MYTHOLOGICAL MONSTERSMYTHOLOGICAL MONSTERS

Basilisk Basilisk The antique Romans called him "regulus" or littleking, not only because of his crown, but because he terrorized all other creatures with his deadly look and poison. His color was yellow, sometimes with a kind of blackish hue. Plinius mentioned a white spot on his head, which could be misinterpreted as a diadem or a crown. Others speak of three spikes on his forehead.

Regarding his dangerousness rural legends distinguishes three main types. All three had a deadly breath, which could even make rocks crumble.•The golden basilisk poisoned everything by his mere look.•The evil-eye basilisk terrorized and killed every creature by his third eye on the top of a golden head.•The sanguineness basilisk sting made the flesh fall off the bones of his victim

CentaursCentaurs

Centaurs were creatures that were part human and part horse. The centaurs were descendants of Centaurus, a son of the music god Apollo. Most centaurs were governed by the bestial half of their double nature. Their behavior was uncouth, and a very small amount of wine drove them wild. Two famous centaurs were Nessus, who ferried Hercules’ wife across a raging stream, and Chiron, who tutored Hercules and Jason.

CerberusCerberus

Cerberus was the three-headed watchdog who guarded the entrance to the Underworld. It parents were the giant Typhon and the monstrous Echidna. Originally, the dog was portrayed having fifty or hundred heads but was later pictured with only three heads and sometimes with the tail of a serpent. Cerberus permitted new spirits to enter the realm of dead, but allowed none of them to leave. Only a few ever managed to sneak past the creature, among which Orpheus, who lulled it to sleep by playing his lyre, and Heracles, who brought it to the land of the living for a while as the last of his Twelve Labors. In Roman mythology, the Trojan prince Aeneas and Psyche were able to pacify it with honey cake.

CharybdisCharybdis Charybdis was a sea Charybdis was a sea

monster, a whirlpool, monster, a whirlpool, that was located that was located across from Scylla, in across from Scylla, in a narrow channel a narrow channel associated today with associated today with the Strait of Messina. the Strait of Messina. She lived under a rock She lived under a rock and devoured ships and devoured ships that tried to pass that tried to pass through her swirling through her swirling waters. Today, if you waters. Today, if you find yourself in a find yourself in a difficult situation, you difficult situation, you are said to be between are said to be between ‘‘Scylla and Charybdis.Scylla and Charybdis.’’

ChimeraChimera

The Chimera was a fire-breathing monster, depicted as an animal with the head of a lion, the body of a she-goat, and the tail of a dragon/serpent, sometimes it had multiple heads. It was a child of Typhon and Echidna. It terrorized Lycia in Asia Minor, but was eventually killed by the Corinthian hero Bellerophon.

CyclopesCyclopesThe Cyclops were the three sons: Arges, Brontes, and Steropes, of Uranus and Gaea. They were giant beings with a single, round eye in the middle of their foreheads. They helped Zeus defeat their brother, Cronus, by forging lightning bolts. They also made Poseidon’s trident and Hades invisibility cap. Polyphemus was the one-eyed Cyclops encountered by Odysseus on his way home to Ithaca.

Griffin/GryphonGriffin/Gryphon

The gryphon is a legendary creature with the body, tail, and back legs of a lion; the head and wings of an eagle; and an eagle’s talons at its front feet. Because the lion was traditionally considered the king of beasts and the eagle considered the king of the birds, the griffin was thought to be an especially majestic figure. Griffins were thought to be the king of all creatures. They’re also known for guarding treasure and priceless possessions.

HarpiesHarpies

In earlier versions of Greek myth, Harpies were described as beautiful, winged maidens. Later they became winged monsters with the face of an ugly old woman and equipped with crooked, sharp talons. They were represented carrying off persons to the underworld and inflicting punishment or tormenting them. Those persons were never seen again. They robbed the food from Phineus but were driven away by Calais and Zetes, the Boreads,and since then they lived on the Strophades. Celaeno cursed Aeneas and the Trojans and said that they would be forced to eat their tables. The Harpies were probably the personification of storm winds. Their names were Aello, Celaeno, and Ocypete.

Hippocampus Hippocampus

The Hippocampus is commonly associated with the Greek god of the The Hippocampus is commonly associated with the Greek god of the ocean - Poseidon. The Hippocampus has the top half of a horse ocean - Poseidon. The Hippocampus has the top half of a horse including head neck and forelegs and the lower part of a fish, a dolphin including head neck and forelegs and the lower part of a fish, a dolphin or in some rare cases a serpent. Therefore the Hippocampus is literally or in some rare cases a serpent. Therefore the Hippocampus is literally a sea-horse. a sea-horse.

Poseidon was the god of horses as well as the god of the sea and Poseidon was the god of horses as well as the god of the sea and earthquakes. Many Hippocampi were needed to draw the chariot of earthquakes. Many Hippocampi were needed to draw the chariot of the sea of Poseidon. Homer describes Poseidon as driving a chariot the sea of Poseidon. Homer describes Poseidon as driving a chariot pulled by brazen-hoofed horses across the sea. According to one tale pulled by brazen-hoofed horses across the sea. According to one tale when the city of Helike was submerged by an earthquake the when the city of Helike was submerged by an earthquake the Hippocampi swam free above the city and pulled on the lines of Hippocampi swam free above the city and pulled on the lines of fisherman's rods. The Hippocampus are also the mounts for the fisherman's rods. The Hippocampus are also the mounts for the Nerieds and spiritual beings.Nerieds and spiritual beings.

HydraHydra

The Hydra, which lived in the swamps near Lerna, was a terrifying monster that was the offspring of Echidna and Typhon. The Hydra had the body of a serpent and many heads, the number of heads deviating from five up to one hundred. Many versions of the tale accept nine heads as standard, which could never be harmed by any weapon. If any of the heads were severed, another would grow in its place; in some versions two would grow. Also the stench from the Hydra's breath or its deadly venom was enough to kill man or beast. With the help of his nephew Iolaus, Hercules killed the Hydra by chopping off its heads and then cauterizing the necks with fire.

MedusaMedusaOne of the Gorgons, and the only one who was mortal. Her gaze could turn whoever she looked upon to stone. There is a particular myth in which Medusa was originally a beautiful maiden. She desecrated Athena's temple by lying there with Poseidon. Outraged, Athena turned Medusa's hair into living snakes. Medusa was killed by the hero Perseus with the help of Athena and Hermes. He killed her by cutting of her head and gave it to Athena, who placed it in the center of her Aegis, which she wore over her breastplate. From Medusa's dead body the giant Chrysaor and the winged horse Pegasus, her son by Poseidon, sprang forth.

MinotaurMinotaur

The minotaur was half man and half bull, the offspring of King Minos’ wife, Pasiphae and Zeus. The minotaur caused such destruction on the island of Crete that Minos summoned Daedalus to build a labyrinth to imprison the creature. With the help of a ball of thread given to him by Minos’ daughter, princess Ariadne, the Athenian hero Theseus killed the minotaur.

Pan/Faunus/SatyrPan/Faunus/SatyrPan, known to the Romans as Faunus, was a god of shepherds and flocks. Pan was the son of Hermes and a nymph. He was born with the legs and horns of a goat, which caused his own mother to spurn him. Echo ran away from him and lost her voice as a consequence, being condemned only to repeat the words of others. Another fleeing nymph was transformed into a reed, which inspired Pan to invent the shepherd's pipe of bound reeds of varying lengths. Pan was considered to be the cause of the sudden fear that sometimes comes for no reason, especially in lonely places. That's why it's called "panic".

PegasusPegasus

Pegasus was the winged horse that was fathered by Poseidon with Medusa. When Perseus cut off Medusa’s head, the horse sprang forth from her severed neck. Bellerophon was able to capture the horse by using a golden bridle, a gift from Athena. The gods then gave him Pegasus for killing the monster Chimera, but when he attempted to mount the horse it threw him off and rose to the heavens, where it became a constellation. In another version, Bellerophon killed the Chimera while riding on Pegasus, and when he later attempted to ride to the summit of Mount Olympus, Zeus sent a gadfly to sting the horse, and it threw Bellerophon off its back.

ScyllaScylla

Scylla was a sea monster who lived underneath a dangerous rock at one side of the Strait of Messina, opposite the whirlpool Charybdis. Originally Scylla had been a nymph, the daughter of Phorcys. The fisherman-turned-sea-god Glaucus fell in love with her, but she fled from him. He went to the sorceress Circe to ask for a love potion to melt Scylla's heart, but Circe herself fell in love with him. She wooed him, but the sea-god spurned her. Circe was angry, but with Scylla and not with Glaucus. She prepared a vial of poison and poured it in the pool where Scylla bathed. As soon as the nymph entered the water she was transformed into a monster with twelve feet and six heads, each with three rows of teeth. Below the waist her body was made up of hideous monsters, like dogs, who barked unceasingly. She stood there in utter misery, unable to move, destroying everything that came into her reach, a peril to all sailors who passed near her. Whenever a ship passed, each of her heads would seize one of the crew.

SirensSirens The Sirens were half-women and The Sirens were half-women and

half-birdlike creatures who lured half-birdlike creatures who lured men with their beautiful singing men with their beautiful singing onto a rocky coast where they onto a rocky coast where they shipwrecked. Odysseus had his shipwrecked. Odysseus had his men put wax in his ears and tie men put wax in his ears and tie him to his mast to get past the him to his mast to get past the Sirens. Jason and the Argonauts Sirens. Jason and the Argonauts also had an encounter with the also had an encounter with the Sirens.Sirens.

The Sphinx, a demon of death, destruction and bad luck, was the offspring of Typhon and Echidna. It was a female creature, sometimes depicted as a winged lion with a feminine head, and sometimes as a female with the breast, paws and claws of a lion, a snake tail and bird wings. She sat on a high rock near Thebes and posed a riddle to all who passed. The riddle was: "What animal is that which in the morning goes on four feet, at noon on two, and in the evening upon three?" Those who could not solve the riddle were strangled by her. Finally Oedipus came along and he was the only who could answer that it was "Man.” The Sphinx was so mortified at the solving of her riddle that she cast herself down from the rock and perished. The name 'sphinx' is derived from the Greek sphingo, which means "to strangle".

SphinxSphinx

ArgusArgusArgus was from Arcadia and was reputed to have either four eyes, two in front and two in the back of his head, or up to a hundred eyes all over his body. Hera asked Argus keep an eye on Io, a cow who had once been a young priestess with whom Zeus had fallen in love. Argus was to let Hera know if Zeus came near, but Zeus told Hermes to snatch Io away. Hermes resorted to a clever trick. Disguising himself as a shepherd, he bored Argus with long-winded stories, lulling him to sleep by playing tunes on a shepherd's pipe. In another version, Hermes killed Argus by casting a stone at him.

GeryonGeryonThe monstrous beast Geryon was the son of Chrysaor. He had three bodies, six arms, six legs and three heads and his appearance was that of a warrior. He lived on Erytheia, a mythical island far to the west. Geryon was the owner of huge herds of cattle, and they were protected by the herdsman Eurythion and the two-headed watch-dog Orthrus.Eurystheus for his tenth labor, gave Heracles the task of bringing back the cattle, which belonged to Geryon. Heracles killed the watch-dog and the herdman with a club and then killed Geryon with his bow and arrows.

The FatesThe Fates

The Fates, or Moirae, were the goddesses who controlled the destiny of everyone from the time they were born to the time they died. They were: Clotho, the spinner, who spun the thread of a person's life, Lachesis, the apportioner, who decided how much time was to be allowed each person, and Atropos, the inevitable, who cut the thread when you were supposed to die. Even though the other gods were almighty, and supposedly immortal, even Hera had reason to fear them. All were subject to the whims of the Fates.

The Furies/ErinyesThe Furies/Erinyes

The three Furies were The three Furies were goddesses of punishment goddesses of punishment and retribution. These and retribution. These daughters of Uranus and daughters of Uranus and Gaea were named Alecto, Gaea were named Alecto, Megara and Tisiphone. Megara and Tisiphone. They lived in the They lived in the Underworld and ascended Underworld and ascended to earth to pursue the to earth to pursue the wicked, making them ill or wicked, making them ill or driving them mad. They driving them mad. They were depicted as ugly, were depicted as ugly, winged women, the ancient winged women, the ancient equivalent of avengers.equivalent of avengers.

The GracesThe GracesThe Charities, or Graces, are the personifications of charm and beauty in nature and in human life. They love all things beautiful and bestow talent upon mortals. Together with the Muses they serve as sources of inspiration in poetry and the arts. Originally, they were goddesses of fertility and nature, closely associated with the underworld and the Eleusinian mysteries. Aglaea ("Splendor") is the youngest of the Graces and is sometimes represented as the wife of Hephaestus. The other Graces are Euphrosyne ("Mirth") and Thalia ("Good Cheer"). They are usually considered the daughters of Zeus and Eurynome, or Dionysus and Aphrodite. According to Homer the Graces belonged to the retinue of Aphrodite.

The MusesThe Muses

The Greek goddesses who presided over the arts and sciences. They were believed to inspire all artists, especially poets, philosophers, and musicians. The Muses were the daughters of Zeus and Mnemosyne, the goddess of memory. Usually there is mention of nine muses: Calliope (epic poetry), Clio (history), Erato (lyric poetry), Euterpe (music), Melpomene (tragedy), Polyhymnia (sacred hymn), Terpsichore (dance), Thalia (comedy), and Urania (astronomy).

NereidsNereids

The Nereids are the fifty daughters of Nereus and Doris who dwell in the Mediterranean Sea. These beautiful women were always friendly and helpful towards sailors fighting perilous storms. They are believed to be able to prophesize. They belong to the retinue of Poseidon.