The stellione (Stellagama Stellio), is a Saurus belonging to the family of the Agamids, diffused in south-western Asia, in north-eastern Africa and in Europe in the easternmost zones of Greece.
It is the only known species of the genus Stellagama.
Characteristic is his habit of moving his head up and down.
Ovid tells of the Metamorphoses (book V, 448-461) that Ceres, while wandering in search of his daughter Proserpina kidnapped by Pluto, stopped and asked refreshment to an old woman who offered her cereals and wine.
The goddess was mocked by a boy who saw her eating that meal in a greedy way, feeling outraged threw wine and soup in the face of the young man who turned into a star carrying forever the signs and colors.