Amphisbaena

This article is about the mythological creature. For the suborder, see Amphisbaenia. For the genus, see Amphisbaena (lizard).

The amphisbaena (/ˌæmfɪsˈbɛɪnə/, /ˌæmfɪsˈbaɪnə/, or /ˌæmfɪsˈbiːnə/, plural: amphisbaenae; Ancient Greek: ἀμφίσβαινα) is a mythological, ant-eating serpent with a head at each end. The name of the creature is alternatively written amphisbaina, amphisbene, amphisboena, amphisbona, amphista, amfivena, amphivena, or anphivena (the last two being feminine), and is also known as the "Mother of Ants". Its name comes from the Greek words amphis, meaning "both ways", and bainein, meaning "to go".

Amphisbaena in an illustration from the Aberdeen Bestiary (c. 1200)

A medieval amphisbaena

Mythology

According to Lucan, the amphisbaena was spawned from the blood that dripped from the Gorgon Medusa's head as Perseus flew over the Libyan Desert with her head in his hand: in "Pharsalia" (IX, 719), the Roman poet names it along with other serpents that Cato's army encountered in Libya. Amphisbaena fed on the corpses left behind. Although it is a legendary creature, it has been referred to by various Greek and Latin authors, scientists as well as poets: Nicander, Lucan, Pliny the Elder, Isidore of Seville, and later Thomas Browne, the last of whom debunked its existence ("Pseudodoxia Epidemica". book three chapter XV). Modern poets are John Milton, Alexander Pope, Percy Bysshe Shelley, Alfred Tennyson, Aimé Césaire, A. E. Housman and Allen Mandelbaum.

Appearance

A 15th-century amphisbaena on a misericord in Buckinghamshire

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, VIII, 85

The Amphisbaena however is a snake with two heads, 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.

— Claudius Aelianus, Characteristics of Animals

The amphisbaena grows twin heads, one in the proper place, and the other where the tail should be. For this reason the snake glides in a circular shape, as the heads, contrary to what is right, strain from both ends.

— Solinus, Polyhistor

These early descriptions of the amphisbaena depict a venomous, dual-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, the first to speak about it, described it as "always dull of eye". He also wrote: "From either end protrudes a blunt chin; each is far from each other." Nicander's account seems to be referring to a group of real lizards what is today called the Amphisbaenia, after the legendary creature, because their tail truncates in a manner that vaguely resembles the head.

Habitat

Amphisbaena devouring a bird on the coat of arms of Gmina Zapolice in Poland

The amphisbaena is said to make its home in the desert.

Folk medicine

In ancient times, the supposedly dangerous amphisbaena had many uses in the art of folk medicine and other magical remedies. Pliny notes that expecting women wearing a live amphisbaena around their necks would have safe pregnancies (Naturalis historia XXX, 128); however, if one's goal was to cure ailments such as arthritis or the common cold, one should wear only its skin (Naturalis historia XXX, 85): 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 be felled more easily.

By eating the meat of the amphisbaena, one could supposedly 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. ^{[primary reference needed]}

Origins

Illustration of the flora and fauna of India, c. 1540, including a pair of conjoined snakes resembling an amphisbaena

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

The Códice Casanatense (c. 1540), a Portuguese book describing the areas the Portuguese had visited, includes an illustration of the flora and fauna of India. One of the animals shown is a two-headed snake (conjoined twin snakes), with one head on each end, much like an amphisbaena. The image is captioned, "two headed snakes of India are harmless". It is possible a sighting of an animal like this was the origin of the amphisbaena, or that the Greek mythological creature is used, as well as others, to literaryly embellish the description of an exotic country.

In literature and other media

In Dante's Inferno, the amphisbaena is listed as one of the types of reptiles that torment thieves in the seventh bolgia.

In John Milton's Paradise Lost, after the Fall and the return of Satan to Hell, some of the fallen angelic host are transformed into the amphisbaena, to represent the animal by which the Fall was caused, i.e. a snake.

Amphisbaena appears in some editions of the tabletop roleplaying game Dungeons & Dragons.

Amphisbaena has appeared in several video games as an enemy or boss monster, including La-Mulana and Bravely Second: End Layer. A creature called Amphisbaena appears in the games Castlevania: Symphony of the Night and Portrait of Ruin but bears little resemblance to other renditions of the creature, appearing as an eyeless 4-legged reptile with the upper body of a human woman sprouting from its long tail instead of a double-headed serpent.

In the 1984 animated film Gallavants, an amphisbaena (called a 'Vanterviper' in the film) appears as a minor antagonist. The two heads, a red one named Edil and a blue one called Fice, frequently disagree and argue, and sing a song about their miserable plight.

The amphisbaena is mentioned in The Last Wish, from The Witcher series by Andrzej Sapkowski, while protagonist Geralt of Rivia recalls past events. The amphisbaena was endangering the region of Kovir until the beast was slain by Geralt's hand.

Amphisbaena is referenced in RWBY, an animated web series created by Monty Oum, in the form of an evil creature called Grimm. Of the different Grimm, the amphisbaena appears to be the King Taijitu, a two-headed snake or serpent. The king's name references the taijitu, a symbol or diagram in Chinese philosophy representing Taiji in both its monist and dualist aspects. The Grimm's coloration visually symbolizes the taijitu, with one head and body section black and the opposite side white.

The amphisbaena appears in the Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles episode "Battle Nexus: New York." This version is one of the known champions of the Battle Nexus. Big Mama had Michelangelo and Meat Sweats compete to feed each of its heads in order to satisfy the amphisbaena. They managed to work together to pull it off.

Brandon Sanderson's novel Skyward has a character whose name is Arturo Mendez. His call sign is amphisbaena.

In Beyblade has a character named Enrique whose bit beast (ancient spirits contained within spinning tops) named Amphilyon. It takes the form of a Medieval amphisbaena with bat wings.

The primary antagonist of Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree, Messmer the Impaler, is conjoined with a winged amphisbaena.

Use as a Proverb

The amphisbaena appears also in the saying "to the amphisbaena, Perseus is good" which can have various meanings depending in the connotation in which it is used. However, one main meaning lies in the connection between Perseus and the creation of the amphisbaena. Though created out of the violent murder of Medusa by Perseus, it shows that the creation will always see the creator in a positive light.

See also

• Amphisbaenia
• Polycephaly
• Ouroboros
• Double-headed serpent
• Pushmi-Pullyu

Bibliography

• Hunt, Jonathan (1998). Bestiary: An Illuminated Alphabet of Medieval Beasts (1st ed.). Hong Kong: Simon & Schuster. ISBN 0-689-81246-9.
• Levy, Sidney J. (1996). "Stalking the Amphisbaena", Journal of Consumer Research, 23 (3), Dec. 1996, pp. 163–176.

External links

• "Amphisbæna" . Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. I (9th ed.). 1878. p. 774.
• Theoi Greek Mythology : Amphisbaena