Exactly what the title says it is.
This is adapted from Monsters and Villains of the Movies and Literature by Gerrie McCall, Dragons: Fearsome Monsters from Myth and Fiction by Gerrie McCall, and Mythical Monsters by Chris McNab.
All the information...
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
JAWS: No one escapes the gaping jaws, which are lined with rows of terrible teeth and belch out sparks and flames.
BODY: Long and immensely powerful, the serpentine body coils and writhes as the Leviathan surges through the water, creating a frothing, white wake behind him. SCALES: Tougher than the stoutest shield and tightly overlapping, these form an impenetrable armor that makes the monster invulnerable to human weapons such as swords, spears, and harpoons.
FINS: Spiny pectoral fins easily slice through flesh from bone, but they also come in handy when the monster wants to drag its massive body onto rocks. CHEST: The Leviathan's powerful neck and chest bulge with sinews like great ropes of iron, and within it's chest beats a cold, unfeeling heart as cold as stone.
This primeval sea monster dominates the watery wastes of the world and has power over all the creatures of the ocean. It is chaos and evil personified, and it brings death and disaster in its foaming wake. It's body stinks like a rotting carcass and the beast drinks the entire flow of rivers every day. It's furnace-hot breath makes the sea boil, and when it sneezes, smoke billows from its nose. The Leviathan is first mentioned in Middle Eastern creation myths dating back more than 5,000 years ago. According to Hebrew texts, Yahweh, or God, made the Leviathan and a female for it on the fifth day of Creation,but promptly killed the mate to stop her producing offspring that might destabilize the world.
Stirring up the ocean with his mighty tail, the Leviathan creates a seething wall of water that gathers speed, bursts over the shore and completely overwhelms a small fishing village. Huts are shattered like matchwood and screaming victims are swept out to their deaths. A few locals escape the carnage by climbing trees, and they can only watch in horror as the monster rears out of the water to gloat at his handiwork and gobble up anyone washed out to sea.
DID YOU KNOW? Early images of the Leviathan from seal-stones and weapons show the monster with seven heads.
Christians have identified the Leviathan with Satan, with its huge mouth being the entrance to Hell.
Most fish swim willingly into the Leviathans jaws, apart from the stickleback. This it fears- for the stickleback was created to keep the Leviathan in check.
