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Greek Mythology Notes

Psophia

🏛 placeΨωφίς
geography

An Arcadian mountain city associated with Echidna's grave and various obscure heroic genealogies.‍​‌​‌​‌​‌​‌​‌​‍​‍​‍​‍​‍​‌​‌​‍​‍​‍​‌​‍​‌​‌​‌​‍​‌​‌​‍​‌​‌​‍​‍​‌​‌

The Story of Psophia

Psophia was a small city in northwestern Arcadia whose mythological claims included the tomb of Echi‍​‌​‌​‌​‌​‌​‌​‍​‍​‍​‍​‍​‌​‌​‍​‍​‍​‌​‍​‌​‌​‌​‍​‌​‌​‍​‌​‌​‍​‍​‌​‌dna — the "mother of monsters," half-woman and half-serpent, who was the mother of the Lernaean Hydra, the Nemean Lion, Cerberus, Chimera, and others. According to some traditions, Echidna was not slain but slept eternally, and the hundred-eyed Argus kept watch over her cave to prevent her from rising. Psophia also preserved traditions about Alcmaeon, the hero who killed his mother Eriphyle and wandered purification-seeking — one of the Peloponnese's less celebrated but persistent mythological figures.

Parents

{Typhon,Ceto or Echidna}

Children

{Echidna (grave here)}

Symbols

serpentmountaincavegrave marker

Fun Fact

Pausanias mentions Echidna's tomb at Psophia as a genuine local tourist attraction — the Greeks took pride in possessing the burial places of monsters as proof of divine cleansing.

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