The skolopendra (Σκολοπενδρα; Greek: "centipede") was a sea serpent or Cetus of the Mediterranean Sea in classical Greco-Roman belief.
Attestations The giant scolopendra is mentioned in poems attributed to the 2nd Century B.C. poets Antipater of Sidon and Theodoridas of Syracuse. One of Antipater's epigrams tells of a man named Hermonax, who discovers the remains of a fifty-foot scolopendra in shallow water, and offers the carcass to the sea deity Ino as a gift. Theodoridas simply describes it as a thousand-limbed sea monster.Nisbet, Gideon (2020) Epigrams From the Greek Anthology
The scolopendra was most famously described, in a natural history context, by the Roman writer Aelian, in the surviving thirteenth book of his multi-volume work De Natura Animalium. Aelian gleaned much of his information on marine life from fishermen and sailors; such was the case with the scolopendra, and, after some "examining and investigating," Aelian declared himself convinced by the testimonies he received.Aelian (3rd Century) De Natura Animalium, Vol. 13Aelian & Schofield, A. F. (1958) On the Nature of Animals, Loeb Classical Library
Aelian also describes the Skolopendra as being identical to a centipede, and that if any man touches it, he will feel the same pain as touching a nettle.
Oppian also wrote on the creature, calling it a reptile, saying that if anybody touches it, they will immediately get a "red-hot" itch, he says of it "for if it touch the bait, not a fish will come near that hook; with such a hateful venom does the Scolopendra infect it."
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