Gobi desert

Shesha (), also known by his epithets Sheshanaga () and Adishesha (), is a serpentine demigod (naga) and king of the serpents (Nagaraja), as well as a primordial being of creation in Hinduism. In the Puranas, Shesha is said to hold all the planets of the universe on his hoods and to constantly sing the glories of Vishnu from all his mouths. He is sometimes referred to as Ananta () or Ananta Shesha ().

thumb|right|Níðhǫggr gnaws the roots of Yggdrasill in this illustration from a 17th-century Icelandic manuscript. thumb|Runestone Uppland Runic Inscription 887|U 887 (1070–1100), Skillsta, Sweden, showing a [[runic dragon and a bipedal winged dragon. Winged dragons are rare in Germanic art and myth prior to the 13th century, and Nidhogg is uniquely described as feathered and flying in Völuspá.]]

mythical king of ancient Athens

thumb|Kukulkan at the base of the west face of the northern stairway of El Castillo, Chichen Itza thumb|Kukulkan at Chichen Itza during the Equinox. upright|thumb|The Classic Maya vision serpent, as depicted at Yaxchilan. Kukulkan, also spelled K’uk’ulkan (; "Plumed Serpent", "Amazing Serpent"), is the serpent deity of Maya mythology. It is closely related to the deity Qʼuqʼumatz of the Kʼicheʼ people and to Quetzalcoatl of Aztec mythology. Prominent temples to Kukulkan are found at archaeological sites in the Yucatán Peninsula, such as Chichen Itza, Uxmal and Mayapan.

mythological creature

thumb|Amphisbaena in an illustration from the Aberdeen Bestiary (c. 1200) thumb|right|200px|A medieval amphisbaena The amphisbaena (, , or , plural: amphisbaenae; ) is a mythological, ant-eating serpent with a head at each end.

thumb|Oxford Palette from [[Hierakonpolis. Ashmolean Museum.]] thumb|3000 BC cylinder seal of [[Uruk with serpopard design.]] The serpopard (also known as monstrous lion) is a mythical animal known from ancient Egyptian and Mesopotamian art. The word "serpopard" is a modern coinage. It is a portmanteau of "serpent" and "leopard", derived from the interpretation that the creature represents an animal with the body of a leopard and the long neck and head of a serpent. However, they have also been interpreted as "serpent-necked lions". There is no known name for the creature in any ancient texts.

Artifact/relic belonging to Moses; mentioned in the Bible and Quran.

thumb|right|A cockatrice overdoor at Belvedere Castle (1869) in New York's [[Central Park.]]

creator god and common motif in the art and religion of Aboriginal Australia

Minoan goddess figurine

Shahmaran is a mythical creature, half-woman and half-snake, originating in Indo-Iranian and Turkic folklores.

Zilant (; ; , ) is a legendary creature, something between a dragon and a wyvern in Tatar mythology. Since 1730, it has been the official symbol of Kazan, the capital city of the Republic of Tatarstan in Russia. This winged snake is mentioned in legends about the foundation of Kazan.

The lindworm (worm meaning snake), also spelled lindwyrm or lindwurm, is a mythical creature in Northern, Western and Central European folklore that traditionally has the shape of a giant serpent monster which lives deep in the forest. It can be seen as a sort of dragon.

mythological serpent from Lithuanian folklore

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Agathos Daimon (, , ) originally was a lesser deity (daemon) of classical ancient Greek religion and Graeco-Egyptian religion. In his original Greek form, he served as a household god, to whom, along with Zeus Soter, libations were made after a meal. In later Ptolemaic antiquity he took on two partially distinct roles; one as the Agathos Daimon a prominent serpentine civic god, who served as the special protector of Alexandria. The other as a genus of serpentine household gods, the Agathoi Daimones, individual protectors of the homes in which they were worshipped.

Nehebkau (also spelled Nehebu-Kau) was the primordial snake god in ancient Egyptian mythology. Although originally considered an evil spirit, he later functions as a funerary god associated with the afterlife. As one of the forty-two assessors of Ma'at, Nehebkau was believed to judge the deceased after death and provide their souls with ka – the part of the soul that distinguished the living from the dead.

In Egyptian mythology, the name Mehen (), meaning 'coiled one', referred to a mythological snake-god and to a board game. ==Snake god== The earliest known references to Mehen occur in the Coffin Texts. Mehen is a protective deity who is depicted as a snake which coils around the sun god Ra during his journey through the night, for instance in the Amduat.

serpents in biblical narrative

mythological symbol

thumb|200px|The coat of arms of the Visconti of Milan showing the biscione wearing a crown

in Russian folktales and epic poetry, is a dragon or serpent, or sometimes a human-like character with dragon-like traits

thumb|Amphiptere by Edward Topsell (1608) Amphiptere (also called Amphithere, Amphitere, or Phipthere; meaning bi-winged, two-winged) is a type of winged serpent found in European heraldry.

The Inkanyamba is a legendary serpent said to be living in a waterfall lake area in the northern forests near Pietermaritzburg most commonly in the base of Howick Falls, South Africa. The Zulu people of the area believe it to be a large serpent with an equine head. It is a very tall creature. Most active in the summer months, it is believed that the Inkanyamba's anger causes the seasonal storms. thumb|Howick Falls The Zulu people believed that when you make eye contact with the Inkanyamba you are in danger of losing your life.

thumb|Krishna enters the mouth of Aghasura Aghasura (Sanskrit: अघासुर) is an asura featured in Hindu literature, most notably in the Bhagavata Purana. He was one of Kamsa's generals, and the elder brother of the demoness Putana and Bakasura.

Spirit in Russian folklore

mythological serpent

Antaboga (; ; ; ), or colloquially also known as the Javan Dragon Snake deity is a serpent deity in Javanism and Sundanism (later also adopted in Balinese Hinduism).

mosaic serpent at the British museum

thumb|An artistic depiction of Boitatá capturing a hunter Boitatá (from Tupi language), in Brazilian native folklore, refers to either a will-o'-the-wisp, a mythical fire snake which guards against humans setting fire to the fields or forests, or a bull-like creature.

thumb|right|An Aztec sculpture of Xiuhcoatl from Texcoco (altepetl)|Texcoco, now in the British Museum In Aztec religion, Xiuhcōātl was a mythological serpent, regarded as the spirit form of Xiuhtecuhtli, the Aztec fire deity sometimes represented as an atlatl or a weapon wielded by Huitzilopochtli. Xiuhcoatl is a Classical Nahuatl word that translates as "turquoise serpent" and also carries the symbolic and descriptive translation of "fire serpent".

The Grootslang or Grote Slang (Afrikaans and Dutch for "big snake") is a legendary creature that is reputed to dwell in a deep cave in the Richtersveld, South Africa.

The Mahoraga (), also pronounced as Maha-Uraga ("Greater Reptilians"), are a race of deities in Hinduism, Buddhism, and Jainism. They are the exalted ones among the Uragas, a race of primordial reptilian beings who are cousins to the nāga. Like the nāga, they are often depicted as anthropomorphic beings with reptilian bodies from the waist down. However, their appearance can differ depending on artistic tradition, sometimes having serpent skin with humanoid bodies, or having a serpent head with the body of a human.

mythological serpent told of in Southeastern Native American comminities

thumb|right|Žaltys and the Holy Fire are depicted in Olaus Magnus' Carta Marina, above the inscription LITVANIE PARS thumb|Parade belt of an officer of the Lithuanian Army, decorated with Žaltys ornaments. thumb|right|Monument to Žaltys in Vyžuonos A žaltys (, literally: grass snake) is a household spirit in Lithuanian mythology. As a sacred animal of the sun goddess Saulė, the grass snake was considered a guardian of the home and a symbol of fertility. People used to keep it as a pet by the stove or other special area of the house, believing that it would bring good harvest and wealth. Killin

right|250px|thumb|The Destruction of Leviathan by [[Gustave Doré (1865)]] Lotan (Ugaritic: 𐎍𐎚𐎐 LTN, meaning "coiled"), also transliterated Lôtān, Litan, or Litānu, is a servant of the sea god Yam defeated by the storm god Hadad-Baʿal in the Ugaritic Baal Cycle. Lotan seems to have been prefigured by the serpent Têmtum represented in Syrian seals of the 18th–16th century BC, and finds a later reflex in the sea monster Leviathan, whose defeat at the hands of Yahweh is alluded to in the biblical Book of Job and in Isaiah 27:1. Lambert (2003) went as far as the claim that Isaiah 27:1 is a

200px|thumb|right|Vouivre. Liber Floridus, 1448.

character in Slavic mythology

Greek mythological creature

Oshunmare (or Oshumare; known as Ochumaré or Oxumaré in Latin America) is an Orisha. Oshumare is the divine serpent spirit of the rainbow, and "Òṣùmàrè" also means "rainbow" in the Yoruba language.

300px|right The jaculus (or iaculus, pl. jaculi, meaning "thrown" in Latin) is a small mythical serpent or dragon. It can be shown with wings and sometimes has front legs. It is also sometimes known as the javelin snake.

term in antiquity describing a venomous snake in the Nile region

serpent that only appears in myths and legends

In Fijian mythology, Degei (pronounced Ndengei), enshrined as a serpent, is the supreme god of Fiji. He is the creator of the (Fijian) world, fruits, and of men and is specially connected to Rakiraki District, Fiji. He judges newly dead souls after they pass through one of two caves: Cibaciba or Drakulu. A few he sends to paradise Burotu. Most others are thrown into a lake, where they will eventually sink to the bottom (Murimuria) to be appropriately rewarded or punished.

second legendary beast of Guarani mythology, second Paraguayan myth

thumb|300px|Illustration of the Sasanian king [[Bahram V fighting an Azhdahā in the Shahnameh]] The azhdaha, azhdahak, ezhdeha () or azhdar (اژدر) is a mythical creature in Iranian mythology, roughly equivalent to the dragon. In Persian literature, they are depicted as gigantic, winged serpents that live in the air, in the sea, or on the earth. According to tradition, azhdaha have huge bodies, fierce faces, bright eyes, and wide mouths with many teeth. The azhdaha are principally discussed in Sad dar-e nathr and sad dar-e Bondahesh, Shahnameh and Garshaspnameh.