Mythological Monsters and Creatures

Cyclopes, page 67Giant, one-eyed monsters born of Gaea and Uranus.

They were violent.

The hero Odysseus blinded the cyclopes Polyphemus in The Odyssey.

HecatonchiresThese were the hundred-handed children born of Gaea and Uranus.

Centaur, 43-44Part man, part horse

• torso and up = man• belly and down = horse• 4 horse legs and 2 human arms• violent except for one

•Chiron was a hero-trainer•Hercules hurt Chiron; he was sent to the sky as the constellation Sagittarius.

Sileni, 42Part man, part horse• torso up = man• belly down = horse• 2 horse legs, and two human arms

Satyrs, 43Part goat, part man

Lived in the wild woods

The most famous satyr is Pan.

Sirens, 43Sea witches that lured sailors to their deaths using their song.

Odysseus had to sail by the sirens.

In some myths, they are part woman, part bird. In other myths, it says that no one ever saw one and lived to describe them.

Gorgons, 44Mythological monsters that turned men to stone with their eyes.

The hero Perseus killed the gorgon Medusa.

Many scholars believe the gorgons’ faces looked like the faces of human corpses.

Graiae Women, 443 sisters who shared one eye.

The hero Perseus must ask the Graiae Women for directions. In order to get their answer, he must steal the eye.

He returns the eye when they give him the information he needs.

The Furies, 40Three beings that pursued sinners on earth.

No one could escape them.

Argus, 80The 100-eyed monster who guarded Io for Hera.

After Hermes kills him, Hera puts his eyes on feathers (peacock).

Scylla, 298the nymph who was turned into a monster out of jealousy

She is attached to a rock.

She has 6 heads.

The heroes Odysseus and Jason must pass her.

Minotaur, 157Part bull, part man

Housed in a maze/labyrinth

The hero Theseus will kill it in order to be considered a hero.

Sphinx, 269Part woman, part lion, and sometimes part bird

They asked riddles to travelers. If the person answered incorrectly, the sphinx ate them.

Chimaera, 142Part goat, part lion, part snake

Thought to be unconquerable.

The hero Bellerophon kills it with the help of Pegasus, the winged horse.

Harpies, 125Called the Hounds of Zeus

Part bird, part snake

They are disgusting—leave a sickening smell everywhere they go.

They appear in the myth about Jason and the Argonauts.

Symplegades, 127Monster rocks/cliffs that squash ships that must sail in between them.

In the myth about Jason and the Argonauts, they must sail between them.

Charybdis, 132Monster whirlpool

In the myths about Odysseus and Jason, the heroes must sail between Scylla and Charybdis.

Hydra, 1719-headed monster defeated by Hercules.

Every time Hercules chopped off one head, more grew back from the stump. He had to cauterize (burn) the stumps to prevent more heads from growing out.

Cerberus, 40

3-headed guard dog of Hades

Pegasus, 140Winged horse born from the blood of a gorgon