List of Greek mythological creatures

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This is a list of creatures, animals and tribes which are mentioned in the ancient Greek mythology.

Mythological creatures

  • Anax, a giant, son of Uranus and Gaea.
  • Asterius or Aster, a giant.
  • Athos, a giant.
  • Alcyoneus, a giant.
  • Almops, a giant, son of the god Poseidon and the half-nymph Helle.
  • Aloadae, they were strong and aggressive giants.
    • Ephialtes
    • Otus (or Otos)
  • Amphisbaena, a serpent with a head at each end.
  • Antaeus, half-giant son of Poseidon and Gaia. Killed by Heracles.
  • Arachne, a half-spider half-female, she is the mother of all spiders. She was made into that by Athena, after losing to a weaving contest after she boastfully said she was the best.
  • Arae, female daemons of curses. Particularly of the curses placed by the dead upon those guilty of their death, called forth from the underworld.
  • Argus, a 100-eyed giant.
  • Azeus, a giant.
  • Catoblepas, it had the body of a buffalo and the head of a wild boar.
  • Centaur and Centauride , a head and torso of a human with the body of a horse.
  • Cetus or Ceto, sea monsters.
  • Ceuthonymus, daemon of the underworld. Father of Menoetius.
  • Charon, the ferryman of Hades.
  • Charybdis, a sea monster whose inhalations formed a deadly whirlpool or a huge water mouth.
  • Chimera, a fire breathing three-headed monster with one head of lion, one of a snake, and another of a goat, lion claws in front and goat legs behind, and a long snake tail.
  • Chthonius, a giant.
  • Crocotta or Cynolycus, creature with the body of a stag, a lion's neck, cloven hooves, and a wide mouth with a sharp, bony ridge in place of teeth. It is imitating the human voice, to call men by name at night, and to devour those who approach it. It is as brave as a lion, as swift as a horse, and as strong as a bull. It cannot be overcome by any weapon of steel.
  • Cyclops or Cyclopes, they were one-eyed giant creatures.
  • Daemons
  • Diomedes of Thrace, was a giant, the son of Ares and Cyrene
  • Echion, a giant.
  • Eurynomos, the netherworld daemon of rotting corpses dwelling in the Underworld.
  • Enceladus or Enkelados, a giant who battled Athena at the war against the gods.
  • Erinyes (Furies), the goddesses of vengeance, who were the offspring of Gaia born from the blood shed when Kronos castrated his father Uranus. Their number is usually left indeterminate, Virgil mention that they were three:
  • Eurytus, a giant.
  • Ghosts, Shades, Spirits.
  • Gegenees, six-armed giants which were slain by the Argonauts.
  • Geryon, was a giant according to Hesiod Geryon had one body and three heads, whereas the tradition followed by Aeschylus gave him three bodies. A lost description by Stesichoros said that he has six hands and six feet and is winged; there are some mid-sixth-century Chalcidian vases portraying Geryon as winged. Some accounts state that he had six legs as well while others state that the three bodies were joined to one pair of legs.
  • Gigantes, were a race of great strength and aggression. Archaic and Classical representations show Gigantes as human in form. Later representations show Gigantes with snakes for legs.
  • Gorgons, monstrous women depicted as having snakes on their head instead of hair, tusks and whiskers.
    • Medusa, whose gaze could turn anyone to stone.
    • Stheno, most murderous of the sisters.
    • Euryale, whose scream could kill.
  • Graeae, three old women with one tooth and one eye among them.
    • Deino
    • Persis or Perso or persos
    • Pemphredo
  • Griffin or Gryphon or Gryps or Grypes, a creature that combines the body of a lion and the head and wings of an eagle.
  • Hecatonchires, three giants of incredible strength and ferocity.
    • Briareos or Aegaeon
    • Cottus
    • Gyges
  • Harpies, creature with torso, head and arms of women, talons, tail and wings (mixed with the arms) of bird.
  • Hippalectryon, a creature with the fore-parts of a rooster and the body of a horse.
  • Hippocampus, a creature with the upper body of a horse and the lower body of a fish.
  • Hippogriff, a creature with the front part of an eagle and hind legs and tail of a horse, symbols of Apollo.
  • Hydras
    • Lernaean Hydra, also known as King Hydra, a many-headed, serpent-like creature that guarded an Underworld entrance beneath Lake Lerna. It was destroyed by Heracles, in his second Labour. Son of Typhon and Echidna.
  • Ichthyocentaurs, a pair of marine centaurs with the upper bodies of men, the lower fronts of horses, and the tails of fish
  • Ipotane, a race of half-horse, half-humans. The Ipotanes are considered the original version of the Centaurs.
  • Keres, spirit of violent or cruel death.
  • Kobaloi, was a sprite from Greek mythology, a mischievous creature fond of tricking and frightening mortals.
  • Laestrygonians or Laestrygones, a tribe of giant cannibals.
  • Lion-Headed Giants
    • Leon or Lion, killed by Herakles in the war against the gods.
  • Manticore or Androphagos, it has the body of a red lion, a human head with three rows of sharp teeth.
  • Merpeople, human with fish tail after torso (Mermaid as female, Merman as male), they lure adventurers to drown them.
  • Minotaur, a monster with the head of a bull and the body of a man; slain by Theseus.
  • Mimas, a giant.
  • Multi-headed Dogs
    • Cerberus (Hellhound), the three-headed giant hound, that guarded the gates of the Underworld.
    • Orthrus, a two-headed dog, brother of Cerberus, slain by Heracles.
  • Onocentaur, part human, part donkey. Head and torso of a human with the body of a donkey.
  • Ophiotaurus (Bull-Serpent), a creature part bull and part serpent.
  • Orion, giant huntsman whom Zeus placed among the stars as the constellation of Orion.
  • Pallas, a giant.
  • Panes, a tribe of nature-spirits which had the heads and torsos of men, the legs and tails of goats, goatish faces and goat-horns.
  • Periboea, a Giantess. Daughter of the king of the giants
  • Philinnion, unwed maiden who died prematurely and returned from the tomb as the living dead to consort with a handsome youth named Makhates. When her mother discovered the girl she collapsed back into death and was burned by the terrified townsfolk beyond the town boundaries.
  • Phoenix, a golden-red fire bird of which only one could live at a time, but would burst into flames to rebirth from ashes as a new phoenix.
  • Polybotes, a giant.
  • Porphyrion, a giant.
  • Satyrs and Satyresses, companions of Pan and Dionysus which had human upper bodies, and the horns and hindquarters of a goat.
    • Silenus or Papposilenus, was a companion and tutor to the wine god Dionysus.
  • Scylla, lover of Poseidon, transformed by Circe into a many-headed, tentacled monster who fed on passing sailors in the straits between herself and Charybdis.
  • Scythian Dracanae, upper body of a woman, lower body composed of two snake tails.
  • Sirens, mermaid like women whose irresistible song lured sailors to their deaths
  • Skolopendra, giant sea monster said to be the size of a Greek trireme. It has a crayfish-like tail, numerous legs along its body which it uses like oars to move and extremely long hairs that protrude from its nostrils. Child of Phorcys and Keto.[1]
  • Sphinx has the haunches of a lion, the wings of a great bird, and the face of a woman.
  • Stymphalian Birds, man-eating birds with beaks of bronze and sharp metallic feathers they could launch at their victims.
  • Taraxippi, ghosts that frightened horses
  • Thoon, a giant.
  • Tityos, was a giant.
  • Typhon or Typhoeus, extremely savage and terrifying monster with man's upper body, snake coils instead of legs and serpentine fingers.
  • Unicorns or Monocerata, creatures as large as horses, or even larger with a large, pointed, spiraling horn projecting from their forehead.
  • Witchers/Witches/Sorceress
  • Vampire Daemons
    • Corinthian Lamia, a vampiric demo who seduced the handsome youth Menippos in the guise of a beautiful woman to consume his flesh and blood.
    • Empousa, seductive female vampire demons with fiery hair, a leg of bronze and a donkey's foot. They are especially good at ensnaring men with their beauty before devouring them.
    • Lamia, a vampiric demon who by voluptuous artifices attracted young men, in order to enjoy their fresh, youthful, and pure flesh and blood.
    • Mormo or Mormolyceae or Mormolyce, a vampiric creature which preyed on children.
    • Mormolykeia, female underworld Daemons, attendants of the goddess Hecate.
  • Werewolf or Lycanthrope.
  • Winged Horses or Pterippi, winged pure white horses.
    • Pegasus, a divine winged stallion that is pure white, son of Medusa and Poseidon, brother of Chrysaor and father of winged horses.

Animals from Greek mythology

  • Birds of Ares or Ornithes Areioi, were a flock of feather-dart-dropping birds that guarded the Amazons' shrine of the god on a coastal island in the Black Sea.
  • Boars
    • Calydonian Boar, a gigantic boar sent by Artemis to ravage Calydon.Was slain in the Calydonian Boar Hunt.
    • Clazomenae Boar, gigantic winged sow which terrorized the Greek town of Klazomenai in Ionia, Asia Minor.
    • Crommyonian Sow, the Crommyonian Sow was a wild pig that ravaged the region around the village of Crommyon between Megara and Corinth, and was eventually slain by Theseus in his early adventures.
    • Erymanthian Boar, a gigantic boar which Heracles was sent to retrieve as one of his labors.
  • Cattle
    • The Cattle of Geryon, magnificent cattle guarded by Orthrus.
    • The Cattle of Helios, immortal cattle of oxen and sheeps owned by the sun god Helios.
    • The black-skinned cattle of Hades, the cattle owned by Hades and guarded by Menoetes.
  • Cercopes, monkeys.
  • Cretan Bull, was the bull Pasiphaë fell in love with, giving birth to the Minotaur.
  • Dionysus Leopard, Dionysus often shown riding a leopard.
  • Dionysus Panthers, the panthers drawn the chariot of Dionysus.
  • Dogs/Hounds
    • Argos, Odysseus faithful dog, known for his speed, strength and his superior tracking skills.
    • Golden Dog, a dog which guarded the infant god Zeus.
    • Guard Dogs of Hephaestus Temple, the temple of Hephaestus at Mount Etna was guarded by a pack of sacred dogs.
    • Laelaps, a female dog destined always to catch its prey.
    • Maera, the hound of Erigone, daughter of Icarius of Athens.
  • Donkeys
    • Donkey of Hephaestus, Hephaestus often shown riding a donkey.
    • Donkey of Silenus, Silenus was riding a donkey.
  • Deers
    • Ceryneian Hind, an enormous deer which was sacred to Artemis; Heracles was sent to retrieve it as one of his labours
    • Elaphoi Khrysokeroi, four immortal golden-horned deer sacred to the goddess Artemis. They drew the goddess' chariot.
  • Eagles
    • Aetos Dios, giant golden eagle of Zeus.
    • Aethon or Caucasian Eagle, a giant eagle, offspring of Typhon and Echidna. Zeus condemned Prometheus to having his liver eaten by the Caucasian Eagle for giving the Flames of Olympus to the mortals.
  • Giant turtle, Sciron robbed travelers passing the Sceironian Rocks and forced them to wash his feet. When they knelt before him, he kicked them over the cliff into the sea, where they were eaten by the giant sea turtle. Theseus killed him in the same way.
  • Golden-haired ram, from which the Golden Fleece, which was held in Colchis, have been made.
  • Horses
    • Anemoi, the gods of the four directional winds in horse-shape drawn the chariot of Zeus.
      • Boreas
      • Eurus
      • Notos
      • Zephyrus or Zephyr
    • Arion, the immortal horse of Adrastus who could run at fantastic speeds.
    • Balius and Xanthus, the immortal horses of Achilles.
    • Mares of Diomedes, four man-eating horses belonging to the giant Diomedes.
    • Horses of Ares, immortal fire breathing horses of God Ares.
      • Aethon
      • Konabos
      • Phlogeous
      • Phobos
    • Horses of Eos, a pair of immortal horses owned by the dawn-goddess, Eos.
    • Horses of Erechtheus, a pair of immortal horses owned by the king of Athens, Erechtheus.
      • Podarkes
      • Xanthos
    • Horses of Dioskouroi, the immortal horses of the Dioskouroi.
      • Harpagos
      • Kyllaros
      • Phlogeus
      • Xanthos
    • Horses of the Hector
      • Aethon
      • Lampus
      • Podargus
      • Xanthus
    • Horses of the Helios, immortal horses of the sun-god Helios.
      • Abraxas
      • Aethon
      • Bronte
      • Euos
      • Phlegon
      • Pyrois
      • Sterope
      • Therbeeo
    • Horses of the Poseidon, immortal horses of the god Poseidon.
    • Lampos, three horses had the same name. One was owned by Eos, one by Diomedes and one by Hector.
    • Trojan Horses or Trojan Hippoi, twelve immortal horses owned by the Trojan Kings Laomedon.
  • Karkinos, a giant crab which fought Heracles alongside the Lernaean Hydra.
  • Lions
    • Nemean Lion, a gigantic lion whose skin was impervious to weapons; it was strangled by Heracles.
    • Rhea's Lions, the lions drawn the chariot of Rhea.
  • Owls
  • Snakes of Hera, Hera sent two big snakes to kill Herakles when he was an infant.
  • Swans of Apollo, the swans drawn the chariot of Apollo.
  • Teumessian fox, a gigantic fox destined never to be hunted down.

Dragons

The dragons of Greek mythology were serpentine monsters. They include the serpent-like Drakons, the marine-dwelling Cetea and the she-monster Dracaenae. Homer describes the dragons with wings and legs.

  • The Colchian Dragon, an unsleeping dragon which guarded the Golden Fleece
  • Cychreides, a dragon which terrorised Salamis before being slain by Cychreus
  • Demeter's dragons, a pair of winged dragons that drew Demeter's chariot and, after having been given as a gift, Triptolemus's
  • Delphyne, female dragon.
  • Giantomachian dragon, a dragon that was thrown at Athena during the Giant war. She threw it into the sky where it became the constellation Draco
  • Lernaean Hydra, also known as King Hydra, a many-headed, serpent-like creature that guarded an Underworld entrance beneath Lake Lerna. It was destroyed by Heracles, in his second Labour. Son of Typhon and Echidna.
  • The Ismenian Dragon, a dragon which guarded the sacred spring of Ares near Thebes; it was slain by Cadmus
  • Ladon, a serpent-like dragon which guarded the Golden apples of immortality of the Hesperides
  • Maeonian Drakon, a dragon that lived in the kingdom of Lydia and that was killed by Damasen
  • Medea's dragons, a pair of flying dragons that pulled Medea's chariot. Born from the blood of the Titans
  • Nemean dragon, a dragon that guarded Zeus' sacred grove in Nemea
  • Ophiogenean dragon, a dragon that guarded Artemis' sacred grove in Mysia
  • Pitanian dragon, a dragon in Pitane, Aeolis, that was turned to stone by the gods
  • Python, a dragon which guarded the oracle of Delphi; it was slain by Apollo.
  • Rhodian dragons, serpents that inhabited the island of Rhodes; they were killed by Phorbus
  • Thespian dragon, a dragon that terrorized the city of Thespiae in Boeotia
  • Trojan dragons, a pair of dragons sent by Poseidon to kill Laocoön and his sons in order to stop him from telling his people that the Wooden Horse was a trap.
  • Solar Dragons

Drakons

Drakons ("δράκους" in Greek, "dracones" in Latin) were giant serpents, sometimes possessing multiple heads or able to breathe fire (or even both), but most just spit deadly venom.

The Laconian Drakon was one of the most fearsome of all the drakons. Drakons don't have wings like dragons either

Cetea

Cetea were sea monsters. They were usually featured in myths of a hero rescuing a sacrificial princess.

  • The Ethiopian Cetus was a sea monster sent by Poseidon to ravage Ethiopia and devour Andromeda, which was slain by Perseus
  • The Trojan Cetus was a sea monster that plagued Troy before being slain by Heracles.

Dracaenae

The Dracaenae were monsters that had the upper body of a beautiful woman and the lower body of any sort of dragon. Echidna, the mother of monsters, and Keto, the mother of sea-monsters are two famous dracaenae. Some Dracaenae were even known to have had in place of two legs, one (or two) serpent tail.

  • Campe, a dracaena that was charged by Cronus with the job of guarding the gates of Tartarus; she was slain by Zeus when he rescued the Cyclopes and Hecatoncheires from their prison
  • Ceto, a marine goddess who was the mother of all sea monsters as well as Echidna and other dragons and monsters.
  • Echidna, wife of Typhon and mother of monsters.
  • Poena, a dracaena sent by Apollo to ravage the kingdom of Argos as punishment for the death of his infant son Linos; killed by Coraebus.
  • Scythian Dracaena, the Dracaena queen of Scythia; she stole Geryon's cattle that Heracles was herding through the region and agreed to return them on condition he mate with her.
  • Scylla, a dracaena that was the lover of Poseidon, transformed by Circe into a multi headed monster that fed on passing sailors in the way between her and Charybdis
  • Sybaris, a draceana that lived on a mountain near Delphi, eating shepherds and passing travellers; she was pushed off the cliff by Eurybarus.

Automatons

Automatons, or Colossi, were men/women, animals and monsters crafted out of metal and made animate in order to perform various tasks. They were created by the divine smith, Hephaestus. The Athenian inventor Daedalus also manufactured automatons.

  • The Hippoi Kabeirikoi, four bronze horse-shaped automatons crafted by Hephaestus to draw the chariot of the Cabeiri
  • The Keledones, singing maidens sculpted out of gold by Hephaestus
  • The Khalkotauroi, fire-breathing bulls created by Hephaestus as a gift for Aeëtes.
  • The Kourai Khryseai, golden maidens sculpted by Hephaestus to attend him in his household.
  • Talos, a giant man made out of bronze to protect Europa Esther

Legendary tribes

  • Acephali (Greek akephalos, plural akephaloi, from a-, "without", and kephalé, "head") are human without head, with their mouths and eyes being in their breasts.
  • Amazons, a nation of all-female warriors.
    • Aegea, a queen of the Amazons
    • Aella (Ἄελλα), an Amazon who was killed by Heracles
    • Alcibie (Ἀλκιβίη), an Amazonian warrior, killed by Diomedes at Troy
    • Antandre (Ἀντάνδρη), an Amazonian warrior, killed by Achilles at Troy
    • Antiope (Ἀντιόπη), a daughter of Ares and sister of Hippolyta
    • Areto (Ἀρετώ), an Amazon
    • Asteria (Ἀστερία), an Amazon who was killed by Heracles
    • Bremusa (Βρέμουσα), an Amazonian warrior, killed by Idomeneus at Troy
    • Celaeno (Κελαινώ), an Amazonian warrior, killed by Heracles
    • Eurypyle (Εὐρυπύλη), an Amazon leader who invaded Ninus and Babylonia
    • Hippolyta (Ἱππολύτη), a queen of Amazons and daughter of Ares
    • Hippothoe (Ἱπποθόη), an Amazonian warrior, killed by Achilles at Troy
    • Iphito (Ἰφιτώ), an Amazon who served under Hippolyta
    • Lampedo (Λαμπεδώ), an Amazon queen who ruled with her sister Marpesia
    • Marpesia (Μαρπεσία), an Amazon queen who ruled with her sister Lampedo
    • Melanippe (Μελανίππη), a daughter of Ares and sister of Hippolyta and Antiope
    • Molpadia (Μολπαδία), an Amazon who killed Antiope
    • Myrina (Μύρινα), a queen of the Amazons
    • Orithyia (Ὠρείθυια), an Amazon queen
    • Otrera (Ὀτρήρα), an Amazon queen, consort of Ares and mother of Hippolyta
    • Pantariste (Πανταρίστη), an Amazon who fought with Hippolyta against Heracles
    • Penthesilea (Πενθεσίλεια), an Amazon queen who fought in the Trojan War on the side of Troy
  • Arimaspi, a tribe of one-eyed men.
  • Cynocephaly, dog-headed people.
  • Curetes, legendary people who took part in the quarrel over the Calydonian Boar.
  • Dactyls, mythical race of small phallic male beings.
  • Hyperboreans, mythical people who lived "beyond the North Wind".
  • Korybantes, were armed and crested dancers.
  • Lapiths
  • Lotus-eaters, people living on an island dominated by lotus plants. The lotus fruits and flowers were the primary food of the island and were narcotic, causing the people to sleep in peaceful apathy.
  • Machlyes, hermaphrodites whose bodies were male on one side and female on the other.
  • Monopodes or Skiapodes, a tribe of one-legged Libyan men who used their gigantic foot as shade against the midday sun.
  • Myrmidons, legendary warriors commanded by Achilles.
  • Panotii, a tribe of northern men with gigantic, body-length ears.
  • Pygmies, a tribe of one and a half foot tall African men who rode goats into battle against migrating cranes
  • Spartoi, mythical warriors who sprang up from the dragon's teeth.
  • Telchines

Primordial Deities, Titans, Olympians, Moirai, Charites, Muses, Nymphs

List of Greek mythological figures

See also

References

  1. ↑ http://www.theoi.com/Thaumasios/Skolopendra.html

Sources

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  • Morford, Mark; Robert Lenardon (2003). Classical Mythology (7 ed.). New York: Oxford University Press.
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