Thursday, February 11, 2010

Day LXXIII - Leviathan


Hellish sea monster,
Its breath boils the ocean,
Biblical titan.


The biggest fish in the Bible, Leviathan is the legendary sea monster of Judeo-Christian scripture whose name now conjures up images of colossal underwater abominations in popular culture. Believed to be like a great whale or sea serpent, the creature is also understood to have particular precious scaled skin and hot breath (it may in fact breathe fire) that makes the sea boil and sends smoke from its nostrils. The Leviathan exerts its presence most prominently in the Book of Job and tales of the being tell of how it operates as a prince of Satan guarding the gates of Hell, how it will be defeated by the Archangel Gabriel and how its skin will be used as a tent to host the return of the Messiah. Beyond religious imagery and allegory, the Leviathan has captured the imagination of pop culture inspiring literature (such as Moby Dick) a fair amount of heavy metal songs. The monstrous seabeast of Biblical scripture rules supreme on the waves: all hail the Leviathan.

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