Reptile or the fantastic, as in the monster movies of the 1950s and 1960s. The snake or serpent has played a powerful symbolic role in different cultures. In Egyptian history, the Nile cobra adorned the crown of the pharaoh. It was worshipped as one of the gods and was also used for sinister purposes: murder of an adversary and ritual suicide (Cleopatra). In Greek mythology snakes are associated with deadly antagonists, as a chthonic symbol, roughly translated as "earthbound". The nine-headed Lernaean Hydra that Hercules defeated and the three Gorgon sisters are children of Gaia, the earth. Medusa was one of
Penta of the Chopped-off Hands Penta of the Chopped-off Hands Penta of the Chopped-off Hands or The Girl With the Maimed Hands is an Italian literary fairy tale written by Giambattista Basile in his 1634 work, the "Pentamerone". It is Aarne-Thompson type 706B, "The Girl without Hands." The Brothers Grimm cited it as an analog to "The Girl Without Hands". Other variants of this tale include "The One-Handed Girl", "The Armless Maiden", and "Biancabella and the Snake". A king lost his wife and fell in love with his sister, Penta. He implored her to marry him. When she refused and he continued to implore her,