Medusa and other Monsters of Greek Mythology

The ancient Greek legends and myths are full of horrible monsters.

Oct 31, 2009

For each ancient Greek hero, there was a monster for him to slay. Be it a snake-haired Medusa or a ravaging boar, the monsters are often more interesting than the heroes!

Heroes play a very important role in many ancient Greek myths. Names such as Hercules, Achilles and Perseus are still known to modern people. Most of these heroes had to prove themselves against horrible monsters at some point in their lives, and Greek legend gives us such memorable monsters as Polyphemus the Cyclops, Medusa and the Minotaur. Here are some of the best-known monsters of Greek Myth.

Medusa was once a beautiful Priestess of Athena before she defiled the temple with the God Poseidon. Athena punished her by turning her into a monster with snakes for hair whose gaze could turn men into stone. Medusa was killed by the hero Perseus, who looked at her only in the reflection of his metal shield.

The King of Calydon, Oeneus, had angered Artemis, Goddess of the hunt, by failing to properly honor her. She sent a monstrous boar in retaliation. The boar terrorized the countryside, killing peasants and leaving destruction in its wake. When Jason and the Argonauts happened by on their search for the Golden Fleece, Oeneus convinced them to hunt down and kill the boar…but Artemis had her revenge nevertheless.

Poseidon, God of the Seas, gave a beautiful bull to King Minos of Crete. Minos was supposed to sacrifice it, but could not. Poseidon, enraged, caused the queen to fall in love with the bull, and their offspring was a monstrous half-man, half-bull named the Minotaur. Minos ordered the construction of a vast labyrinth to serve as the Minotaur’s home and he fed it Athenian captives. The hero Theseus killed it, and made his way back out the labyrinth by following a thread he had played out as he went in.

A Cyclops was a horrible giant with one eye in the center of his forehead. On the way home from the Trojan War, hero Odysseus stopped at an island, home to a Cyclops named Polyphemus. Odysseus and some of his men became trapped in Polyphemus’ cave when they tried to steal some food, and Polyphemus started eating them one by one. Clever Odysseus tricked and blinded Polyphemus and made off with a shipload of food.

Cerberus, the Guardian of Hades

Cerberus was an enormous three-headed dog whose job it was to guard the entrance to Hades so that the living could not enter. In some versions of the legend, he had snakes growing out of his back and a Dragon’s tail. Hercules, the great hero, had to capture him and bring him to the world of the living for his 12th labor. Hades allowed him to take Cerberus provided he not use his weapons: mighty Hercules wrestled the monster into submission, took him to the world of the living and then returned him when the labor was done.

Monsters in Greek myth and legend are generally either wicked and evil, like Polyphemus, or a tool of the Gods like the Calydon Boar. Either way, they're always interesting!

Source:

Hendricks, Rhoda A. Classical Gods and Heroes. New York: Morrow Quill Paperbacks, 1974.

The copyright of the article Medusa and other Monsters of Greek Mythology in Greek History is owned by Christopher Minster. Permission to republish Medusa and other Monsters of Greek Mythology in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.