Tale and Mythology

The Cretan Bull was a bull that appeared in the myth of the Labours of Heracles , as well as the myth of the Minotaur , in Greek mythology. It was the creature that Pasiphae fell in love with, and became impregnated by, eventually giving birth to the Minotaur. During the Labours of Heracles, King Eurystheus sent Heracles to capture the Cretan Bull and bring it back. The hero went to Crete and acquired permission by King Minos, who was happy to get rid of the animal that had destroyed the crops of the region. Heracles managed to capture the animal with his bare hands, and sent it back to Eurystheus. The king was so afraid of the animal that he hid inside a large jar upon seeing it. He later said to sacrifice it to Hera, but the goddess refused, thinking it would give further glory to Heracles . Instead, Eurystheus let it loose, which reached Marathon and acquired the name Marathonian Bull. Later, Theseus, son of the king of Athens Aegeus, set forth to capture the bull. He went to M

The Minotaur was one of the most famous and gruesome monsters in Ancient Greek mythology, usually portrayed with the body of a man and the head of a bull. Born from the unnatural union of Pasiphae and the Cretan Bull , the Minotaur resided at the center of the Labyrinth, designed specifically to hide him from view at the request of Pasiphae’s husband, Minos. With the help of their daughter, Ariadne, Theseus , the greatest Athenian hero, eventually managed to kill the Minotaur. The Birth of the Minotaur Born part man and part bull, the Minotaur was ultimately the result of Minos’ hubris, Poseidon’s anger, and Pasiphae’s lust. Poseidon and Minos The story of the Minotaur begins with the death of Asterius (or Asterion), the sacred king of Crete. Since he was childless from his marriage with Europa, Minos – one of Europa’s children with Zeus and a stepson of Asterius – assumed the right to the throne, declaring to his rivals that this was the supposed will of the gods. To prove

Ceryneian Hind  also called Cerynitis or the Golden Hind, was an enormous hind, that lived in Keryneia, Greece. It was sacred to Artemis, the chaste goddess of the hunt, animals, and unmarried women. It had golden antlers like a stag and hooves of bronze or brass, and it was said that it could outrun an arrow in flight. The capture of the hind was the third labour of Heracles. Eurystheus and Hera were greatly angered to find that Heracles had managed to escape from the claws of the Nemean Lion and the fangs of the Lernaean Hydra, so decided to spend more time thinking up a third task that would spell doom for the hero. The third task did not involve killing a beast, as it had already been established that Heracles could overcome even the most fearsome opponents, so Eurystheus decided to make him capture the female Ceryneian Hind, as it was so fast it could outrun an arrow. After beginning the search, Heracles awoke from sleeping and he could see the hind from the glint on its antl

The Lernaean Hydra was a monster in Greek mythology. The Hydra is a nine-headed serpent like snake and every time someone would cut off one of them, two more heads would grow out of the stump. It was one of the offspring of Typhon and Echidna , the father and mother of all monsters respectively. It lived in the lake Lerna in the region of Argolid in the Peloponnese. Eurystheus, king of Tiryns, sent the demigod Heracles to slay the Lernaean Hydra as the second of the set of labours that the hero had to complete, in order to redeem himself for killing his wife Megara and his children in a fit of madness. When Heracles reached the lake Lerna, he had to cover his nose and mouth with a cloth, in order to protect himself from poisonous gases that were emitted. After he managed to lure the monster out of its lair, Heracles quickly cut one of its heads off, only to realise in despair that two new heads had grown. So, he decided to ask for the help of his nephew Iolaus, who thought o

The Nemean Lion was a legendary creature in Greek mythology that ravaged the area of Nemea. Its fur was impenetrable by the weapons of humans and hence, was unstoppable. Its claws were sharper than mortals' swords and could cut through any armor. It was considered to be the child of Typhon and Echidna , father and mother of all monsters. Other accounts mention Zeus and Selene as its parents. Slaying the Nemean Lion was the first task that King Eurystheus asked of the demigod Heracles during the myth of the Labours of Heracles . One version has it that the lion kidnapped women from Nemea and kept them in its lair, in order to lure warriors. When the brave warrior would see the woman, she would turn into a lion and kill him. Heracles reached a nearby city, where he met a young boy; the boy told him that if he killed the lion within thirty days, then a lion would be sacrificed to Zeus. Otherwise, the boy would sacrifice himself. Heracles tracked down the lion and tried t

Orthrus or Orthus was a monster in Greek mythology, a dog with two heads and brother of Cerberus, the three-headed dog that guarded the Underworld. They were the offspring of the father and mother of all monsters, Typhon and Echidna respectively. Orthrus was the dog of the giant Geryon, a three-bodied, three-headed creature that owned cattle in the land of Erytheia. Both Orthrus and Geryon were slain by the demigod hero Heracles, when he was asked to fetch the cattle of Geryon for Eurystheus, during the Labours of Heracles . According to a source, Orthrus mated with Echidna and produced a number of monsters, such as the Chimera , the Sphinx , the Lernaean Hydra and Nemean Lion .

The Chimaera was a hybrid monster in Greek mythology, child of Typhon and Echidna and sibling of Cerberus and the Lernaean Hydra. It had the head and body of a lion, as well as the head of a goat that was attached to its back, and a tail that ended on a head of a snake. It resided in Lycia, a place in Asia Minor, where it ravaged the lands with its fire breath. It was killed by Bellerophon , assisted by Pegasus, when the former was asked by King Iobates of Lycia. Bellerophon rode on Pegasus' back, who could fly, and shot arrows at the Chimera from above. Homer's brief description in the Iliad: "a thing of immortal make, not human, lion-fronted and snake behind, a goat in the middle, and snorting out the breath of the terrible flame of bright fire." Elsewhere in the Iliad, Homer attributes the rearing of Chimera to Amisodorus. Hesiod's Theogony follows the Homeric description: he makes the Chimera the issue of Echidna: "She was the mother of Chi

The Stymphalian birds were a group of monstrous birds in Greek mythology. They devoured humans, and had beaks made of bronze. Their feathers were sharp and metallic and could be thrown against their prey, while their dung was poisonous. They fly against those who come to hunt them, wounding and killing them with their beaks. All armour of bronze or iron that men wear is pierced by the birds; but if they weave a garment of thick cork, the beaks of the Stymphalian birds are caught in the cork garment, just as the wings of small birds stick in bird-lime. These birds are of the size of a crane, and are like the ibis, but their beaks are more powerful, and not crooked like that of the ibis. They were created by the god of war, Ares, and were hunted down by wolves; to escape, the birds reached the lake Stymphalia in the Greek region of Arcadia, where they reproduced quickly and destroyed farmlands and the countryside. Killing the Stymphalian birds was the sixth task that was appointed

Cerberus also known as the “hound of Hades” – was the multi-headed dog who guarded the gates of the Underworld, preventing the dead from leaving, and making sure that those who entered never left. A child of Typhon and Echidna, he was part of a monstrous family, which included Orthus, the Lernaean Hydra, and the Chimaera as well. Only on three occasions Cerberus was tricked by visitors of Hades: Heracles did it with his strength, Orpheus with his music, and the Sybil of Cumae with a honey-cake. Family According to Hesiod, Cerberus was the second of the four monstrous children of Typhon and Echidna, being born after Orthus, the two-headed hound who guarded the cattle of Geryon, but before the Lernaean Hydra and, quite possibly, the Chimaera – all of them multi-headed. Later authors list many other monsters among the siblings of Cerberus, including the Sphinx, the Nemean Lion, the Caucasian Eagle, the Crommyonian Sow, the Colchian Dragon, Ladon, and even Scylla and the mother of