Which creature, according to Pliny, had a glance that meant certain death?
Basilisk Basilisk In European bestiaries and legends, a basilisk ( or , from the Greek βασιλίσκος "basilískos", "little king"; Latin "regulus") is a legendary reptile reputed to be a serpent king who can cause death with a single glance. According to the "Naturalis Historia" of Pliny the Elder, the basilisk of Cyrene is a small snake, "being not more than twelve fingers in length", that is so venomous, it leaves a wide trail of deadly venom in its wake, and its gaze is likewise lethal. Its weakness is the odor of the weasel, which, according to Pliny, was thrown into the
Natural History (Pliny) a sunshade, the mouthless Astomi, who lived on scents – were not strictly new. They had been mentioned by the Greek historian Herodotus in the 5th century BC, but Pliny made them better known. "As full of variety as nature itself", stated Pliny's nephew, Pliny the Younger, and this verdict largely explains the appeal of the "Natural History" since Pliny's death in the eruption of Vesuvius in AD 79. Pliny had gone to investigate the strange cloud – "shaped like an umbrella pine", according to his nephew – rising from the mountain. The "Natural History" was one of the first