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The Catoblepas is an enemy in the Castlevania series. It is an ox-like beast which breath turns living things to stone. It is similar to the Gorgon (in fact, in Dawn of Sorrow and Portrait of Ruin, it is actually a direct re-use of the Gorgon sprite from Symphony of the Night), and breaths out a petrifying gas cloud.

Origins[]

The catoblepas (from the Greek καταβλέπω, (katablépō) "to look downward") is a legendary creature from Ethiopia, described first by Pliny the Elder and later by Claudius Aelianus.

Catoblepas - 01

Catoblepas from Historia Naturalis de Quadrupedibus (Jan Jonston, 1614).

It is said to have the body of a buffalo and the head of a wild boar. Its back has scales that protect the beast and its head is always pointing downward due to it being very heavy. Its stare or breath could either turn people into stone or kill them. The catoblepas is often thought to be based on real-life encounters with wildebeest, such that some dictionaries say that the word is synonymous with "gnu".

Pliny described the catoblepas 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 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, a scaly back and shaggy eyebrows. The head was so heavy that the beast could only look down." In his description, the animal's gaze was not lethal but its breath was poisonous, since it ate only poisonous vegetation.

Appearances[]

Castlevania: Circle of the Moon[]

Catoblepae appear in the Observation Tower and the Battle Arena. In this game, the Catoblepas looks like a gray ox which stops when a hero is near to release a cloud of petrifying gas to the ground, which will travel a few steps away from the beast.

Catoblepascotm
Name JPN HP EXP
Catoblepas カトブレパス 550/560 1,800/2,000
ATK DEF Location
500/510 430/435 Observation Tower, Battle Arena
Common Drop Rare Drop
Heart High (2%) Soldier Fatigues (0.5%)
Resistance Stone
Note: Second stat listed is when encountered in the Battle Arena.

Castlevania: Aria of Sorrow[]

Catoblepae appear in the Study. They attack by breathing petrifying gas cloud and their appearance is closer to that of an armored bull than to an ox. Soma can safely stand on the back of the beast, even allowing him to use them as stepping platforms to reach higher areas.

The Catoblepas' soul grants Soma the Stone Breath ability, which allows him to release a continuous cloud of petrifying gas from his hand.

Catoblepas
No. Name JPN HP MP EXP
29 Catoblepas 200 10 40
Attack Defense Tolerance Weakness Time Stop
27 20 - Sword, Poison, Curse
Location Common Drop Rare Drop Soul
Castle Corridor, Study, Dance Hall - Milk Stone Breath
Description "This ox-like beast's breath turns living things to stone."

Castlevania: Dawn of Sorrow[]

Catoblepae appear a few times in the Garden of Madness. They are very slow, so killing them is not very difficult.

Same as in Aria of Sorrow, its soul grants Soma Cruz the Stone Breath ability, which allows him to create clouds of petrifying gas, which can turn to stone many enemies and allows Soma to deal +50% damage to them while petrified.

DOS-Catoblepas
No. Name JPN HP MP ATK
26 Catoblepas カトブレパス Katoburepasu 70 30 26
Tolerance Weakness
Stone Piercing, Slashing
Location Common Drop Rare Drop Soul EXP
Garden of Madness, The Dark Chapel, Cursed Clock Tower Milk (8%) Meat Strip (4%) Stone Breath (16%) 85
Description "This ox-like beast's breath turns living things to stone."

Castlevania: Portrait of Ruin[]

Similar to those appearing in Dawn of Sorrow. There is one two rooms past Keremet's room in the Great Stairway.

DOS-Catoblepas
No. Name JPN HP
35 Catoblepas 120
Tolerance Weakness
Stone Whip, Slash, Fire
Location Common Drop Rare Drop EXP SP
Great Stairway Milk Tasty Meat 60 2
Description "This ox-like beast's breath turns living things to stone."

Item Data[]

Item Data: Catoblepas
Image Name - Game
  Type - Users
Description
Attributes / Consume Statistics / Sell Found Notes
Heart High Icon Heart High (Heart High Up) - Circle of the Moon
  Recovery Item (Heart Potion) - Nathan
[edit]
Recover 25 Hearts. Heart +25
Drop: Arachne, Gargoyle, Catoblepas, Ghoul, Dryad, Bone Tower
Soldier Fatigues Icon Soldier Fatigues (Military Uniform) - Circle of the Moon
  Body (Clothes) - Nathan
[edit]
Fatigues normally worn by soldiers DEF +120, STR +50, LCK +10
Drop: Catoblepas, Franken
Milk AoS Icon Milk (jpn) - Aria of Sorrow
  Food - Soma
[edit]
Low-fat milk. HP +150
Sell: $40
Rare Drop: Catoblepas, Werewolf, Gorgon
Blue Soul Catoblepas - Stone Breath - Aria of Sorrow
  Guardian Soul - Soma
[edit]
Breathes a petrifying cloud into the air. Attrib: Stone
Consume: 15 MP/sec
10 ATK
Drop: Catoblepas
Milk DoS Icon Milk (jpn) - Dawn of Sorrow
  Food - Soma
[edit]
Low-fat milk--for your bones. HP +60
Sell: $74
Common Drop: Catoblepas, Gorgon
Meat Strip DoS Icon Meat Strip (Meat) - Dawn of Sorrow
  Food - Soma
[edit]
Restores 29 HP. HP +29
Sell: $145
Rare Drop: Catoblepas
Common Drop: Needles
Guardian Soul Catoblepas - Stone Breath - Dawn of Sorrow
  Guardian Soul - Soma
[edit]
Breath clouds of petrifying gas. Attrib: Stone
Consume: 15 MP/sec
Rarity: **
Drop: Catoblepas
Milk PoR Icon Milk (jpn) - Portrait of Ruin
  Item (Food/Beverage) - Jonathan, Charlotte
[edit]
Helps build strong bones! MP +50
Drop: Catoblepas
Tasty Meat PoR Icon Tasty Meat (jpn) - Portrait of Ruin
  Item, (Food/Meat) - Jonathan, Charlotte
[edit]
Restores 290 HP. HP +290
Sell: $250
Find: Tower of Death
Drop: Catoblepas

Gallery[]

Trivia[]

See also[]

External links[]

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