The Most Famous Creatures from Greek Mythology

Bellerophon and the Chimera By Unknown artist. Credit: Marsyas (2005), CC BY-SA 2.5

Greek mythology is celebrated for its galore mythical creatures, which diagnostic wide astatine pivotal moments successful Greek myths and epic poems. Creatures are supernatural beings with antithetic powers and abilities and travel successful assorted forms.

These unusual and sometimes terrifying creatures were utilized successful Greek mythology by the Greek gods. They could beryllium sent for assorted reasons—to wounded oregon harm and to support oregon animate terror.

Some of the characteristics of these beings exaggerated quality bodies oregon combined them with the bodies of animals.

Below is simply a database of the astir fashionable and bonzer creatures successful Greek mythology.

Pegasus

Bellerophon mounted connected Pegasus By Barclay Painter – Jastrow (2006), Public Domain

One of the astir fashionable Greek mythological creatures is Pegasus, a beauteous achromatic equine with ample wings. He was the equine of Zeus and was calved from the blood of Medusa erstwhile Perseus decapitated her.

Pegasus is simply a noble and intelligent horse, and helium does not let himself to beryllium ridden by conscionable astir anyone indiscriminately. Only those who person a bully bosom tin thrust Pegasus, arsenic helium is capable to comprehend the evil lurking down people’s intentions.

Pegasus is 1 of the creatures from Greek mythology that has appeared wide passim movie and television, becoming a awesome of grant successful galore stories.

Hydra of Lerna

Engraving of Hercules slaying Hydra By Hans Sebald Beham – Private collection. Public Domain

In Greek mythology, the Hydra of Lerna was a ruthless aquatic monster, which had claws similar a reptile and respective heads. According to myth, each clip 1 of its heads was chopped off, 2 much heads emerged.

She was raised by Hera, Zeus’ wife, who kept her successful a swamp that protected Lerna’s garden.

Hydra was a precise solitary carnal until she was killed by Hercules. He past soaked his sword successful Hydra’s humor to marque it poisonous.

Cerberus

Cerberus By William Blake. Public Domain

Also known arsenic Can Cerberus was a Greek mythological carnal successful the signifier of a canine who had 3 heads and a snake for a tail.

He was the canine of the deity Hades, and his occupation was to support the gross of the underworld, ensuring that the dormant did not permission and that the surviving could not enter.

He was captured by Hercules connected his past mission.

Griffin

Martin Schongauer: The griffin, 15th century. Public domain

This mythological carnal takes the hybrid signifier of an eagle and a lion, combining their ferocity and courageousness into a azygous being.

They usually roamed successful packs and were hard to tame. Demigods were susceptible of taming them, however, and nether them, they became loyal. They provender connected the soma of horses.

One story tells the communicative of Apollo, who went successful hunt of griffins and returned to Greece riding a hydra. The hydra took attraction of him and watched implicit his treasures.

Charybdis

A 19th-century engraving of the Strait of Messina, the tract associated with Scylla and Charybdis. Credit: Albert Henry Payne. Public Domain,

Charybdis, a nymph, was erstwhile the beauteous girl of Poseidon and Gaea. According to myth, she flooded ample amounts of the Earth to grow her father’s kingdom and instrumentality to him. This enraged her uncle Zeus, who frankincense turned her into a monster and banished her to the sea.

Charybdis became 1 of the astir fearsome oversea monsters. She utilized to swallow ample amounts of h2o each day, forming whirlpools and devouring sailors. Tornadoes would signifier erstwhile she spit the h2o backmost out.

Cyclops

Odysseus and his unit are blinding Polyphemus. Credit: Napoleon Vier – CC BY-SA 3.0

According to Greek mythology, the Cyclops were one-eyed giants and immoderate of the archetypal beings to inhabit the universe.

They were a savage contention dedicated to herding and hunting. They feared neither gods nor men.

There were 2 generations of Cyclops. The archetypal procreation was comprised of sons of Uranus and Gaea, who were dedicated to operation and crafts. They were stubborn and had a horrible temperament.

Eventually, they became known for their spot and power, arsenic they forged highly manufactured weapons.

The 2nd procreation of Cyclops is simply a tiny people that lived connected a distant island. One of these Cyclops is 1 of the astir celebrated creatures successful each of Greek mythology. He is Polyphemus, lad of Poseidon and the nymph Toosa, who famously mislaid his oculus erstwhile Odysseus blinded him successful bid to flight from his cave, wherever the Cyclops had taken him and different men erstwhile they were kidnapped.

Gorgon

An archaic Gorgon (around 580 BC), arsenic depicted connected a pediment from the temple of Artemis successful Corfu, connected show astatine the Archaeological Museum of Corfu. Credit: Dr.K. – Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0

The gorgons were ruthless pistillate monsters: Medusa, Steno, and Euryale, who were daughters of the oversea gods, Forcis and Ceto. Medusa was the lone mortal of the three.

They were beauteous but had snakes alternatively of hair, and anyone who looked astatine them was instantly petrified. That is wherefore gorgons were carved astatine the entrances of the temples to ward disconnected visitors.

Athena, jealous of the quality and attraction that Medusa possessed, cursed her. She was aboriginal beheaded by Perseus, who utilized her caput arsenic a limb and gave it to Athena for her shield.

Centaur

Brooklyn Museum – Centauress. Credit: John La Farge – Online Collection– Brooklyn Museum. Public Domain,

A centaur is simply a carnal that is fractional antheral and fractional horse. Centaurs person the head, arms, and torso of a antheral and the assemblage and legs of a horse.

The Centaurs lived successful the mountains of Thessaly alongside the Lapiths with whom they maintained a changeless warfare due to the fact that the Centaurs wanted to abduct Hippodamia, the beauteous woman of King Piritoo.

King Piritoo celebrated his wedding with a large banquet and invited each the inhabitants of the region, including the centaurs.

Centaurs, however, had ne'er tasted wine, truthful erstwhile they got drunk, they wanted to kidnap Hippodamia, arsenic good arsenic different attendees of the banquet. This lawsuit aboriginal resulted successful a warfare which was won by the Lapiths.

Minotaur

The Minotaur, tondo of an Attic bilingual kylix. Credit: Marie-Lan Nguyen / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.5

The minotaur is 1 of the astir fascinating monsters of Greek mythology. With a man’s assemblage and a bull’s head, his sanction means “Bull of Minos.” He was the lad of Pasiphae and the Bull of Crete.

Minos, lad of Zeus, asked Poseidon for assistance truthful that his radical would marque him the King of Crete aft Asterion’s death. Poseidon agreed and brought distant from the seas a beauteous achromatic bull, which Minos promised to sacrifice connected his behalf.

But Minos was amazed by the quality of the bull, and helium sacrificed a antithetic 1 successful its place, hoping to instrumentality Poseidon. This enraged Poseidon, and successful revenge, helium awakened a tendency successful Pasiphae, Minos’ wife, instructing her to person a kid with the achromatic bull, which resulted successful the minotaur.

The minotaur became convulsive arsenic it grew older, truthful Minos built a labyrinth and locked the Minotaur inside. The minotaur lone consumed quality flesh, and each 9 years, Minos sacrificed 7 women and 7 men to beryllium devoured by the Minotaur.