Monsters and Creatures

Greek myth is full of monsters, many of them born from the primordial gods or created as punishments.

Medusa

Medusa was one of the three Gorgons, and the only mortal one. Anyone who looked at her face was turned to stone. When Perseus beheaded her, the winged horse Pegasus sprang from her neck.

The Minotaur

The Minotaur had the body of a man and the head of a bull. King Minos of Crete kept it in the Labyrinth, a maze built by the craftsman Daedalus, and fed it young men and women sent as tribute from Athens.

The Hydra

The Lernaean Hydra was a many-headed serpent. For every head that was cut off, two more grew back. Heracles defeated it with the help of his nephew Iolaus, who burned each neck after its head was cut off.

Cerberus

Cerberus was the multi-headed dog that guarded the gates of the Underworld, usually described with three heads. He let the dead enter but never allowed them to leave.

The Chimera

The Chimera was a fire-breathing creature with the body of a lion, a goat's head rising from its back and a serpent for a tail. The hero Bellerophon killed it while riding Pegasus.

The Sirens

The Sirens lured sailors to their deaths with irresistible songs. Odysseus had his crew plug their ears with beeswax and tie him to the mast so he could hear the song and survive.