The word "viper" has several meanings. The best known - the name of a fairly harmless animal family egg-laying mammal that lives in Australia, Tasmania and New Guinea. Much more dangerous other viper - venomous snakes asps family, common in Australia and New Guinea. And Echidna - a mythical creature invented by the ancient Greeks, poluzhenschina-poluzmeya, granddaughter of Gaia and Pontus. According to legend, this zlonravnaya beauty hidden from the people in an underground cave. Serpent's deceit Echidna has inherited many of its monsters born: dog Cerberus - the three-headed guardian of the kingdom of the dead, Hades, Lerneyskaya Hydra - a serpent with nine heads, Nemean lion, and others. It is from this Echidna in our lexicon came the adjective "malicious", which Vladimir Dal 'in his dictionary interprets as "evil, wicked and evil».

05.09.2007