Catoblepas
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The catoblepas (from the Greek καταβλέπω, 'to look downwards') is a legendary creature from Ethiopia, described first by Pliny the Elder and later by Claudius Aelianus. It has the body of a buffalo and a head of a hog. Its stare or breath can either turn people into stone, or kill them. Leading to the idea that a stare could from this beast could kill, it is said, the face was extremely unpleasant.
Pliny (Natural History, 8.77) described it as a mid-sized creature, sluggish, with a heavy head and a face always turned to the ground. He thought its gaze, like that of the basilisk, was lethal, making the heaviness of its head quite fortunate.
Claudius Aelianus (On the Nature of Animals, 7.6) provided a fuller description: the creature was a mid-sized herbivore, about the size of a domestic bull, with a heavy mane, narrow, bloodshot eyes, and shaggy eyebrows. In his description, the animal's gaze was not lethal, but its breath was poison, since it ate only poisonous vegetation.
Both authors were probably referring to the gnu.
The Catoblepas is a common monster in many videogames and roleplaying games. Catoblepas appeared in various Castlevania videogames such as Aria of Sorrow for GBA and Dawn of Sorrow for Nintendo DS as an enemy monster. It has also appeared in multiple Final Fantasy games as either a powerful monster later in the games or as the summoned creature, "Shoat". This creature also appears by name in Shin Megami Tensei: Digital Devil Saga as a boss monster. Although it boasts a similar appearance, the creature does not attack based on the myth. In Dungeons and Dragons, the catoblepas is a deadly and notorious monster, in the Forgotten Realms setting it is even milked to make an exotic cheese known as "Death Cheese" in reference to its deadly glare.