THE MONSTROUS CREATURES OF GREEK TRADITION
by Major General (Ret.) K. H. Konstantinidis
a. Aegis
Her mother was Earth. She was a fearsome monster that breathed flames from her mouth and lightning from her nostrils. She wandered throughout the known world—Syria, Palestine, Persia, India, Egypt, Libya, and Hesperia—and burned forests and fields.
When Aegis reached the Kerauneia Mountains of Epirus and laid waste to the surrounding lands, Athena intervened and killed her. She made a breastplate from her skin, thereby becoming invincible against all her opponents.
b. Campe
There were two man-eating monster-beasts by this name. One Campe was the guardian of the Cyclopes in Tartarus and was killed by Zeus. The other lived in Libya and was killed by Dionysus.
c. Echidna
A beast, half serpent from the waist down and half exceptionally beautiful woman, daughter of Phorcys. She lived in a cave in Syria and was immortal. With Typhon, she gave birth to the following monsters.
d. Orthrus
A serpent-bodied creature with many heads that guarded the herds of Geryon. Heracles killed him.
e. The Colchian Dragon
A serpent-like beast that guarded the Golden Fleece.
f. The Dragon of the Hesperides
It guarded the Golden Apples in the land of the Hesperides.
g. The Nemean Lion
An invincible lion that devoured humans and animals. Heracles killed it.
h. The Lernaean Hydra
A savage beast with one hundred heads that lived in the marshes of Lerna, near Argos. Heracles killed it.
i. The Chimera
A beast that sometimes had two heads, those of a goat and a lion, and at other times took the form of a serpent with a lion’s head. Bellerophon killed it.
j. Cerberus
The dog that guarded the entrance to Hades so that the living could not enter. He had three dog heads, a dragon’s tail, and serpent heads sprouted from his back.
Heracles descended into Hades, fought him, defeated him, and brought him before Eurystheus, who sent him back to the Underworld.
k. The Sphinx
A female monster that lived on Mount Phicium, near Thebes in Boeotia. She had the body of a lion with wings and the face of a woman.
The goddess Hera sent her to Thebes to punish its inhabitants. The Sphinx asked passers-by:
“What creature has four legs in the morning, two at noon, and three in the evening?”
The Sphinx threw herself from the mountain when Oedipus solved the riddle.
l. The Gorgons
They had a terrifying female appearance, with snakes on their heads instead of hair, which coiled around their bodies, golden wings, tusks, and iron hands. Whoever looked directly at them was turned to stone.
They were called Stheno, whose name signified great strength; Euryale, associated with the broad sea; and Medusa, who was mortal and the companion of Poseidon. She lived in Hesperia.
Most of the Medusas were exterminated by the Libyan Amazons, at the request of the Atlanteans, who still lived in North Africa.
The immortal Gorgons were exterminated by Heracles III, while Perseus killed Medusa. Atlas saw the dead eyes of Medusa and was turned into a mountain.
Around 25,000–20,000 BC, the sons of Atlas, the Greek-Atlanteans, inhabited Hesperia and named the continent Atlantis.
m. The Petrified Dragon
A serpent raised by Heracles that helped him kill the Nemean Lion. It followed Heracles to Thebes and remained at Aulis.
After appearing among the expeditionary force sent to Troy, it turned to stone.
n. The Dragon of the Castalian Spring
It had three rows of teeth, three tongues, and flames came from its eyes. This dragon was killed by Cadmus.
Following Athena’s advice, he sowed its teeth, and warriors immediately sprang from the ground.
o. The Bull of Marathon
Poseidon sent it to Attica to punish Athens because the Athenians had failed to give the city his name.
p. The Minotaur
The son of the Bull of Marathon and Pasiphae, or, according to another version, the son of Minos and Pasiphae.
He had the head of a bull and the body of a man. He was imprisoned in the Labyrinth of Knossos in Crete, which Daedalus built in the palace of Minos.
Theseus killed him with the help of Ariadne.
q. Python of Apollo
A serpent, guardian of Delphi.
r. Pegasus
A winged horse, child of Poseidon and Medusa.
s. The Stymphalian Birds
Large birds that shot arrows with their iron feathers. They lived at Lake Stymphalia and were regarded as beasts of the region of Stymphalus. Heracles killed some of them and drove the others away.
t. The Cyclopes
Titans, sons of Uranus and Gaia. They were smiths and craftsmen who forged Zeus’s thunderbolts and the weapons of the gods.
Brontes symbolized thunder, Steropes lightning, and Arges the thunderbolt.
The Cyclopes in Homer’s Odyssey were giant, savage humanoids with one eye and immense strength. They were solitary shepherds, like the one whom Odysseus blinded in order to free his companions.
Hand-Bellied Cyclopes
They were brothers of the Heavenly Cyclopes and were considered indigenous inhabitants. They constructed enormous walls and cities from huge stone blocks, the famous Cyclopean Walls.
Such walls can be found in Argos, Mycenae, Tiryns, the Dragon Houses of Euboea, and elsewhere.
u. Centaurs
They had the body and arms of a horse and the head of a human. They were the children of Ixion. They were wild monsters that fed on raw meat and destroyed the fields.
The Centaur Pholus was of good character, while Chiron possessed human characteristics because he was wise; he was the son of Cronus and Philyra. He had a school on Mount Pelion, where he taught, among other subjects, medicine.
v. Telchines
They were craftsmen who taught human beings how to carve statues. They were skilled in magic and knew how to bring hail, snow, and rain.
w. Curetes or Corybantes and the Idaean Dactyls
They discovered metals and benefited the human race.
x. The Sirens
Monsters who, according to tradition, were born from the river god Achelous and Sterope.
They had the hands and head of a woman, the body and wings of a bird, and the breast and legs of a vulture with enormous claws. They possessed melodious voices. With their sweet, enchanting songs, they bewitched and seduced sailors, luring them toward them.
Only Odysseus escaped, as related in the Odyssey. They were regarded as guardians of the Underworld and as goddesses of love and death.
They included Himeropa, who awakens longing; Thelxiepeia, the enchantress; Aglaope, with the magnificent voice; Parthenope, the maiden; Leucosia, the white goddess; and others.
y. Harpies
They resembled the Sirens. The word “Harpy” is associated with the storm and the whirlwind.
They were predatory, winged spirits and servants of Zeus. Aello, or Aellopus, had feet as swift as the wind. Ocypete, Ocythoe, or Ocyponde, had swift feet and powerful flight, while Celaeno was the dark one.
The Harpies were defeated by the winged sons of Boreas, Calais and Zetes, when the Harpies were tormenting the old man Phineus. They fled to Crete and hid beneath a cave.
The names of the Greek monsters are well known and internationally established, and they are used in literature as symbols. Greek Mythology is an ideal book for the education and cultivation of the human being, but also for the reflection it inspires on life and humanity.
Major General (Ret.) Konstantinos Konstantinidis
Author – Member of the Society of Greek Writers
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