Saturday, November 29, 2008
Nemean Lion
The mythological Nemean Lion was one of Typhon's eight children, and like its siblings, it was a very powerful monster. While at first it seemed to be nothing more than a large, strong lion, this creature posessed two very potent weapons. The first was its impenetrable hide, which could repel any weapon; the second was its claws, which could slice through any material. These claws turned out to be even more powerful than the beast's amazing hide, for after Heracles killed the lion, he used its own claws to flay off its hide. Killing the Nemean Lion was the first of Heracles' twelve great labors. When his arrows bounced off of the lion's hide, Heracles was forced to kill it slowly by stunning it with his club and throttling it. The lion's skin later was used by Heracles to form a cloak that protected him from any weapon.
Chimaera
The Chimaera was another multiheaded monster from Greek mythology. Of all of Typhon's eight children, the Chimaera was arguably the most powerful. This creature was a horrendous mix of lion, snake, and goat, and all three of its heads could emit powerful blasts of fire. Chimaera also had a multitude of other weapons at its disposal, such as a poisonous spray it could emit from its snake head and slashing claws on its front legs. In some descriptions this creature also had a pair of eagle's wings, which made it an even more versatile adversary. For years the Chimaera prowled the Greek countryside, preying on livestock and those foolish enough to approach it. Eventually, the hero Bellerophon killed the monster by attacking it from the air on his winged steed Pegasus. He then stabbed the monster through its fire-gushing throat with a lead-pointed spear. The spear point melted and the poisonous molten metal flowed into the Chimaera's stomach and lungs, destroying it within minutes. Bellerophon met his own untimely death shortly afterwards, when he tried to fly Pegasus up to the palace of the gods on Mount Olympus. Zeus, the king of the gods, took offense to this and sent a horsefly to sting Bellerophon's mount. Pegasus bucked the unfortunate monster-killer off, and Bellerophon plunged towards his death on the ground miles below.
Saturday, November 8, 2008
Cerberus and Orthus
Another pair of Typhon's children, Cerberus and Orthus were both multiheaded dogs. Orthus was the pet of the three-headed giant Geryon. Orthus was a huge, two-headed monster, with blue skin, the teeth of a shark, and spined clubs at the tips of his dual tails. Like most of Typhon's brood, Orthus and his master died at the tips of Heracles' arrows. Cerberus was much luckier than his brothers and sisters. He is the only one of Typhon's offsprings who, according to the myths, is still alive. This three-headed black hellhound gaurds the gates of the underworld, tearing apart any dead souls that try to leave. This beast is under the god Hades' protection, so though it was once captured by Heracles, no hero has dared to kill it. Cerberus would not be an easy foe to take down, though, even for someone with enough daring to fight it. This beast was immense, by some accounts larger than three elephants, and its claws and teeth were like steak knives. Hidden under its shaggy fur were live serpents, and another, much larger, snake made up the beast's tail.
Friday, November 7, 2008
Hydra and Ladon
The Greek mythological monster Typhon had eight monstrous children. Two of these beasts were multiheaded water dragons, Hydra and Ladon. Hydra was a toxic serpentine beast whose venom and breath could kill any creature unfortunate enough to experience them. Whenever one of her nine heads was chopped off, three more would immediately sprout from the stump. The center head was virtually immortal. The Hydra lived in a like by the city of Lerna, terrorizing the populace and poisoning the environment. Heracles managed to destroy the Hydra by cauterizing the stumps of its first eight heads, then ripping off the immortal head and pinning it under a massive boulder. He burned the headless corpse. Heracles also may have been responsible for the death of the hundred-headed dragon Ladon. Ladon could not regenerate its severed heads, making it a weaker adversary. It gaurded the Garden of the Hesperides, which contained three golden apples that Heracles needed to obtain for his eleventh labor. According to some versions of the tale, Heracles fought the dragon, killing it with arrows poisoned by the Hydra's venom. Others say that Heracles tricked the titan Atlas into getting the apples for him, leaving the dragon alive.
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- BlueDragon
- I, BlueDragon, am an avid reader who is extremely interested in cryptids and all other mythological, folklore, and movie monsters.
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