Sybaris

Sybaris lived in a cave on Mount Kirphis near Delphi and preyed on the surrounding countryside. She was a lamia-like creature — serpentine, enormous, insatiable — who snatched livestock and occasionally people. The locals could not kill her and eventually accepted her presence as a permanent tax on their existence.

Then the oracle demanded more. A youth named Alcyoneus (not the giant — the name was common) was selected for sacrifice, to be delivered to Sybaris's cave as tribute. He was young, beautiful, and doomed. The community dressed him in ceremonial garments and led him up the mountain.

But Eurybatos, a Locrian hero who happened to be in the region, saw the procession and was moved by the youth's courage. He volunteered to take Alcyoneus's place — or in some versions, simply accompanied him to the cave.

When Sybaris emerged, Eurybatos seized her by the head and hurled her from the cliff face. She struck the rocks below and a spring burst from the point of impact. The spring was named Sybaris, and the creature was dead.

The colony of Sybaris in southern Italy was named after this spring or this creature, and from the city of Sybaris came the word "sybarite" — a person devoted to pleasure and luxury. The connection is indirect: the colonists named their city, the city became famous for excess, and the word entered every European language.

A monster's name, filtered through a colony's reputation, became a synonym for the good life.