Echidna
Echidna was half woman, half serpent — called the Mother of All Monsters for bearing the most fearsome creatures of Greek mythology.
The Myth of Echidna
Echidna was half beautiful woman and half serpent, dwelling in a cave beneath the earth. With her mate Typhon, she produced the most terrifying monsters of Greek mythology: Cerberus, the three-headed guardian of Hades; the Hydra, slain by Heracles at Lerna; the Chimera, killed by Bellerophon riding Pegasus; the Sphinx that terrorised Thebes; Orthrus, the two-headed hound of Geryon; and Ladon, the dragon guarding the golden apples. She also bore the Colchian Dragon that guarded the Golden Fleece, and the Nemean Lion strangled by Heracles. Hesiod called her "impossible to overcome and beyond description." While Typhon was imprisoned beneath Mount Etna by Zeus, Echidna survived — the mother of monsters, eternally breeding new terrors.
Children
Hydra, Chimera, Cerberus, Sphinx, Nemean Lion, Ladon
Symbols
Fun Fact
Australia's echidna (spiny anteater) takes its name from this monster — early naturalists saw its spiny body as serpent-like.
Words We Inherited
English words and phrases that trace back to this myth. See our full guide to English words from Greek mythology.
Explore Further
Typhon
🐉 creatureFather of all monsters
The most fearsome monster in Greek mythology, who challenged Zeus for supremacy of the cosmos. Typhon was the father of many of mythology's most dangerous creatures.
Campe
🐉 creaturemonsters
Campe was the monstrous she-dragon who guarded the Cyclopes in Tartarus — her death gave Zeus the thunderbolt that won the war against the Titans.
Typhon
🐉 creatureMost powerful monster who challenged Zeus
Typhon was the most fearsome monster in Greek mythology — a giant with serpent heads who nearly overthrew Zeus and would have ruled the cosmos.
Sybaris
🐉 creaturemonsters
A monstrous serpent-dragon that terrorised the region around Delphi until slain by a young hero
Ceto
🐉 creatureSea, monsters
Primordial sea goddess known as the Mother of Monsters who bore many of the most fearsome creatures in Greek myth
Sphinx
🐉 creatureRiddling monster with a lion body and human head
A creature with the body of a lion, wings of an eagle, and head of a woman. The Sphinx terrorized Thebes with her deadly riddle until Oedipus solved it.
Lamia
🐉 creatureChild-devouring queen turned monster
Lamia was a beautiful queen of Libya whom Zeus loved; when Hera killed her children in jealousy, Lamia was driven mad and became a child-snatching monster.
Delphyne
🐉 creaturedragons
A she-dragon who guarded Zeus's severed sinews in the Corycian Cave
Sphinx
🐉 creatureRiddler and strangler of Thebes
The Greek Sphinx was a winged monster with the head of a woman and the body of a lion who posed a deadly riddle to all who approached Thebes.
Krataiis
🐉 creatureSea, terror
Sea goddess or nymph identified as the mother of the terrifying six-headed monster Scylla
Ophiotaurus
🐉 creaturehybrid creatures
A creature half bull and half serpent whose entrails, if burned, could grant power to overthrow the gods
Hydra
🐉 creatureMulti-headed serpent of Lerna
A monstrous water serpent with multiple heads that grew two more whenever one was cut off. Slaying the Hydra was Heracles's second labor.