QUOTE(mr_halo @ May 19 2005, 10:29 AM)
QUOTE(marduk @ May 18 2005, 04:14 PM)
QUOTE(The Roswell Man @ May 18 2005, 04:40 PM)
what was the monster supposed to be then?

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some kind of lizard iirc
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maybe it was just an existing animal, a large nile crocodile or something

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Thats possible
if it existed
which i doubt
see judaism didn't like dragons. It sees them as evil, whereas babylonians worshipped dragons.
so saying that the king who conquered your city had a pet dragon on the judaic side means that your jailor is in league with devils
whereas from the babylonian perspective saying that your king owned a dragon was akin to saying he was a religious man in league with god. In other words a slave isn't going to get into much trouble for saying that if his overseer hears it. It's a judaic curse and a babylonian blessing all in one.
It's also from this period that we get satan for the same reason, calling your master the adversary is a neat way of not saying his name. as in " I really hate my adversary, he always beats me for being slow" rather than " I really hate bel Amel he always beats me for being slow" which would ensure you another beating.
So it really is very unlikely that this monster ever existed. The babylonians didn't go in for zoos very much. Babylon zoo was a group that had a hit with spaceman a few years ago. not a reality