Jaculus
Encyclopedia
The jaculus 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.
described it as follows: "The jaculus darts from the branches of trees; and it is not only to our feet that the serpent is formidable, for these fly through the air even, just as though they were hurled from an engine."
Lucan
also describes the attack of the jaculus in the Pharsalia
. He explains that it is the wound caused by the jaculus hitting the victim that causes death. The jaculus does not kill with venom.
This is similar to one of the snakes of Madagascar
, the fandrefiala snake. It too, falls from a tree like a spear to stab animals, and is most feared by the locals. The fandrefiala snake is in fact known to modern science as Ithycyphus perineti. It has V-shaped head markings which resemble a spearhead.
A jaculus is also found in the Old Norse romance Yngvars saga viðfǫrla. Here it is actually said to be an extremely large dragon (dreki). See Olson, Emil, ed. Yngvars saga viðfǫrla Jämte ett bihang om Ingvarsinskrifterna. Copenhagen: S. L. Møllers, 1912, p. 42.
Serpent (symbolism)
Serpent in Latin means: Rory Collins :&, in turn, from the Biblical Hebrew word of: "saraf" with root letters of: which refers to something burning-as, the pain of poisonous snake's bite was likened to internal burning.This word is commonly used in a specifically mythic or religious context,...
or dragon
Dragon
A dragon is a legendary creature, typically with serpentine or reptilian traits, that feature in the myths of many cultures. There are two distinct cultural traditions of dragons: the European dragon, derived from European folk traditions and ultimately related to Greek and Middle Eastern...
. It can be shown with wings and sometimes has front legs. It is also sometimes known as the javelin snake.
In Mythology
It was said that the jaculus hid in the trees and sprang out at its victims. The force of it launching itself at the victim led to the association with javelins. PlinyPliny the Elder
Gaius Plinius Secundus , better known as Pliny the Elder, was a Roman author, naturalist, and natural philosopher, as well as naval and army commander of the early Roman Empire, and personal friend of the emperor Vespasian...
described it as follows: "The jaculus darts from the branches of trees; and it is not only to our feet that the serpent is formidable, for these fly through the air even, just as though they were hurled from an engine."
Lucan
Marcus Annaeus Lucanus
Marcus Annaeus Lucanus , better known in English as Lucan, was a Roman poet, born in Corduba , in the Hispania Baetica. Despite his short life, he is regarded as one of the outstanding figures of the Imperial Latin period...
also describes the attack of the jaculus in the Pharsalia
Pharsalia
The Pharsalia is a Roman epic poem by the poet Lucan, telling of the civil war between Julius Caesar and the forces of the Roman Senate led by Pompey the Great...
. He explains that it is the wound caused by the jaculus hitting the victim that causes death. The jaculus does not kill with venom.
This is similar to one of the snakes of Madagascar
Madagascar
The Republic of Madagascar is an island country located in the Indian Ocean off the southeastern coast of Africa...
, the fandrefiala snake. It too, falls from a tree like a spear to stab animals, and is most feared by the locals. The fandrefiala snake is in fact known to modern science as Ithycyphus perineti. It has V-shaped head markings which resemble a spearhead.
A jaculus is also found in the Old Norse romance Yngvars saga viðfǫrla. Here it is actually said to be an extremely large dragon (dreki). See Olson, Emil, ed. Yngvars saga viðfǫrla Jämte ett bihang om Ingvarsinskrifterna. Copenhagen: S. L. Møllers, 1912, p. 42.
In popular culture
- One of the units available in the 1999 turn-based strategyTurn-based strategyA turn-based strategy game is a strategy game where players take turns when playing...
game Heroes of Might and Magic III from Fortress towns is the Jaculus-like Serpent Fly and its upgraded Dragon Fly form. - Jaculi are briefly mentioned in Monsterology: The Complete Book of Fabulous Beasts, as Serpens volucer. Signs of the Jaculus are impaled prey, and pools of pink dung.