Slytherin

History of Slytherin

The founding of Slytherin House is tied to the founding of the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry itself. As is well known, Hogwarts was founded by four very powerful witches and wizards: Godric Gryffindor, Rowena Ravenclaw, Helga Hufflepuff, and Salazar Slytherin. Slytherin House was founded alongside the other houses in the 10th century by the wizard Salazar Slytherin.

Salazar Slytherin

The aforementioned Salazar Slytherin was responsible for founding Slytherin House. Initially, the four founding wizards worked together in harmony, but over time their views on teaching at Hogwarts began to diverge significantly, leading Salazar Slytherin to eventually leave Hogwarts. Their disagreements were primarily due to Slytherin's desire to admit only pure-blood wizards to Hogwarts and his disdain for Muggles. His negative attitude towards Muggles can be attributed to the time in which he lived, during which Muggles were hunting witches and wizards, persecuting them for their magical abilities. The rift between Slytherin and Gryffindor culminated in a direct duel between the two former friends and a civil war between the students of Slytherin and Gryffindor. After Slytherin's defeat, he hid a powerful monster in a secret chamber he built at Hogwarts, which would only obey him and his heirs, with the task of purging the school of all his enemies. The Chamber of Secrets was opened twice, with the basilisk killing a student only once. This student was the Weeping Willow, who became a well-known Hogwarts ghost. During the second opening of the Chamber of Secrets in 1993, Harry Potter defeated the basilisk and permanently rid the chamber of the terror it contained.

Slytherin Traits

Hogwarts students are sorted into the houses of Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, and Slytherin by the Sorting Hat. To be placed in Slytherin, you should be ambitious, cunning, and a strong leader who always strives for success. Albus Dumbledore would add that traits valued by Salazar Slytherin included cleverness, resourcefulness, determination, and a certain disregard for rules. All these traits were also found in Harry Potter, which is why the Sorting Hat hesitated so long whether to place him in Gryffindor or Slytherin.

Slytherin House Ghost

Each house at Hogwarts has its house ghost, and Slytherin is no exception. The house ghost of Slytherin is The Bloody Baron. The Bloody Baron attended Hogwarts at the same time as Salazar Slytherin and was thus sorted into Slytherin House. After graduating from Hogwarts, the Bloody Baron fell in love with Helena Ravenclaw, whom he frequently encountered at the school. Helena, however, did not return his affection. Rowena Ravenclaw, Helena's mother, sent the Bloody Baron to find her daughter in Albania and bring her back to England, where Helena had fled. The Baron did indeed find Helena, but she refused to return with him, leading the Baron to kill her in a fit of rage. Upon realizing what he had done, the Baron took his own life with the dagger he used to kill Helena, which is why he is called the Bloody Baron due to the blood of Helena that stained him before his death.

Slytherin Students and Characters

Since its founding, Slytherin House has welcomed several hundred students, including many who are very well known to us. It is no secret that most students who went astray and began practicing dark magic were from Slytherin. Among the most famous wizards who attended Slytherin after its founding are The Bloody Baron, Merlin (yes, the wizard from King Arthur and probably the most famous wizard in history), Phineas Black, Leta and Bellatrix Lestrange, Horace Slughorn, Tom Riddle, aka Lord Voldemort, Lucius Malfoy, Severus Snape, Dolores Umbridge, Vincent Crabbe and Gregory Goyle, and Draco Malfoy.

Slytherin Common Room

All Hogwarts houses have their own common rooms where students from that house meet and live. Students live together across all years, so it is clear that the common room of each Hogwarts house is a very important place. The Slytherin common room is uniquely located in the dungeons. The Slytherin common room is decorated in Slytherin green and silver, with a large portrait of a serpent dominating the room. Harry Potter and Ron Weasley visited the Slytherin common room in their second year when they were transformed into Crabbe and Goyle by the Polyjuice Potion. An interesting and amusing fact is that when Professor Quirrell, in a panic, runs into the Great Hall on Halloween night and announces that there is a troll in the dungeons, it causes a huge panic. Albus Dumbledore calms everyone down and sends the students to their respective common rooms. This is an interesting occurrence given that the Slytherin common room is indeed located in the dungeons.

Slytherin, Frequently Asked Questions

Who founded Slytherin? Salazar Slytherin.
What is Slytherin in Czech? Zmijozel.
What is Slytherin in Slovak? Slizolin.
Who is the ghost of Slytherin? The Bloody Baron.
What is the Slytherin crest? The crest features a serpent.
What are the colors of Slytherin? Green and silver.
What is the animal of Slytherin? A serpent.
What are the traits of Slytherin? Ambition, cleverness, cunning, and resourcefulness.
Who attended Slytherin? Lord Voldemort, Draco Malfoy, Severus Snape, Lucius Malfoy, Bellatrix Lestrange.