That royal-looking serpent who was supposed to wear a crown on his head, and to kill with a look, was the basilisk; and the familiar basilicon ointment was so termed as being fit for a king.
     Basileios (kingly) was not infrequent among the early Christians, and gained popularity through that great father of the Church, the Bishop of Neo-Cæsarea, as well as other more obscure saints.  It is extremely common in the Eastern Church, and especially in Russia, where the first letter suffers the usual change into V. (Yonge)