Benjamin RogaczewskiHistory of Ancient Greece

Dr. Lovano

Classical myth spans as far back as anyone can really calculate. We find that

much of our knowledge of Roman Mythology trails back towards Greek Mythology,

and so we call the Romans unoriginal borrowers of the Greeks. However, it is not so

much probable to do this because the Greeks took most of their myths from the

people they met in areas such as the Near East and Anatolia. With this fact in mind,

no one can really gauge how far these myths go back and their origins as well. It is

possible how far to gather a broad idea of how far most Greek myths by looking at

the stories of the heroes within these myths. Moreover, we can even more

information on origins of these stories by the amazing mythical creatures these

heroes are pinned against. Through analysis of the beginnings of Greek mythological

creatures, and onwards within the stories of great heroes, we will realize how far

these stories really span, and also where these creatures come from. Now let us

begin. The analysis will cover beasts such as Typhon/Typhoeus, Cerberus,

Chimaera, Sphinx, and Medusa, and it shall try to explain possible Near Eastern

origins of these mythical monsters, and also how some of them may have affected

early Greek civilization.

Figure 1: Typhon

For sake of the need for continuity, it is only fair to begin with the beginning

tales of the gods. We do not need to go back to stories like the Titanomachy, but we

do need to start with a gigantic pit. The pit I speak of is the desolate Tartarus and

the beginning of Greek mythical monsters makes its original home here. After the

Titans were defeated in the Titanomachy, most of them were cast into Tartarus, but

some like Atlas were given far worse punishment. Zeus, the leader of the gods,

believed he had totally defeated all enemies, but Gaea had one more ace up her

sleeve. According to Hesiod, Gaea coupled with Tartaros, the embodiment of

Tartarus, to create the most fearful of Gaea’s spawn, Typhoeus. A large monster, he

had a hundred snakeheads that came out of his shoulders.1 From each of these

heads, came a different sound. Some sounded like bulls, while others sounded like

dog barks. Typhoeus’ main purpose was to depose Zeus from Olympus and free the

Titans from Tartarus. However, Zeus defeated him. According to Hesiod, Zeus took

up his thunderbolt and struck down the monster, and when Typhoeus hit the

ground, the earth groaned.2 Apollodorus gives us a much more detailed version of

the battle between Typhoeus and Zeus. According to him, Zeus took up a sickle to

fight the giant monster, but Typhoeus was too strong, and wrestled the sickle from

Zeus. With the sickle, Typhoeus cut the sinews within Zeus’ arms and legs. If not for

Hermes, who returned the sinews to Zeus’ body, Zeus would have been defeated.

1 Hesiod, Theogony, ed. Glenn W. Most, trans. Glenn W. Most (Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press, 2006) p. 69.2 Hesiod, p. 73.

Zeus then struck Typhoeus down with a thunderbolt, and from Typhoeus’ defeat

there came a volcano.3

Of course there are some other sources that show that there is definitely

some connection between and some of the Near East myths. According to Roger D.

Woodard, the battle between Zeus and Typhoeus shares a strong connection

between the Hittite myth of the battle between Tessub and the monster Ullikummi.

Fritz Graf also makes a strong connection between the Song of Ullikummi, and

Hesiod’s Theogony. According to the thirteenth century B.C text, his vizier, Anu, who

in turn was overthrown by Kumarbi, overthrew the first king of heaven, Alalu.

Kumarbi then bites off Anu’s phallus and thus becomes pregnant and gives birth to

the storm god Tessub. Tessub then deposes Kumarbi, and in retaliation she gave

birth to a rock that turned into Ullikummi.4 The myth states that Ullikummi was

born of the rocks, very much like Typhoeus who was born from the earth.

Ullikummi, a volcanic rock monster, is created for the sole purpose of deposing

Tessub the weather god, but is defeated by Tessub.5 From this, we can clearly see

that from its early beginnings, Greek mythology has borrowed from the other

cultures it encountered. Of course from here we have some slight confusion from

Hesiod. A character is added to the beginning of his Theogony named Typhon, who

was a terrible giant. Whether or not this giant is the same as Typhoeus is discussed

3 Apollodorus, The Library, trans. Sir James George Frazer, Vol. 1 (Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press, 1939) p. 49.4 Fritz Graf, Greek Mythology: An Introduction, trans. Thomas Marier (Baltimore, Maryland: The Johns Hopkins University Press, 1996).5 Roger D. Woodard, "Hesiod and Greek Myth," in The Cambridge Companion to Greek Mythology, ed. Roger D. Woodard (New York, New York: Cambridge University Press, 2007) p. 98.

and argued by many scholars, but the accepted theory is that they are in fact one in

the same. The importance of Typhon however is not within himself, but in his

progeny. According to Hesiod, Typhon coupled with the she-snake Echidna and

Echidna bore to the world such monsters as Cerberus and Orthus, the multi-headed

dogs from Herakles’ labors, and the Chimaera, the monster with three different

heads: a lion, a goat, and a snake. From the coupling of Chimaera and Orthus, there

came the Sphinx of Thebes.6 From here on begins my first major section of analysis:

The Offspring of Typhon and Echidna.

6 Hesiod, p. 29.

Figure 2: three- headed Cerberus

Our first analysis is upon the great Hell-hound of Hades, Cerberus

(Kerberos). According to Hesiod, Cerberus is an unspeakable beast, which eats raw

flesh and is the ruthless guard dog of the Underworld. He has apparently fifty heads

according to Hesiod, and he wags his tail at the new dead who enter Hades, and

devours anyone who tries to escape from the Underworld.7 Classical poets seem to

be in disagreement on how many heads Cerberus actually has. There even seems to

be some confusion between Orthus and Cerberus as well. According to Paul Diel, an

Austrian psychologist, Cerberus is a hound that has two heads and a snake tail. He is

considered to represent bodily drives and perversions.8 Some even claim to think

that Orthus and Cerberus are one in the same and it is not coincidental that they are

both multi-headed hounds from Echidna. This is of course in relation to a tale

involving Theseus and his friend Peirithous. The tale states that Peirithous wished

7 Hesiod, p. 65.8 Paul Diel, Symbolism in Greek Mythology (Boulder, Colorado: Shambhala Publications, Inc., 1980).

Figure 3: Two-headed Cerberus

to steal Persephone from the Underworld and Theseus agreed to help his friend.

However, once they made it to the underworld, Hades welcomed them in, but made

them sit upon chairs in which snakes coiled around their legs locking them in place.

Theseus was released by Herakles on his journey to Hades for Cerberus, but

according to several poets could not save Peirithous.9 Some poets actually claim that

Cerberus devoured Peirithous.

It isn’t until about first century A.D. that we see literary works state that

Cerberus has three heads, however Greek artwork found on pottery that dates back

to about 6th century B.C., shows Cerberus with three heads as well. It is not until

such poets as Ovid and Apollodorus, that a three headed hellhound is portrayed as

Cerberus. Apollodorus states that Cerberus had three dog heads, a tail of a dragon,

and snakeheads all over his back.10 We learn that several different tales include

Cerberus, but the oldest one by reference is within the tale of Herakles’ twelve

labors. Homer makes a reference to the labors in his epic poem of The Odyssey. The

final labor of Herakles is to take Cerberus and bring him out of Hades and up to

earth. Herakles does this but he is not allowed to use his weapons and so wrestles

the beast out of Hades.11

Another tale that includes Cerberus is the tale of Orpheus and Eurydice.

When Eurydice dies from a poisonous snakebite, she descends to the underworld.

Orpheus descends to the Underworld also, because he wishes to ask for Eurydice’s

life back. This tale brings about a new concept for Cerberus that does not hold to

9 Apollodorus, p. 153.10 Apollodorus, p. 233.11 Apollodorus, p. 237.

early Greek writers, but we do find some reference to it in later Greek writings.

According to Ovid, Cerberus’ gaze can turn anyone into stone, just like the gaze of

the Gorgons. Ovid alludes to an unnamed man who was so terrified of Cerberus that

he turned to stone at the sight of the hellhound.12The unnamed man seems to be

used as an example of Orpheus’ reaction to Cerberus. According to some scholars,

these two myths were mainly created in order to show comparison between the two

descents into Hades. For example, the myths show that Orpheus is clearly no in any

way a Herculean hero, showing a contrast to Herakles’ descent.13 It is also not until

we read from Latin poets, that Cerberus is slightly tamer than his early image. For

example, Orpheus is able to appease Cerberus with sweet music, and Aeneas is able

to get past Cerberus by feeding him cake.14 The final descent tale that we see

including Cerberus is Aeneas’ descent into Hades to search for his father and his

future. In the ancient world, hounds were used for the main purpose of guarding

homes. We see pictures like the mosaic from Pompeii warning visitors of the wild

hound guarding the house. Cerberus became more than just a vicious guardian of

Hades; he became the fervent example for all hounds in the ancient world. Cerberus

was so fearful that he is constantly remembered years after his mythical tales. Dante

includes him as the guard of the gluttons within his Inferno. From all these tales, it

can easily be seen that Cerberus, or Kerberos, has been a distinguished monster of

12 Ovid, Metamorphoses , trans. Sir Samuel Garth (Verona: Officina bodoni, 1958) p. 318.13 John Heath, "The Stupor of Orpheus: Ovid's "Metamorphoses" 10.64-71," The Classical Journal (The Classical Association of the Middle West and South, Inc.) 91, no. 4 (Apr.-May 1996): 353-370.14 John Heath, 353-370.

Greek myth. He seems to be the most popular of Echidna’s children since he makes

the most appearances within Greek or Roman myths.

The second child of Echidna was the Chimaera (Khimera). She was the sister

of Cerberus, and Orthus. According to Hesiod, she breathed invincible fire and had

three heads: a lion’s head, a she-goat’s head, and a snake’s head.15 Homer gives a

better description of the Chimaera in his epic poem The Iliad. He states that the

Chimaera had a fierce lion head in the front, a goat head growing from her back, and

a snake for a tail.16 The earliest myth that we have pertaining to the Chimaera entails

two major characters: a hero, and another mythical creature. The hero is

Bellerophon (Bellerophontes), a young hero from Argos blood related to the tragic

figure Sisyphus. According to Apollodorus, the king of Argos sends Bellerophon to

15 Hesiod, p. 29.16 Homer, The Iliad, trans. Samuel Butler (New York, New York: D. Van Nostrand Company, Inc., 1942).

Figure 4: Chimaera vs. Pegasus

Lycia, located in southern Anatolia. In Lycia, King Iobates orders that Bellerophon

must slay the Chimaera. At this time, the Chimaera was laying waste to land of Lycia

and burning farmland. Bellerophon agrees to the task but realizes he cannot fight

the Chimaera on foot; he must be able to strike from a distance where she cannot

reach him. One night while Bellerophon slept, he received a dream in which he was

given a golden bridle by the gods. They told him to use it on Pegasus (Pegasos), the

winged horse. Pegasus has a strange origin along as well. Legend has it that when

Perseus cut Medusa the Gorgon’s head off, Pegasus came from her severed neck.17 As

for the Gorgon, she will be explained later I can promise you that, but back to the

story at hand. Bellerophon found Pegasus and successfully placed the bridle on the

winged horse. With Pegasus’ help, Bellerophon was able to fly around the Chimaera

and strike the beast down with his arrows.18 Of course, the earliest Greek art that we

have pertaining to the Chimaera goes back to seventh century B.C. This artwork

however is the earliest portrayal of the Chimaera with the three heads placed at

different areas of the beast’s body.19

We find one more main use of the Chimaera, and this is from the Roman poet

Virgil. Within The Aeneid, we are shown a great warrior called Turnus, the King of

the Rutulians in Italy. Turnus is armed with a great sword, but his triple-plumed

helmet is decorated with the image of the Chimaera, fierce and fire breathing.20 The

17 Edith Hamilton, Mythology (Boston, Massachusetts: Back Bay Books, 1998).18 Apollodorus, p. 153.19 Marilyn Low Schmitt, "Bellerophon and the Chimaera in Archaic Greek Art," American Journal of Archaeology (Archaeological Institute of America) 70, no. 4 (Oct. 1966): 341-347.20 Virgil, The Aeneid, trans. Allen Mandelbaum (New York, New York: Bantam Dell, 2004).

helmet is used by Virgil to show the character of Turnus as a wild, fierce monster.

Turnus is also said to roar on the battlefield to frighten his enemies. The Chimaera

was often used for the longest time as a personification for a volcano. Virgil even

uses the phrase “Aetnaeos efflantem faucibus ignis” which means “breathing out

fires of Etna from its jaws”.21 Etna was and still is an active volcano on the east coast

of Sicily. Unfortunately for Turnus, like the Chimaera who was destroyed by

Bellerophon, Aeneas, the hero of The Aeneid, must kill him.22 On the discussion of

the Chimaera’s origin, L. Malten has one set theory that doesn’t seem too farfetched.

He proved in a paper that the Chimaera and the winged horse were of Oriental

origin; Bellerophon then seems to be a Lycian hero that the Greeks had taken over

when they moved about Anatolia.23 This is theory is proved sound by art reliefs

found in Babylon or Persia. It is in these lands that we find art containing several

winged beasts like winged bulls, lions, and gryphon. Also, the Chimaera seems to

have some similarities to Azhi Dahaka, the Persian three-headed dragon of deceit

and mischief. In these several different ways, it is therefore not unusual to think that

both these creatures came from eastern origins. It also doesn’t seem to be unusual

that early artwork of the Chimaera we have found comes from the Mycenaean age.

This was a plaque found at Dendra that shows the tale of the Chimaera.24 From this,

we can also see just how old the Chimaera is in comparisons to Cerberus. It almost

21 M. R. Gale, "The Shield of Turnus," Greece and Rome (Cambridge University Press) 44, no. 2 (October 1997): 176-196.22 M. R. Gale, 176-196.23 Martin P. Nilsson, The Mycenaean Origin of Greek Mythology, Vol. eight (Berkeley, California: University of California Press, 1972) p. 53-54.24 Martin P. Nilsson, p. 54.

would seem that the Chimaera is older but with source confusion, we cannot tell for

sure.

The third character of the mythical

monsters has a lineage from Echidna and

Typhon, but not directly. The Sphinx or

Sphix as she is sometimes called, was born from the Chimaera and the two-headed

dog, Orthus.25 According to Apollodorus, she had the face of a woman, and the

breasts, feet, and tail of a lion, and the wings of a bird.26 The myth behind her deals

with the Theban tragic hero Oedipus. According to the myth, the Sphinx was sent to

Thebes to curse its people. She was told a riddle by the Muses, and she then perched

herself near the main road to Thebes. She would ask everyone who passed her the

riddle, and if you could not answer the riddle, the Sphinx devoured you. Thebes

closed its gates entirely and soon the city fell under a famine. However, Oedipus was

on his way to Thebes and was approached by the Sphinx. The Sphinx asked him the

25 Hesiod, p. 29.26 Apollodorus, p. 347.

Figure 5: Oedipus and the Sphinx

riddle, and Oedipus answered the riddle correctly. Shocked and heart wrenched at

her failure, the Sphinx threw herself from the cliff and died.27

Upon the analysis of the symbolism of the Sphinx and its origin, Paul Diel has

a definite theory in place. He believes that the Sphinx represents perverse

domination and dissolute living. This image is the very banal image we see from

some pictures as the Kiss of the Sphinx by Franz von Stuck.28 The Sphinx comes from

Egypt, however in Greece, the Sphinx is given wings. These wings are not like the

Pegasus wings however, and cannot be used for flight.29 We find that actually most

of the winged creatures come from Persian or Babylonian artwork. For example, we

find winged bull statues outside of the palaces of the Assyrian kings. As for its main

origin within the Oedipus story does not seem to come from Greece, but far away

from the Aegean. We find a similar story originating from Burma. The story is

strikingly similar, however instead of a Sphinx giving the dread riddle, it was a

queen who made love to a dragon. The young man who answers the riddle correctly

marries the queen and they have blind children.30 It seems strange how similar this

tale is to the Oedipus tale of Sophocles. It is also very important however, to note the

great importance of the Sphinx and her riddle. The riddle asks: What animal walks

on four feet in the morning, two feet at noon, and three feet in the evening? Oedipus

answers the riddle: a man. It is significant to see that the irony is that man is thus

considered an animal. It is also significant to see that Oedipus himself is the “man” in

27 Apollodorus, p. 349.28 Thomas Bulfinch, Myths of Greece and Rome (New York, New York: Penguin Books, 1987).29 Paul Diel, p. 130.30 Lowell Edmunds, "Oedipus in Burma," The Classical World (Classical Association of the Atlantic States) 90, no. 1 (Sep.-Oct. 1996): 15-22.

the riddle. When he meets the Sphinx, he is walking on three feet: his two feet, and

his crutch due to his lame foot. Therefore, the Sphinx creates the notion of “to solve

the riddle” being synonymous with the adage “Know thyself”.31

As for the age of our winged Egyptian beast, we can see different dates for

literature and artwork as well. In Aeschylus’ Hepta, there is a mentioning of

Oedipus’ confrontation with the Sphinx, which seems to be our earliest recollection

in literature of the Greek Sphinx. There have been discoveries of pottery that dates

back to 530 B.C. which shows the Sphinx speaking to a man sitting in a chair.32 This

could possibly be our earliest visual of the “Sphinx’s Riddle” in the Oedipus myth. All

in all however, the Sphinx still remains to be a pivotal character in not only the

Oedipus tale, but by association also is important in the tales of Theban history as

well.

31 Paul Diel, p. 133.32 Timothy Gantz, Early Greek Myth, Vol. 2, 2 vols. (Baltimore, Maryland: The John Hopkins University Press, 1993).

The fifth monster I will use for analysis is Medusa, the Gorgon. Medusa was

one of the Gorgons, or sisters begot from the sea gods Phorcys and Ceto. There were

three different sisters: Sthenno, Euryale, and Medusa, who among her sisters was

the only mortal. She was said to have laid down with the sea god Poseidon in a

flowery meadow.33 Apollodorus gives us a better description of the Gorgons. He

states that the Gorgons had heads entwined with scales of dragons (serpents), and

great tusks like swine’s, and brazen hands, and golden wings, by which they flew. He

also states that they could turn anyone who beheld them into stone.34 The hero tale

that incorporates the Gorgons and Medusa is the myth regarding Perseus. Perseus

was a hero from as far back as Mycenaean times, in Argive legends. Perseus was the

son of Zeus and the princess of Argos, Danae. Perseus was sent by a king to retrieve

33 Hesiod, p. 25.34 Apollodorus, p. 157.

Figure 6: Decapitation of Medusa

the head of Medusa the Gorgon. In order to find the island of the Gorgons, Perseus

must first ask the three grey wise women where the island is. After he tricks the

women, he flies to the island of the Gorgons (via Hermes’ winged sandals). It is there

that Athena aids Perseus in killing Medusa and taking her head.35 We do not gather a

true reason for Medusa’s hideous disfigurement until later writers like Ovid give us

some reasoning. Ovid states that Medusa was originally a beautiful maiden who had

many different suitors at her every beck and call. She was however, violated by

Poseidon in the shrine of Athena. Due to this sacrilege, Athena transformed the

maiden’s hair into serpents, and made anyone who looked at her turn to stone.36 Her

powers were so strong that even after her death, she was still feared. During his

final labor, Herakles is said to have seen Medusa and in fear drew his sword to kill

the monster, but is told by Hermes’ that he need not fear her, for she is only an

empty shadow.37 This also seems to show her comparison to the hound Cerberus in

two manners: First, they are both seen as guards of the Underworld (Even Dante

makes Medusa a guard of one of his circles), and the second is that they both are

given the power of petrifying their victims.38

According to artwork that scholars have discovered, the tale of the Gorgon’s

head seems to go as far back as the seventh century B.C. We get this information

from the decapitation of the Gorgon on two Boiotian relief pithoi. However, on only

one pithoi is the image of Medusa preserved, but both show Perseus averting his

35 Apollodorus, p. 159.36 Ovid, p. 131-132.37 Apollodorus, p. 235.38 John Heath, 353-370.

gaze, a sign of the Gorgon’s power.39 The earliest sure source that we have of the

Gorgon tale comes from Hesiod’s Theogony. This is however, not the only account

that has been found, which I have shown up above. There are also sources from

Pherekydes and Apollodorus that state the tale of the Gorgons as well.40 Of course, it

is not Medusa that seems to be remembered constantly, but her severed head that is

remembered. It was said that Medusa’s head was taken by Athena and fastened to

her aegis.

It is interesting to see that some scholars believe that originally the “Gorgon

masks” were not meant to represent the Gorgons or Medusa, but actually meant to

represent Phobos or some male demon.41 Also, some scholars believe that the story

of the Gorgon is strictly a Mediterranean tale, and seems to have originated from the

concept of cephalopods and that since it takes place near the seas, or greatly deals

with sea travel then it is safe to call it a sea-story.42 These scholars seem to equate

the early archaic art forms of the Gorgon as not having snakes in her hair, but to be

surrounded by tentacles. In other words, she is seen as the octopus of the

Mediterranean, with its baleful gaze. It also seems that the artwork must have been

a large aid to the later writings of poets. It could possibly be that Medusa’s image

changed due to some misinterpretation of her figure (such as the snake hair, which

Hesiod makes no mention of). It also seems that the ancients used the Gorgon’s head

39 Timothy Gantz, Early Greek Myth, Vol. 1, 2 vols. (Baltimore, Maryland: The John Hopkins University Press, 1993).40 Timothy Gantz, p. 304-306.41 Lillian M. Wilson, "Contributions of Greek Art to the Medusa Myth," American Journal of Archaeology (Archaeological Institute of America) 24, no. 3 (Jul.-Sep. 1920): 232-240.42 F. T. Elworthy, "A Solution of the Gorgon Myth," Folklore (Taylor & Francis, Ltd.) 14, no. 3 (Sep. 1903): 212-242.

as a means of protected themselves from the “Evil Eye”.43 The Gorgoneion, or

Gorgon’s head, was said to be the most widely used decoration on Etruscan tombs.

The final conclusion of these scholars is that first of all, the hideous face of the

octopus was personified into a human face, and then after a period of time, it

changed into a face of beauty. Next, the tentacles turned into snakes, first appearing

under the chin, and then upon the head. Finally, the tentacles appeared without the

face to create ornamental designs.44 It is clear to see from all this evidence that

Medusa was and still remains of great importance to the Greek peoples. We only

need to look at the flag of Sicily to see her beautiful face. Also, as Perseus’ antagonist

in his myth, she plays a prominent role in the idea of Mycenaean prowess. Perseus is

seen as an extremely important hero to the Mycenaeans, and so by association,

Medusa plays a prevalent role in early Greek history.

It can be easily seen from these different monsters, that the Greeks even took

most of their inspiration for tales from mainly the Near Eastern civilizations, but

generally from other civilizations. This is not to say that they are original, for

civilization after civilization may have different tales, but many of the same

meanings are present within the myths. We find that these civilizations create these

monsters as a means of explaining what they are. Stories are created to explain the

main reasoning for a volcano eruption (Typhoeus and Chimaera), and countless

other explanations. It makes up for the lack of science and logic that early Greeks

possessed. It cannot even be said if the early sophists could explain these

43 F. T. Elworthy, 212-242.44 F. T. Elworthy, 212-242.

phenonmenons, other than the use of a large beast or creature. What we must ask

ourselves is whether the reasoning behind these monster tales deals with possible

archeological findings of the ancients. Possibly some of these early poets had heard

of large bones being discovered, and wished to ease their reader’s minds by creating

a story behind these findings. From there they could easily use their imaginations to

create a surplus of classic tales for the ancient world. These mythic monsters must

also help us realize that we too have myths for things we cannot explain extremely

well. For example, thunder is equated to angels bowling in the sky, and rain, God’s

tears. We have the same concepts of explanation, and if that seems to not be enough

for example, then we can look at our own mythical monsters. We create myths about

creatures like Sasquatch or the Abominable Snowman. We find specialists searching

constantly for these creatures and we find stories and legends about them all over.

To take from Native American legends, we see a character of such in the Wendigo.

The Wendigo is a large nature beast that lives in the mountains and woods of

nature. Possibly this is a modern explanation of Abominable Snowmen, or Yetis. The

truth of the matter is, whether you are Greek, Roman, Hittite, Ammorite, Canadian,

American, British, French, what have you, each culture uses the same concept to

explain what we cannot comprehend well. We are all similar in this manner. We all

end up borrowing old legends and adding our own twists to make them our own.

However, this ultimately leads to the question: What actually is original nowadays?

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