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Professor Salazar Slytherin was a great wizard of Medieval times. He was a parselmouth (a wizard with the rare ability to speak with snakes), and skilled at Legilimency.[1] He was one of the four founders of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. As he didn't trust muggle-born students, he expressed his opinion not to accept them at Hogwarts. However, when the other founders didn't agree, Slytherin left the school and did not return again. It is unknown when he died. Salazar Slytherin's portrait still remains at Hogwarts.

Biography

Early life

The Sorting Hat described him as "power hungry Slytherin," and that he came "from a fen." A fen is a marshland, typically inhabited by water fowl, amphibians and snakes. This could be the reason why he and his family have the rare gift of speaking Parseltongue. The Fens of Eastern England are in Norfolk, Lincolnshire, Cambridgeshire and adjoining counties, although it is not established that Slytherin actually came from that particular region.

Founder of Hogwarts

Slytherincrest

The house Salazar created, Slytherin.

Like Rowena Ravenclaw and Godric Gryffindor, Salazar Slytherin appears to have carefully selected members of his House. According to Albus Dumbledore, the qualities which Slytherin prized in his "handpicked students" included resourcefulness, determination, and a certain disregard for the rules, along with the ability to speak Parseltongue. He also selected his students according to cunning, ambition, and Blood purity. His House within Hogwarts is symbolised by a serpent, with House colours of green and silver.

Leaving Hogwarts

"I always knew Salazar Slytherin was a twisted old loony, but I never knew he started all this pure-blood stuff. I wouldn't be in his house if you paid me. Honestly, if the Sorting Hat had tried to put me in Slytherin, I'd've got the train straight back home..."
Ron Weasley expressing his claims on Slytherin's views.[src]

After founding Hogwarts and co-existing for years, a rift eventually began to grow between Slytherin and the other founders. Slytherin despised taking students from Muggle families, seeing them as untrustworthy, and tried to persuade the other founders to only take students from pure-blood families. However, the other founders didn't agree with Slytherin, particularly Gryffindor. Eventually, Slytherin and Gryffindor had a huge argument over the subject, and the end result was that Slytherin chose to leave the school [2]. It is unknown when he died.

Postmortem

Secrets1

The statue of Salazar Slytherin and the hiding-place of Slytherin's Basilisk in the Chamber of Secrets.

According to ancient legend, as told by History of Magic Professor Cuthbert Binns, Salazar Slytherin was responsible for the construction of the Chamber of Secrets beneath Hogwarts dungeons. It was specifically created for the purpose of purging the school of all Muggle-born students. The Chamber contained a Basilisk which could be controlled only by his own "true heir", and use it to rid the school of all Muggle-borns. At least part of the legend was revealed to be true in 1943, when Tom Marvolo Riddle, the heir of Slytherin, opened the Chamber and used the Basilisk to attack Muggle-borns. One girl he actually killed is now a ghost known by the name Moaning Myrtle. The opening to the Chamber of Secrets is located in the bathroom she now haunts, and can only be opened by a Parselmouth like Slytherin. Riddle opened the Chamber again in 1993 through the use of one of his seven Horcruxes, his diary. Using the bit of his soul encompassed by the diary, he possessed Ginny Weasley and forced her to do his bidding. However, this second time opening the Chamber Riddle seemed to have a slightly different goal than the first time. For example, Ginny is a pure-blood witch, but he did not care. While he still attacked Muggle-born students, ultimately, his goal was to lure Harry Potter into the Chamber and kill him.

Salazar Slytherin (full size)

Salazar as he appears on his Chocolate Frog card.

Salazar Slytherin owned a locket emblazoned with the letter S that became a heirloom of his last known line of descendants, the Gaunts. Merope Gaunt sold the locket to Caractacus Burke. It was then bought up by Hepzibah Smith, who had a love for antiques. It was subsequently stolen from her by Tom Marvolo Riddle. Riddle would later turn the locket into a Horcrux, and conceal it in a seaside cave he had visited in his youth. The same locket was later removed from the cave by Regulus Black with aid from his house-elf, Kreacher. Kreacher was ordered to destroy the locket, but was unable to do so.

It was later stolen from the Black family home at 12 Grimmauld Place by Mundungus Fletcher, and eventually found its way into the hands of the Ministry of Magic employee, Dolores Umbridge. Umbridge used it as an intimidation tool by wearing it and claiming the S stood for Selwyn, a pure-blood family line. She either did not know better or wanted to conceal its real meaning from the public.

The locket was recovered by Harry Potter, and was later destroyed by Ron Weasley with Godric Gryffindor's Sword. The act of destruction removed all of the Horcrux's power.

There were also portraits of Slytherin hung at Hogwarts Castle, one guarding a secret shortcut between the dungeons antechamber and the Entrance Hall side room. The password required to gain access to said shortcut was Mortal Dread[3]. The other was hung at the Headmaster's office, part of the Headmaster portraits gallery[4].

Physical description

Salazar Slytherin

Salazar Slytherin.

The statue of Salazar Slytherin in the Chamber of Secrets depicts an "ancient and monkey-like" man with a "long thin beard that fell almost to the bottom of his sweeping robes." His beard was white in colour. Marvolo Gaunt, a blood relative, is similarly described as being monkey-like in appearance.

Magical abilities and skills

  • Parselmouth: Salazar Slytherin was one of the earliest recorded Parselmouth and used this ability to control a Basilisk. His house's symbol is a serpent due to this, and he passed this trait on to his descendants.
  • Legilimency: Slytherin was said to have been a skilled Legilimens.
  • Basilisk breeder: Slytherin managed to breed a Basilisk and kept it alive in the Chamber of Secrets for over one-thousand years, surpassing its average nine-hundred years lifespan.
  • Seer (?): He was very certain that he would have a "true heir" one day, so it is possible that he might of had some prophetic abilities.


Etymology

The name Salazar is originally a Portuguese family name. António de Oliveira Salazar was a fascist dictator of Portugal (where Rowling lived for several years) from 1932 to 1968. Rowling stated that the name "Salazar Slytherin" was chosen after the Portuguese dictator's name. Meanwhile, Slytherin may refer to the words "sly" as well as "slithering", which is the form of locomotion of snakes, possibly referring to his rare ability to talk to snakes called parseltongue.

Behind the scenes

  • Slytherin was the featured "Wizard of the Month" for June 2007 on J. K. Rowling's website, where he was profiled thus: "One of the four celebrated Founders of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, Salazar Slytherin was one of the first recorded Parselmouths, an accomplished Legilimens, and a notorious champion of pure-blood supremacy."
  • Both pictures of Slytherin in the Wizard of the Month and at the Famous Cards depict Slytherin with steepled fingers.
  • Salazar Slytherin appears in the "Forbidden Journey" ride at Universal Orlando. A very brief glimpse of Slytherin has been noticed in a DVD-Preview of the Wizarding World of Harry Potter, made by Universal and circulated through a UK newspaper.
  • It should also be noted that, at the time in which Slytherin and the other founders lived, Muggles were well aware of the existence of magic and persecuted those who used it.

See also

Appearances

Notes and references

Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry
Hogwarts Houses
Gryffindor ClearBG
Hufflepuff ClearBG
RavenclawCrest
Slytherin ClearBG
Namesake Founders
Godric Gryffindor · Helga Hufflepuff · Rowena Ravenclaw · Salazar Slytherin
Heads of House
Minerva McGonagall · Pomona Sprout · Filius Flitwick · Horace Slughorn
House Ghosts
Nearly Headless Nick · Fat Friar · Grey Lady · Bloody Baron
Hogwarts faculty
Hogwartscrest
Founders Godric Gryffindor · Helga Hufflepuff · Rowena Ravenclaw · Salazar Slytherin
Headteachers Giffard Abbott · Walter Aragon · Phineas Nigellus Black · Elizabeth Burke · Antonia Creaseworthy · Dilys Derwent · Armando Dippet · Albus Dumbledore · Mordicus Egg · Everard · First Headmaster · Niamh Fitzgerald · Dexter Fortescue · Basil Fronsac · Brian Gagwilde · Limebert · Minerva McGonagall · Eupraxia Mole · Edessa Sakndenberg · Brutus Scrimgeour · Phyllida Spore · Severus Snape · Amrose Swott · Quentin Trimble · Dolores Umbridge · Fytherley Undercliffe · Vindictus Viridian · Vulpus · Heliotrope Wilkins · Gimlet-eyed Headmistress · Headmaster (1568) · Headteacher (1792) · Unidentified Headteachers
Deputy Heads Alecto Carrow · Amycus Carrow · Minerva McGonagall · Matilda Weasley
Heads of House Muldoon Cragg · Filius Flitwick · Godric Gryffindor · Gryffindor lady · Gryffindor man (II) · Gryffindor man (III) · Gryffindor man (IV) · Gryffindor Seeker · Helga Hufflepuff · Neville Longbottom · Minerva McGonagall · Valeria Myriadd · Uric Oapley · Podric Piles · Pink-faced Headmaster · Prendergast · Rowena Ravenclaw · Abraham Ronen · Horace Slughorn · Salazar Slytherin · Severus Snape · Pomona Sprout · Tobias Stump
Teaching staff Bartholomew · Bathsheda Babbling · San Bakar · Herbert Beery · Cuthbert Binns · Brindlemore · Charity Burbage · Herodiana Byrne · Camelia · Alecto Carrow · Amycus Carrow · Bartemius Crouch Junior (disguised as Alastor Moody) · Clodagh Dromgoole · Albus Dumbledore · Archibald Eagleton · Eleazar Fig · Firenze · Filius Flitwick · Fortinbras · Mirabel Garlick · Mirabel Garlick's predecessor · Jakub Gorski · Olivia Green · Rubeus Hagrid · Dinah Hecat · Rolanda Hooch · Bai Howin · Arsenius Jigger · Igor Karkaroff's Yule Ball partner · Silvanus Kettleburn · Chiyo Kogawa · Gilderoy Lockhart · Neville Longbottom · Remus Lupin · Elspeth MacGillony · Mazoni · Minerva McGonagall · Galatea Merrythought · Isidora Morganach · Mudiwa Onai · Prendergast · Quirinus Quirrell · Percival Rackham · Patricia Rakepick · Abraham Ronen · Charles Rookwood · Concordia Rowle · Luna Scamander · Satyavati Shah · Aesop Sharp · Arif Sikander · Aurora Sinistra · Horace Slughorn · Severus Snape · Pomona Sprout · Swoopstikes · Sybill Trelawney · Trocar · Dolores Umbridge · Septima Vector · Matilda Weasley · Matilda Weasley's predecessor · Unidentified professor · Charms professor (medieval) · Potions professor (16th century) · Holidaying professor (before 1890s) · DADA professor (1984–1985) · DADA professor (1985–1986) · DADA professor (1986–1987) · DADA professor (1987–1988) · DADA professor (1989–1990) · DADA professor (1990–1991) · Muggle Studies professor (1990s) · Music professor · DADA professor (1998–?) · Potions professor (21st century) · Charms professor (?th century)
Hogwarts house-elves Bilm · Boil-ridden house-elf · Cooky · Cosa · Deek · Dobby · Feenky · Filk · Gimkey ·Krafty · Kreacher · Nonsuch · Pitts · Retch · Ringkull · Rooky · Vekey · Wigby · Winky · Wooby · Unidentified house-elf (I) · Unidentified house-elf (II)
Support staff Phineas Nigellus Black's secretaries · Noreen Blainey · Rancorous Carpe · Argus Filch · Wilhelmina Grubbly-Plank · Rubeus Hagrid · Rolanda Hooch · Hankerton Humble · Gladwin Moon · Ogg · Irma Pince · Poppy Pomfrey · Apollyon Pringle · Lucinda Thomsonicle-Pocus · Agnes Scribner · Wainscott · Carriage driver (1890s) · Gamekeeper (1890s) · Unidentified Healers · Librarian (?th century) · Librarian (21st century)
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