Colchian Bulls
Fire-breathing bronze bulls belonging to Aeëtes, king of Colchis, which Jason was required to yoke as the first task in his quest for the Golden Fleece.
The Myth of Colchian Bulls
Aeëtes of Colchis set Jason three impossible tasks before he would relinquish the Golden Fleece. The first was to yoke his fire-breathing bronze bulls and plough a field with them. The bulls breathed jets of flame, their hooves were bronze, and they were ordinarily untameable. Without the help of Medea — who had fallen in love with Jason and gave him a magical ointment that made him impervious to fire and impossible to wound — the task would have been fatal. Jason rubbed himself with the ointment, seized the bulls by their horns, forced them to the yoke, and ploughed the field. The bulls are related to the Khalkotauroi (bronze bulls of Hephaestus) and appear in Apollonius of Rhodes' Argonautica as among the most terrifying creatures Jason faced.
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Hephaestus (crafted by)
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Khalkotauroi
🐉 creatureautomaton, Colchis
The fire-breathing bronze bulls of King Aeëtes that Jason was required to yoke as a condition for winning the Golden Fleece.
Ophiotaurus
🐉 creaturehybrid creatures
A creature half bull and half serpent whose entrails, if burned, could grant power to overthrow the gods
Cretan Bull
🐉 creaturelabour, Crete
The magnificent bull sent by Poseidon to Minos that became the father of the Minotaur, later captured by Heracles as his seventh labour.
Catoblepas
🐉 creaturebeasts
A heavy-headed bull-like beast from Ethiopia whose downward gaze could kill
Talos
🐉 creatureBronze automaton guardian of Crete
Talos was a giant man made of bronze who guarded Crete by running around the island three times daily, hurling boulders at approaching ships.
Nemean Lion
🐉 creatureInvulnerable beast of Nemea
The Nemean Lion was a monstrous lion with an impenetrable golden hide that no weapon could pierce — the first of Heracles' twelve labours.
Minotaur's Labyrinth
🐉 creatureBull-headed man of the Labyrinth
The Minotaur was a creature with the body of a man and the head of a bull, born from Pasiphaë's unnatural union with the Cretan Bull, imprisoned in the Labyrinth.
Chimera
🐉 creatureFire-breathing hybrid monster
A fire-breathing monster with a lion's head, a goat's body, and a serpent's tail. The Chimera terrorized Lycia until Bellerophon slew it from the back of Pegasus.
Minotaur
🐉 creatureBull-headed monster of the Labyrinth
A monster with the body of a man and the head of a bull, imprisoned in the Labyrinth beneath Crete. The Minotaur was fed Athenian youths until Theseus slew it.
Erymanthian Boar
🐉 creatureGiant boar of Mount Erymanthos
The Erymanthian Boar was a gigantic wild boar that ravaged the lands around Mount Erymanthos in Arcadia — the fourth labour of Heracles.
Talos
🐉 creatureBronze giant automaton of Crete
A giant bronze automaton built by Hephaestus to guard the island of Crete. Talos circled the island three times daily, hurling boulders at approaching ships.
Gryphon
🐉 creaturebeasts
Eagle-headed lion guardians of Scythian gold who waged eternal war against the one-eyed Arimaspi