Monsters & Beasts

Snake-haired Gorgon whose gaze turned men to stone

A winged Gorgon with serpents for hair whose gaze could turn any living creature to stone. Once beautiful, she was cursed by Athena and later beheaded by Perseus.

Medusa was originally a beautiful maiden and priestess of Athena. When Poseidon ravished her in Athena's temple, the goddess — unable to punish Poseidon — directed her fury at Medusa, transforming her beautiful hair into writhing serpents and making her face so terrible that anyone who looked upon it turned to stone.

Bull-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.

The Minotaur was born from Queen Pasiphae of Crete, who had been cursed by Poseidon to fall in love with a magnificent white bull. The result of this unnatural union was the Minotaur — Asterion, a creature half-man and half-bull, savage and man-eating.

Multi-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.

The Lernaean Hydra was a serpentine water monster raised by Hera specifically to be a challenge for Heracles. It dwelt in the swamps of Lerna, guarding an entrance to the underworld, and its very breath was lethal poison.

Fire-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.

The Chimera was the offspring of Typhon and Echidna, a terrifying hybrid creature that breathed fire. She ravaged the countryside of Lycia, destroying crops and killing livestock and people.

Three-headed hound guarding the underworld

The three-headed dog that guarded the gates of the underworld, preventing the dead from leaving and the living from entering.

Cerberus was the offspring of Typhon and Echidna, two of the most fearsome monsters in Greek mythology. He had three heads (some accounts say fifty or one hundred), a serpent for a tail, and snakes growing from his back.

Six-headed sea monster

A terrifying sea monster with six heads on long necks, each with three rows of teeth. She lived in a cliff cave opposite the whirlpool Charybdis, creating an impossible choice for sailors.

Scylla was once a beautiful sea nymph. In one version, Circe transformed her out of jealousy; in another, Poseidon's wife Amphitrite poisoned the waters where Scylla bathed.

Monstrous whirlpool

A massive whirlpool monster that swallowed and regurgitated the sea three times daily, destroying any ship caught in its pull. She sat opposite Scylla in the Strait of Messina.

Charybdis was either a sea monster or a personification of the whirlpool itself. In some accounts, she was a daughter of Poseidon and Gaia, punished by Zeus for flooding lands by being transformed into a monstrous maw beneath the sea.

One-eyed giant

Race of one-eyed giants. The original three Cyclopes forged Zeus's thunderbolts; later Cyclopes were savage shepherds, the most famous being Polyphemus.

There were two races of Cyclopes in Greek mythology. The first three — Brontes, Steropes, and Arges — were sons of Ouranos and Gaia, master craftsmen imprisoned in Tartarus by their father.

Riddling 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.

The Sphinx was sent to Thebes by Hera (or Ares) as punishment. She perched on a rock outside the city and posed a riddle to every traveler: "What walks on four legs in the morning, two at noon, and three in the evening?" Those who answered incorrectly — and all did — were devoured.