Seps (legendary creature)

The Seps is a legendary serpent or snake featured in ancient Greco-Roman bestiaries and natural histories. It was described as being extremely venomous, with its venom capable of rotting or dissolving flesh.

The Seps was reputed to be small, sometimes described as no more than a few inches in length, but its venomous properties were considered exceptionally potent. Encounters with a Seps were believed to be invariably fatal, not necessarily due to immediate death, but because of the rapid decomposition it caused. A victim bitten by a Seps would reportedly suffer complete disintegration of their flesh and bones, leaving behind nothing but a residue.

Ancient writers such as Pliny the Elder mention the Seps in their discussions of venomous creatures found in various parts of the world, often alongside other fantastical and dangerous animals. The Seps was considered a creature of myth and legend, though some natural historians may have believed in its existence or considered it a distorted account of a real, albeit unusually dangerous, snake. The serpent's reputation for causing rapid decay likely served as a cautionary tale and a symbol of the destructive power of nature.