GREEK MONSTERS

1. By: Claire Murray GREEK MONSTERS

2. Medusa Medusa was a mortal woman until she was turned into a monster with snakes for hair. Her face was so horrible that anyone who looked her in the eye was turned to stone. Perseus slayed Medusa.

3. Hydra The hydra was a monster with nine heads. Each one breaths poisonous fire. If you cut off one of its heads, two more will grow back in its place. Hercules killed the Hydra by burning its neck after it was cut off so a new one couldn’t grow back.

4. Minotaur The minotaur is a monster with a man’s body and a bull’s head. It lived in the labyrinth. It was fed human victims by King Minos. Theseus wanted to put an end to all the killing so he went into the labyrinth and killed the minotaur.

5. Cerberus Cerberus is a three headed dog that guards the underworld. He lets the dead souls pass through the into the underworld, but he doesn’t let anyone out. One of Hercules’s labors was to bring Cerberus out of the Underworld.

6. Harpy Harpies lived in the Underworld and they tortured people who were on their way to Tartarus. Harpies are birds with a head of a woman. A harpy is very similar to the Siren. They are also similar to Furies.

7. Cyclops The cyclopes were huge monsters with one eye in the middle of its forehead. Cyclops were the sons of Poseidon. One famous cyclops was Polyphemus. Odysseus encountered Polyphemus on his journey. This picture is illustrating how Odysseus blinds Polyphemus.

8. Sirens Sirens were like the Harpies. They had a body of a bird and the head of a woman. They lived around the ocean and they sang beautiful songs. The songs would lure sailors towards them and then the sailors would die or crash their ship. Odysseus encountered the Sirens and he solved the problem by putting beeswax in his sailors ears and he was curious to hear what the song sounded like so he got his men to tie him to the mast while they sailed by. He became the only man to hear the Sirens’ song and live to remember it.

9. Hecatonchires Hecatonchires were monsters with 50 heads and 100 arms. They are also known as the Hundred-Handed Ones. They are the older brothers of the Cyclops, and were imprisoned in Tartarus by their father Uranus. When Zeus defeated Kronos, he released the Hecatonchires and they guarded the entrance to Tartarus.

10. Sphinx The sphinx is a mythical monster with a head of a women, a body of a lion and the wings of an eagle. She would ask a riddle to anyone who wanted to enter the city of Thebes. Anyone who answered correctly would be able to pass. Anyone who didn’t answer the question correctly would be devoured.

11. Nemean Lion For his first labor, Hercules was sent to fight the Nemean Lion. The lion had been terrorizing the city of Nemea. Nothing could penetrate the skin of the lion. Hercules had to strangle the lion to death. He then took the skin of the lion and used it as armor.

12. Typhon Typhon is a monster from Ancient Greece. He was the most fearsome and powerful of all monsters. He was so strong that even the gods feared him. He is wife to Echidna, the mother of all monsters. He was defeated by Zeus, who trapped him underneath Mount Etna.

13. Scylla and Charybdis Scylla was a monster with six heads and twelve feet. Each head had three sets of teeth. Charybdis was a whirlpool. He lived opposite Scylla in the straight. Anything that got near Charibdis would get sucked in. Odysseus was lucky and he got past Charybdis, but Scylla ate six of his men.

14. Geryon Geryon is a monster with three bodies on two legs. One of Hercules’ labors was to capture the oxen that this monster had. Hercules was able to kill the monster and the two headed dog that guarded the bull and take it back to Eurystheus.

15. Stymphalian Birds These monsters were man-eating birds who had iron claws and beaks. They infested Stymphalus. Hercules killed them as his sixth labor.

16. Kampe Kampe is a female monster with a scorpions tail. She is sometimes shown with wings. She guarded the Hecatonchires and the Cyclopes when they were imprisoned in Tartarus.

17. Telekhines These monsters were described as sea spirits with flippers for hands and a dog head. They are skilled metal workers. They created Poseidon’s trident. They were also said to be related to the Hecatonchires. SORRY, NO PICTURE!

18. Charon Charon ferried the spirits of the dead to the Underworld. The dead had to pay with one Obol (Greek Money.) That is why people are buried with coins.

19. Procrustes Procrustes is a monster who physically attacks people, stretches them or cuts of their legs so they can fit a iron bed size. In Greek Mythology, he is a son of Poseidon. SORRY, NO PICTURE

20. GREEK HEROS

21. Perseus Perseus is a hero who is the legendary founder of the Myceneans. He is the first of the heroes and he was remembered for defeating Medusa. He also defeated a sea monster that was sent to destroy Argos. He defeated the monster and then married Andromeda, the princess and became the king of Argos.

22. Hercules Hercules is a hero remembered for having great strength. He is a son of Zeus. He had to perform twelve impossible labors that his cousin made him do. He completed all of them.

23. Theseus Theseus is the legendary founder of the city of Athens. King Minos created a labyrinth and he put a minotaur in it and he killed people to feed it. Theseus wanted to stop the killings and he went into the labyrinth and killed the minotaur.

24. Achilles Achilles is a hero who was dipped into the River Styx by his mother, Thetis. He became invincible except his only weak spot was his heel. That is why there is a part of the heel called the ACHILLES HEEL. He was often guided by the goddess Athena.

25. Oedipus Oedipus is a hero that is a king of Thebes. He accidentally fulfilled a prophecy that said he would kill his father and marry his mother. Oedipus encounters a Sphinx on his way to Thebes. He was asked a riddle and he became the first man to ever answer the riddle correctly.

26. Odysseus Odysseus is a Greek hero who went on a long journey on his way home from the Trojan War. He encountered many problems like Polyphemus, the sirens and Scylla and Charybdis.

27. Jason Jason was a hero who went on a quest to retrieve the Golden Fleece. He assembled the Argonauts, a group of heroes that included Hercules, Philoctetes, Peleus, Telamon, Orpheus, Castor and Pollux, Atalanta and Euphemus.

28. Bellerophon Bellerophon was a hero that was known as the “greatest hero and slayer of monsters” along with Perseus and Cadmus. His greatest feat was slaying the Chimera.

29. Greek Gods and Goddesses

30. Zeus • The king of the gods • The god of the sky • Symbol: Lightning Bolt

31. Hera • Queen of the gods • Goddess of marriage • Symbol: Crown and a peacock

32. Hades • God of the Dead • Lord of the Underworld • Symbol: Black horses and chariot, helm of darkness

33. Poseidon • God of the seas • Symbol: Trident

34. Demeter • Goddess of the Harvest • Symbol: Wheat and Persephone

35. Athena • Goddess of Wisdom and battle for just causes • Symbol: Medusa’s Breastplate, war gear, owl

36. Artemis • Goddess of the Hunt and the Moon • Symbol: Moon and bow and arrow

37. Apollo • God of the sun, light, mice, music and poetry • Symbol: the sun and a lyre

38. Ares • God of War • Symbol: War gear

39. Aphrodite • Goddess of love and beauty • Symbol: Dove and a rose

40. Hephaestus • God of Smiths and Fire • Symbol: Big hammer and anvil

41. Hestia • Goddess of the hearth • Symbol: the hearth

42. Persephone • Queen of the Underworld • Goddess of spring • Symbol: Pomegranates