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Monsters of Greek mythology
Monsters in Greek myth test heroes and mark the edge of the known world. Many are children of ancient sea and earth powers.
Medusa and the Gorgons
The Gorgons were three sisters with snakes for hair. Medusa was the only mortal one, and anyone who looked at her turned to stone. Perseus killed her by looking at her reflection in a polished shield. Ovid tells a later story in which Medusa was once a beautiful woman cursed by Athena; Hesiod's earlier account treats the Gorgons as monsters from the start.
The Hydra
A many-headed water serpent living in the marshes of Lerna. When one head was cut off, more grew back. Heracles killed it with help from his nephew Iolaus, who burned each stump. See the heroes.
The Minotaur
A creature with a man's body and a bull's head, born to Queen Pasiphaë of Crete. King Minos had the craftsman Daedalus build the Labyrinth to hold it. Every few years, young Athenians were sent to be eaten, until Theseus killed it.
Cerberus
The hound that guards the entrance to the underworld, usually with three heads. In his twelfth labour Heracles carried him up to the world of the living and brought him back again.
The Sphinx
A creature with a woman's head, lion's body and wings, who sat outside Thebes asking travellers a riddle and killing those who failed. Oedipus answered correctly: the creature that walks on four legs in the morning, two at noon and three in the evening is man. The Sphinx then destroyed herself.
The Chimera
A fire-breathing monster, part lion, part goat and part serpent, killed by Bellerophon riding the winged horse Pegasus.
The Cyclopes
There are two kinds. In Hesiod they are three skilled one-eyed craftsmen, sons of Gaia and Uranus, who make Zeus's thunderbolt. In Homer's Odyssey the Cyclopes are wild shepherds, and Polyphemus traps Odysseus and his crew in his cave. Odysseus blinds him with a sharpened stake.
Sirens, Scylla and Charybdis
Sirens lure sailors with song. Odysseus has his men block their ears with wax, and has himself tied to the mast so he can hear without steering the ship onto the rocks. Scylla is a six-headed monster, and Charybdis a whirlpool; sailors had to pass between them.
Why monsters matter
Monsters often express fears of the unknown, or the wildness of nature. Some, like Typhon, challenge even the gods: Zeus defeated him and imprisoned him under Mount Etna in some accounts. The gods are described on the Olympians page, and their wider stories are in the myths. A few creatures, like Medusa, show up on ancient objects you can see in UK museums.
Reading monster myths today
Monsters in Greek myth are not simply evil. Some, like Medusa in Ovid's version, are victims; some guard treasures or borders. Modern books and films often change them. When you want the ancient version, look back at Hesiod, Homer, Apollodorus and Ovid, and check translations. Remember that many monsters were visual favourites, appearing on shields, pottery and temple friezes.
Frequently asked questions
Who killed the Minotaur?
Theseus, with help from Ariadne, who gave him a thread to find his way out of the Labyrinth.
How was Medusa killed?
Perseus beheaded her while looking at her reflection in a polished shield, so he would not be turned to stone.
Was Medusa always a monster?
In Hesiod she is a Gorgon from the start. The story of her being a cursed woman comes from Ovid, a later Roman poet.