Heroes, Monsters, Beasts

Atlas: Atlas was the younger Titan god of daring thoughts. He was known more for his strength than for his intelligence. After rebelling against Zeus he was condemned to bear the heavens upon his shoulders. According to some, he was later released from this burden and made guardian of the pillars that were set to hold the heavens aloft in his stead.

Cyclope: The Cyclopes were morose, bad-tempered demi-gods who lived a long time and were very strong. A Cyclops only had one eye in the middle of his forehead. They fought for Zeus against the Titans. They gave him his thunderbolts, Pluto his helmet of invisibility and Poseidon his Trident. They were said to be closely related to the Gigantes and the Phaiakians, both of whom were born from the drops of blood that fell upon the earth at Ouranos' castration. The greatest among them in strength was said to be Polyphemos.

Centaur: The Centaurs were a tribe of half man, half horse creatures who inhabited the mountains and forests of Thessalia. They were lawless and prone to violence, especially when under the influence of alcohol. The centaurs were a primitive race who made their homes in mountain caves, hunted wild animals for food and used tree branches and stones for weapons.

Charon: Charon was a squalid and malign underworld Daimon, the grimy ferryman who received the shades of the dead from Hermes and rowed them across the river Akheron in a dilapidated boat. Charon's fee was one obolos (a small coin) placed in the mouth of a corpse at burial. Only if a dead person had been buried or cremated was he ferried across the Akheron; otherwise his ghost continued to wander along the shores of the river. Charon appeared as an unattractive, barbarous elderly man with a grim, bearded face and a crooked nose. He was usually depicted holding a pole, driving his skiff across the Akheronian mere. According to some he was even more repulsive - a winged daimon who wielded a double hammer.

Chimera: The Chimera was a fire-breathing monster with the head of a lion, body of a goat and tail of a serpent. It killed and ate human beings until it was killed by Bellerophon who was riding the winged horse Pegasus.

Hydra: The Hydra was the many-headed serpent with the body of a hound that was created by Hera to kill Hercules (Heracles). Two heads grew back as each one was cut off. Because Hercules got Iolaus to help him by stauching the blood to prevent the growth of new heads when each of the old ones was cut off, the hero was not credited with having succeeded in this labor.

Medusa: The Gorgones were three powerful winged daimones: the mortal Medusa and her two immortal sisters Stheno and Euryale. They were depicted as women with broad faces, serpent entwined hair, wide staring eyes, the tusks of swine, red tongues that lolled from their broad mouths, flaring nostrils, and short coarse beards. Their faces were so hideous that a glimpse of them would turn a man to stone. They were also armed with sharp claws of bronze and golden wings.

Minotaur: The Minotaur was an evil monster that had the head and shoulders of a bull and the body of a man. It lived in the labyrinth designed by Daedalus. King Minos sacrificed young Athenians to the monster until it was finally killed by Theseus. After killing the monster he found his way out of the labyrinth using a magic ball of twine that had been given to him by King Minos' daughter, Ariadne.

Pegasus: Pegasus was a supernatural animal: a shining white horse with wings. This good-natured, loyal and obedient creature would follow orders whether they were for good or for evil. Bellerophon used the horse to kill the Chimaera and then attempted to fly to Olympus. Zeus punished him for this. Zeus used Pegasus to carry his thunderbolts.


The Seirenes: The Seirenes were three Najades. When the goddess was abducted by Haides, Demeter transformed their bodies into those of birds and sent them to search the earth for her missing daughter. Eventually the Seirenes gave up the search and settled on the flowery island of Anthemoessa. There they lured passing sailors to their deaths with their irresistible siren-song.

Stymphalians: The Stymphalian Birds had steel tipped feathers which they used to kill both men and other animals. As the sixth of his labors, the final one performed on the Peloponnese, Hercules frightened these birds away from Stymphalus with the noise of a rattle that had been made for him by Athena.

Talos: Talos was a bronze giant made by Hephaestos. His duty was to protect Europa who gave birth to Minos after being seduced by Zeus. He threw boulders to frighten strangers who approached the island of Crete. He was killed when Medea removed the pin that held the life force in his body.

Typhon: Typhon was the hundred-headed giant conceived by Gaia and Tartarus to get revenge on Zeus for imprisoning the Titans in Tartarus' underworld kingdom. Tyhpon cut away Zeus' muscles with the same sickle that Zeus had used against his own father, Cronos. Hermes found the muscles and restored them to Zeus who defeated Typhon. The giant was either pinned under the island of Sicily or banished to the underworld. His bitterness is expressed in the eruption of Mount Etna, a volcano in Sicily and in the hostile winds of the earth which he is said to have fathered when he was in the underworld.