Greek Mythology Monsters

By Ethan Fargo

Monsters in Greek Mythology usually attacked people or destroyed country sides. All monsters were usually defeated by heroes.

Monsters of Greek Mythology

Argus had many eyes, as much as 100. He was Hera’s guard. Hermes killed him because Zeus told him to. Hera put the eyes of Argus on the tail of the peacock, her favorite bird.

Argus

Cyclopes were giants and had one eye in the middle of their heads. They made thunderbolts for Zeus. One the cyclopes, Polyphemus, was the son of Poseidon. He lived on an island where Odysseus blinded him.

Cyclops

The hydra was a large and poisonous snake that had nine heads. Each time a head was injured, a new one grew. Hercules had to kill the hydra as one of his 12 labors.

Hydra

One of 12 labors of Hercules was to capture the Cretan Bull. It was a white bull. After Hercules captured it, he then let it go and it destroyed the countryside of Marathon, a town in Athens. The bull eventually became a constellation.

Cretan Bull

The Minotaur was a monster who ate men. It had the head of a bull. King Minos had it in a labyrinth. He used it to kill enemies. The bull was killed by Theseus.

Minotaur

Sirens had the head of a woman and wings like a bird. They sang beautiful songs and lived on rocks in the ocean. They made sailors crash. Odysseus found a way around them by filling his crew’s ears with wax.

Sirens

Two monsters that lived together in a cave, by the sea were Scylla and Charybdis. Scylla had dog heads and ate sailors alive. Charybdis made whirlpools. Odysseus had to get by them.

Scylla and Charybdis

Echidna was called the mother of all monsters. When she attacked the Olympians, Zeus beat her back. But, Zeus allowed her to live as a challenge to future heroes. She was later killed where she slept by Argus, the hundred-eyed giant.

Echidna

The chimera had many parts of different animals, such as, a lion, a goat and a snake. It breathed fire. It was defeated by Bellerophon and Pegasus, the horse. They beat the chimera by flying over its head and fire.

Chimera

Griffins had the body of a lion and the head of an eagle. It is thought they were originally from India. They would find gold, make nests from it and guard it. They would eat men and their horses.

Griffin

The cerberus was a massive and strong three headed dog. Hades, god of the underworld, was his master. Cerberus was the guard to the underworld. Hercules was sent to kidnap Cerberus.

Cerberus

Medusa was a Gorgon. Gorgons lived at the edge of the world and had snakes in their hair. One look at their face and a man would turn to stone. Perseus killed Medusa by cutting off her head by tricking her and looking at her reflection.

Gorgons

Greek Monsters were very important to the myths of Greece.

Argos-www.theartofdavidecurtis.com Cretan Bull-

questgreekmythology.wikispaces.com Sirens-animal.discovery.com Echidna-jazjaz.net

Works Cited (modified)