Salazar Slytherin

**Salazar Slytherin** is a character in the *Harry Potter book series*.

He is a wizard who co-founded Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry and is the founder of Slytherin house. He was gifted in speaking Parseltongue and skilled at Legilimency. He was a strong supporter of blood purity and didn't want to accept Muggle-born students into Hogwarts. He argued with the other founders and abandoned the school after he had built the Chamber of Secrets. He had hoped an Heir would open it and purge the school of Muggle-borns using a Basilisk he put inside.

## Biography

### Early life

Slytherin was from fen, a term given to people from Lincoln, Norfolk, Cambridge or their adjoining counties in England. He was able to speak Parseltongue and that was a very rare skill in the wizarding world. It was thought that anyone able to speak Parseltongue was descended from the Slytherin family.

### Founding

Salazar was a very powerful and gifted wizard. The founders were brilliant in their time. He was a friend of Godric Gryffindor, Rowena Ravenclaw and Helga Hufflepuff and they founded Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry together. Salazar selected students based upon the values he prized including cunning, leadership and determination, and he valued ones who were pure-blood. He adopted the serpent for the emblem of Slytherin.

### Leaving the school

Slytherin had not wanted the school to teach Muggle-borns because he thought they were untrustworthy and had proposed that they should be selective about what students they teach. But the other founders did not agree and eventually Slytherin and Gryffindor had a huge argument involving a duel.

During the founding of the school, Slytherin had built the Chamber of Secrets but he kept it a secret. Even the co-founders were not told. He hatched a Basilisk, the Serpent of Slytherin that just the Heir of Slytherin would be able to control. He had hoped that the Heir would let the Basilisk loose to purge the school of those he found unworthy to study there. He then abandoned the school for good.

### Legacy

Slytherin passed away in the 11th century. Knowledge of the Chamber of Secrets was passed to his descendants, but nobody else could ever find it. Over the centuries, witches and wizards started to believe it was a legend and it didn't really exist. It is opened using Parseltongue but because it was rare to be able to speak it, it would have been near impossible for someone else to find and open anyway.

Nearly a thousand years later, an Heir finally succeeded in finding and opening the Chamber. Tom Riddle unleashed the Basilisk within but the attempt to purge the school was unsuccessful and only one girl, Myrtle Warren was killed. Tom closed the Chamber of Secrets when Professor Dumbledore had grown suspicious of him and Professor Dippet was going to close the school down.

Fifty years later, the Chamber was opened for the second and final time. Tom Riddle's Diary possessed Ginny Weasley into opening the Chamber of Secrets. The Basilisk Petrified many students but it was unsuccessful in purging the school. Harry Potter and Ronald Weasley found the Chamber of Secrets and Harry killed the Basilisk and shut the Chamber of Secrets down for good. Slytherin's goal was never achieved.

Slytherin also had a locket that was also passed down to his descendants. It was eventually in the possession of the Gaunt family by 1925. Merope Gaunt sold the Locket to Borgin and Burkes. Her son, Tom Riddle eventually purchased it from the shop and he used it to create a Horcrux. Harry Potter found it and it was destroyed by Ron Weasley using Gryffindor's Sword.

## Appearance

Slytherin's statue in the Chamber decipts an "ancient" and "monkey-like" man with a long thin beard that nearly touched the ground. One of his descendants, Marvolo Gaunt is also said to be "monkey-like".

## Trivia

* Slytherin is said to be power-hungry, cunning and determined and took great lengths to get what he wanted.
* He is a strong supporter of blood purity.
* He is very proud and immortalises the image of himself in the Chamber with a grand statue.
* He possesses a special gift for Legilmency.

## Notes and sources

1. ↑ *Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire*, Chapter 12
2. ↑ *Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets*, Chapter 11
3. ↑ *Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets*, Chapter 12
4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 *Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets*, Chapter 9
5. ↑ *Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets*, Chapter 15
6. ↑ *Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets*, Chapter 13
7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 *Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets*, Chapter 16
8. ↑ *Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets*, Chapter 17
9. ↑ *Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows*, Chapter 19