The Caladrius — a Snow-White Prophetic Bird in Roman Mythology
- Main
- >
- Roman Mythology
- >
- Roman Bestiary of Creatures and Monsters
- >
- The Caladrius
The CaladriusThe Caladrius is a snow-white prophetic bird in Roman mythology, an omen of death. Its exact appearance has long been a subject of debate. Some believe it was an albino bird resembling a dove, others a goose, and others still a heron.
It was said to be able to foretell whether a sick person would recover. If the bird looked at the person, they had a chance of getting well. If it turned away and refused to look, the patient would soon die. It was also believed that the Caladrius could draw the illness into itself, fly with it toward the sun, where the sickness would burn away, healing the bird in the process. Because of this, some rulers wished to possess this bird and keep it in their palace.
The prophetic bird CaladriusThere is also a belief that even the Caladrius's droppings held healing properties, and were used to treat blindness. But the bird was far from all-powerful, and so it would turn away from those beyond saving, becoming a true omen of death.
Related Articles
