Greek Monsters

1. GreekMonsters By: Shane Wunderli

2. Medusa Was a mortal woman until she was turned into a dragon-like monster-with snakes for hair! Medusa’s face was so horrific anyone who looked at her would immediately turn into stone. She was killed by Perseus.

4. Cerberus A dog with three heads and a dragon’s tail. He protected the entrance to the underworld. Cerberus allowed anyone to go into the underworld - but never let anyone out.

6. Hydra A monster with nine heads and a very poisonous breath. It lived in the swamps and ate cattle and crops that were running the land. The Hydra was very hard to kill, because if any of its heads were cut off, two would grow back in its place. Heracles, also known as Hercules in Roman mythology, who was very clever and strong, finally found away to kill the Hydra. As he chopped off each head, he burned the wound with a torch, which prevented the new heads from growing.

8. The Chimera A monster with the head of a lion, the tail of a dragon, and the body of a goat. The Chimera also breathed fire. Bellerophon became a hero when he managed the almost impossible task of killing the Chimera.

10. The Cyclops Were strange giants with one eye in the middle of the forehead. The Cyclopes were sent to live in the underworld by their brother, Cronus. However, Cronus had a son, the famous god, Zeus. Zeus released the Cyclopes from the underworld and thanked Zeus by giving him gifts of thunder and lightning. Zeus used his gifts from the Cyclops by ruining his father, Cronus, and to make himself god of the universe.

12. Hecatoncheires Were very weird monsters. Each with 50 heads and 100 arms! They were created by Uranus and Gaia and were brothers of the Titans and the Cyclopes. The Hectoncheires helped Zeus defeat Cronus.

14. Scylla and Charybdis Were two sea monsters who lived on each side of a narrow channel. Scylla was a sickening monster with six necks and 12 feet. Each had three sets of teeth which she used to kill anyone who crossed her way. Charibdis lived opposite of Scylla. He was a giant whirlpool who sucked in and spitted out the waters of the sea. Anything that passed Charibdis would get sucked in. Odysseus, the Greek hero, and his men sailed by these monsters. They were able to survive Charibdis but were unlucky with Scylla. She devoured six men off the boat.

15. Scylla Charybdis Underwater

16. Siren One of the three sea nymphs, usually represented with the head of a woman and the body of a bird. Daughters of Phorcus or of Achelous, the Sirens lived on an island surrounded by dangerous rocks. They sang so beautifully that all who heard were drawn near and shipwrecked. Odysseus escaped them by having himself tie securely to a mast and by stopping the ears of his men.

18. Minotaur A man eating beast with the head of a bull. King Minos kept it hidden in a labyrinth (a maze) in Knossos, on the island of Crete, where he used it to frighten his enemies. Theseus killed the Minotaur.

20. Harpies Creatures that possessed the wings, bodies, beaks, and claws of birds, and the head of a woman. They could fly as fast as the wind, and their feathers were as strong as armor. The Harpies were known to capture mortals and take them into the underworld. It is said that they always leave behind a sickening smell.

22. The Sphinx A monster with the body of a lion, the wings of a bird, and the head of a woman. The Sphinx sat at the entrance to the city of Thebes and asked a riddle to those who wanted to enter. Whoever solved the riddle could enter the city. Those who could not solve it would be killed. The riddle was this: What is it that has four feet in the morning, two at noon, and three at night? The answer was man because man crawls on fours as a baby, walks on two as an adult, and walks with a stick in his hands as an old man.

24. Arachne A little girl who was a very gifted weaver. She and the goddess Athena had a contest to see who could weave the more beautiful piece of cloth. Arachne’s was much lovelier than Athena’s so she ripped Arachne’s tapestry to pieces. Arachne was so mad that she hanged herself. At the last moment, Athena felt sorry for the young girl, so she untied the rope and turned it into a cobweb and turned Arachne into a spider with the ability to go on weaving beautiful webs.

26. The End