Editing Reptile (section)

===In cultures and religions===
{{main|Reptiles in culture}}
[[File:Laelaps-Charles Knight-1897.jpg|thumb|Painting of fighting "''Laelaps''" (now ''[[Dryptosaurus]]'') by [[Charles R. Knight]] (1897)]]
Dinosaurs have been widely depicted in culture since the English palaeontologist [[Richard Owen]] coined the name ''[[dinosaur]]'' in 1842. As soon as 1854, the [[Crystal Palace Dinosaurs]] were on display to the public in south London.<ref name=Torrens>{{cite book |author=Torrens, Hugh |section=Politics and paleontology |title=The Complete Dinosaur |pages=175–190}}</ref><ref name=Glut>{{cite book |last=Glut |first=Donald F. |author-link=Donald F. Glut |author2=Brett-Surman, Michael K. |year=1997 |chapter=Dinosaurs and the media |title=The Complete Dinosaur |publisher=Indiana University Press |pages=[https://archive.org/details/isbn_9780253333490/page/675 675–706] |isbn=978-0-253-33349-0 |chapter-url=https://archive.org/details/isbn_9780253333490/page/675 }}</ref> One dinosaur appeared in literature even earlier, as [[Charles Dickens]] placed a ''[[Megalosaurus]]'' in the first chapter of his novel ''[[Bleak House]]'' in 1852.{{efn|
"Michaelmas term lately over, and the Lord Chancellor sitting in Lincoln's Inn Hall. Implacable November weather. As much mud in the streets, as if the waters had but newly retired from the face of the earth, and it would not be wonderful to meet a ''Megalosaurus'', forty feet long or so, waddling like an elephantine lizard up Holborne Hill."<ref>{{cite book |last=Dickens |first=Charles J.H. |year=1852 |title=Bleak House |section=[[s:Bleak House/Chapter I|Chapter&nbsp;I: In Chancery]] |page=1 |location=London, UK |publisher=Bradbury & Evans |isbn=978-1-85326-082-7 }}</ref>
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The dinosaurs featured in books, films, television programs, artwork, and other media have been used for both education and entertainment. The depictions range from the realistic, as in the television [[documentary film|documentaries]] of the 1990s and first decade of the 21st century, to the fantastic, as in the [[monster movie]]s of the 1950s and 1960s.<ref name=Glut/><ref name=Gregory>{{cite book |author=Paul, G.S. |author-link=Gregory S. Paul |editor=Paul, G.S. |year=2000 |section=The art of Charles R. Knight |title=The Scientific American Book of Dinosaurs |publisher=St. Martin's Press |isbn=978-0-312-26226-6 |pages=113–118}}</ref><ref name=Searles>{{cite book |last=Searles |first=Baird |year=1988 |section=Dinosaurs and others |title=Films of Science Fiction and Fantasy |pages=104–116 |publisher=AFI Press |location=New York, NY |isbn=978-0-8109-0922-9}}</ref>

The snake or serpent has played a powerful [[Serpent (symbolism)|symbolic role]] in different cultures. In [[History of Egypt|Egyptian history]], the Nile cobra adorned the crown of the [[pharaoh]]. It was [[snake worship|worshipped]] as one of the gods and was also used for sinister purposes: murder of an adversary and ritual suicide ([[Cleopatra VII of Egypt|Cleopatra]]). In [[Greek mythology]], snakes are associated with deadly antagonists, as a [[chthonic]] symbol, roughly translated as ''earthbound''. The nine-headed [[Lernaean Hydra]] that [[Hercules]] defeated and the three [[Gorgon]] sisters are children of [[Gaia (mythology)|Gaia]], the earth. [[Medusa]] was one of the three Gorgon sisters who [[Perseus]] defeated. Medusa is described as a hideous mortal, with snakes instead of hair and the power to turn men to stone with her gaze. After killing her, Perseus gave her head to [[Athena]] who fixed it to her shield called the [[Aegis]]. The [[Titan (mythology)|Titans]] are depicted in art with their legs replaced by bodies of snakes for the same reason: They are children of Gaia, so they are bound to the earth.<ref name=BF85>{{cite book |last=Bullfinch |first=Thomas |author-link=Thomas Bullfinch |year=2000 |title=Bullfinch's Complete Mythology |edition=reprint |publisher=Chancellor Press |location=London |url=http://etext.library.adelaide.edu.au/b/bulfinch/thomas/ |isbn=978-0-7537-0381-6 |page=85 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090209004721/http://etext.library.adelaide.edu.au/b/bulfinch/thomas/ |archive-date=2009-02-09 }}</ref> In Hinduism, [[snake worship|snakes are worshipped]] as gods, with many women pouring milk on snake pits. The cobra is seen on the neck of [[Shiva]], while [[Vishnu]] is depicted often as sleeping on a seven-headed snake or within the coils of a serpent. There are temples in India solely for cobras sometimes called ''Nagraj'' (King of Snakes), and it is believed that snakes are symbols of fertility. In the annual Hindu festival of [[Nag Panchami]], snakes are venerated and prayed to.<ref name=Deane>{{cite book |last=Deane |first=John |author-link=The Worship of the Serpent |year=1833 |title=The Worship of the Serpent |pages=61–64 |publisher=Kessinger Publishing |isbn=978-1-56459-898-1 |url =http://www.sacred-texts.com/etc/wos/index.htm}}</ref> In religious terms, the snake and [[jaguar]] are arguably the most important animals in ancient [[Mesoamerica]]. "In states of ecstasy, lords dance a serpent dance; great descending snakes adorn and support buildings from [[Chichen Itza]] to [[Tenochtitlan]], and the [[Nahuatl]] word ''coatl'' meaning serpent or twin, forms part of primary deities such as [[Mixcoatl]], [[Quetzalcoatl]], and [[Coatlicue]]."<ref>{{cite book |author=Miller, Mary |year=1993 |title=The Gods and Symbols of Ancient Mexico and the Maya |publisher=Thames & Hudson |place=London, UK |isbn=978-0-500-27928-1}}</ref> In Christianity and Judaism, a serpent appears in Genesis to tempt [[Adam and Eve]] with the [[forbidden fruit]] from the [[Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil]].<ref>{{Bibleverse|Genesis|3:1|NAB}}</ref>

The turtle has a prominent position as a symbol of steadfastness and tranquility in religion, mythology, and folklore from around the world.<ref name=Plotkin>{{cite book |author=Plotkin, Pamela T. |year=2007 |title=Biology and Conservation of Ridley Sea Turtles |publisher=Johns Hopkins University Press |place=Baltimore, MD |isbn=978-0-8018-8611-9}}</ref> A tortoise's longevity is suggested by its long lifespan and its shell, which was thought to protect it from any foe.<ref name=Ball>{{cite book |author=Ball, Catherine |year=2004 |title=Animal Motifs in Asian Art |publisher=Courier Dover Publications |isbn=0-486-43338-2}}</ref> In the [[cosmological myth]]s of several cultures a ''[[World Turtle]]'' carries the world upon its back or supports the heavens.<ref name=Stookey>{{cite book |author=Stookey, Lorena Laura |year=2004 |title=Thematic Guide to World Mythology |publisher=Greenwood Press |isbn=978-0-313-31505-3}}</ref>