Typhon
Typhon was the most fearsome monster in Greek mythology — a giant with serpent heads who nearly overthrew Zeus and would have ruled the cosmos.
The Myth of Typhon
Born from Gaia and Tartarus as a final weapon against the Olympians, Typhon was immense: his head brushed the stars, his arms stretched east to west, and a hundred serpent heads sprouted from his shoulders, each breathing fire. When he attacked Olympus, Zeus stood alone — the other gods fled to Egypt. Their battle shook the cosmos. Typhon seized Zeus, cut out his sinews with an adamantine sickle, and imprisoned him in a cave. Hermes and Pan recovered the sinews, and Zeus resumed the fight, finally burying Typhon beneath Mount Etna. Volcanic eruptions were his struggles. Typhon and Echidna produced the worst monsters of Greek mythology: the Hydra, Chimera, Cerberus, and the Sphinx.
Parents
Gaia and Tartarus
Symbols
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.
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.
Echidna
🐉 creatureMother of all monsters
Echidna was half woman, half serpent — called the Mother of All Monsters for bearing the most fearsome creatures of Greek mythology.
Sybaris
🐉 creaturemonsters
A monstrous serpent-dragon that terrorised the region around Delphi until slain by a young hero
Ephialtes
🐉 creaturegigantic, rebellion
Twin brother of Otus among the Aloadae giants, whose combined assault on Olympus was among the most audacious acts of defiance against the gods.
Ophiotaurus
🐉 creaturehybrid creatures
A creature half bull and half serpent whose entrails, if burned, could grant power to overthrow the gods
Typhoeus
🏔 titanvolcanic eruption, the ultimate chaos monster
The most fearsome monster in Greek mythology, son of Gaia and Tartarus, whose battle with Zeus nearly ended divine order.
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.
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.
Cyclops
🐉 creatureOne-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.
Lernaean Hydra
🐉 creatureMany-headed water serpent
The Hydra was a gigantic water serpent with multiple heads — when one was severed, two more grew in its place, making it seemingly impossible to kill.
Briareos
🐉 creaturegiants,sea
One of the Hecatoncheires (Hundred-Handed Giants), beings of immense power with fifty heads and one hundred arms, allies of Zeus in the Titanomachy.