Variations: Chargol, Ophiomachis, Ophiomachus, Opimacus, Opymachus, Ibis, Snake-eater; Attachus (probably); Opinicus, Epimacus (probably)
There is only one Biblical mention of the insect called chargol, in Leviticus 11:22, as one of the four insects that are safe for consumption. It has been assumed to mean “beetle” in some translations. Other identifications include a katydid or bush cricket, a species of Gryllus cricket, or the wart-eating cricket.
The Septuagint’s translators borrowed heavily from Aristotle in an effort to give names to all the animals in the Bible. An Aristotelian account of locusts fighting and killing snakes (perhaps based on stories of insects feeding on dead snakes?) gave the chargol the name of ophiomachus, “snake fighter”. This in turn became the opimachus or opimacus, described by Thomas de Cantimpré and subsequently Albertus Magnus as a worm that attaches itself just below a snake’s head. It cannot be removed and kills the snake.
By the time the opimachus or opymachus was described in the Ortus Sanitatis (citing Thomas), it had become confused beyond recognition. While Thomas and Albertus list it among the insects, it is now placed with the birds as a small fowl. It is depicted as a quadrupedal griffin with a long pointed beak and large rabbit’s ears. It has longer hind legs to permit it to jump. It may or may not be the same as the bird known as attachus.
Dapper says that the ophiomachi or ibides (ibises) are birds that live in Ethiopia and are so named because they eat snakes.
Finally, the long journey of the snake-fighter comes to an end with the opinicus or epimacus, a variety of generic heraldic griffin whose name is almost certainly derived from a Levitical insect.
References
de Cantimpré, T. (1280) Liber de natura rerum. Bibliothèque municipale de Valenciennes.
Coogan, M. D.; Brettler, M. Z.; Newsom, C.; Perkins, P. (eds.) (2010) The New Oxford Annotated Bible. Oxford University Press, Oxford.
Cuba, J. (1539) Le iardin de santé. Philippe le Noir, Paris.
Dapper, O. (1686) Description de l’Afrique. Wolfgang, Waesberge, Boom, & van Someren, Amsterdam.
Harris, T. M. (1833) A Dictionary of the Natural History of the Bible. T. T. and J. Tegg, London.
Magnus, A. (1920) De Animalibus Libri XXVI. Aschendorffschen Verlagbuchhandlung, Münster.
Unknown. (1538) Ortus Sanitatis. Joannes de Cereto de Tridino.
Vinycomb, J. (1906) Fictitious and Symbolic Creatures in Art, with Special Reference to their Use in British Heraldry. Chapman and Hall, London.
I think your insect has a dietary problem.
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It’s a snake eater
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I’d give my life, not for honor but for it.
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Woah, this redesign is awesome
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I tried to hit as many details as I could ^^;
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Nice! A secretary-cricket-heron. I hope that becomes a popular fantasy staple alongside griffins, harpies and phoenixes.
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wow this boy is little
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Well it *was* an insect…
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And somehow in the hands of makers of D&D it became a monkey/camel/lion/eagle hybrid. (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Opinicus_(Dungeons_%26_Dragons))
Love your take! I’ve always been a fan of this one. Giving it insect like legs like that is a pretty genius way to both freshen up the design and reflect the history. You continue to outdo yourself!
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Thank you so much!
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I was going to suggest if you could add mapinguari but then I thought, How about another smelly but lesser known Brazilian monster, Capelobo?
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They’re the same thing anyway 🙂
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Are they? IF I understood correctly,Mapinguari was oger-like beast with one eye, mouth on stomach and backwards feet. Capelobo was human who, like werewolf transformed into a monster,except this monster has round hooves to make round footprents and sharp snout to suck either victims brains, innards or blood
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They’re regionally exclusive IIRC, variations on a theme. At least “The Enchanted Amazon Rain Forest”, my go-to source, treats them as such. Mapinguaris can also be former humans and they tend to have big round footprints too.
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Both of which would probably ruin a good meal if met first-hand.
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I’ve just found your website, and I must say, it’s wonderful. (I often research monsters but for some reason your works never come up, even this one I only found through the image, which is very odd.)
However, I must say that if I were you I’d separate the Opinicus or Epimachus. It’s a creature wildly different from the Opimachus, hell it’s wildly different from itself with its several inconsistent features. I think the little blurb doesn’t do it justice. Plus I’d love to see your redesign of it.
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Okay so I think it is funny that katydid or mantis turned to THIS
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