15 Terrifying Greek Mythological Creatures

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10 – Sphinx,

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  • The mythical Sphinx is a monster with the haunches of a lion, the wings of an eagle, and the face of a woman. She is known for her treachery and merciless nature, and for her terrifying habit of devouring those who fail to correctly answer her riddles.
  • The Sphinx famously appears in the legend of Oedipus. In the story, Oedipus travels down the road to his kingdom of Thebes, but is confronted by this strange and mysterious creature. Blocking Oedipus’ path, the Sphinx confronts him with the following riddle: ‘What is that which in the morning goeth upon four feet; upon two feet in the afternoon; and in the evening upon three?’
  • Oedipus correctly answers the riddle: ‘Man’, who crawls on all fours as a child, stands on two feet as an adult, then, assisted by a cane, stands on three feet in the twilight of his life. Having been bested at her own game, the Sphinx devours herself in a frustrated rage.

9 – Harpies,

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  • In Greek mythology, harpies are female monsters resembling birds with human faces. These former wind spirits drag evildoers to the Erinyes, the chthonic deities of vengeance.
  • The name of these winged spirits literally translates to ‘that which snatches’, which is apt considering their tendency to steal food. In fact, Zeus, the father of Gods and men, used harpies to punish King Phineus. Phineus was blinded and left on an island with a banquet of delicious food and a mob of harpies for company. Phineus endured torture by starvation; ravenous, he could never enjoy the delicious foods on offer because the harpies would always get to it first.
  • This is an example of the harpies’ cruelness. They regularly abduct people for the purpose of torturing them, and are therefore considered agents of punishment.

8 – Griffins/ Hippogriff,

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  • The Griffin is a legendary creature with the body, tail, and back legs of a lion; the head and wings of an eagle; and an eagle’s talons for front feet. Since it is comprised of two noble creatures – the king of beasts and the king of birds – griffins are thought to hold great powerful, intellect and majesty.
  • In ancient times, the griffin was considered a symbol of divine power and a guardian of the divine.
  • Hippogriffs – which did not, in fact, stem from J.K. Rowling’s imagination – share physical and behavioural similarities with Griffins. Hippogriffs are thought to be the outcome of breeding a male griffin with a mare. Because of this, they have softer temperaments and are easier to tame. In ancient times, knights rode hippogriffs into combat.

7 – The Chimera,

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  • The Chimera is the feral, fire-breathing monstrosity of Lycia. The Chimera possesses the body and head of a lion and a snake for a tail. Additionally, the head of a goat protrudes from its back.
  • The term chimera has come to describe any mythical or fictional creature with parts taken from various animals. It’s also used to describe wildly imaginative or implausible concepts.
  • The earliest recorded appearance of the Chimera is The Iliad. It is traditionally considered female, and is thought to have birthed the Sphinx and the Nemean lion. It is an offspring of Typhon and Echidna and a sibling to such monsters as Cerberus and the Lernaean Hydra.
  • This feared monster was believed to have been an omen for storms, shipwrecks and other natural disasters.
  • It is best known for its legendary battle with Bellerophon and Pegasus.

6 – The Phoenix,

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  • The phoenix of Greek mythology lives in Arabia, near a cool well, where it bathes each morning at dawn. It sings a song so beautiful that the Sun God stops his chariot to listen.
  • Legends tell that phoenixes can live over 1,400 years before their fabled rebirth. When a phoenix feels its death approaching, it builds a nest of aromatic wood and sets it on fire, so that it can be consumed by the flames. When burned, a new phoenix springs forth from the pyre. It embalms the ashes of its predecessor in an egg of myrrh and flies with it to the city of the sun, Heliopolis. There it deposits the egg on the Sun God’s altar.
  • In ancient Greece, the phoenix was sometimes associated with the similar-sounding Phoenicia, a region where purple dye is famously manufactured from conch shells. It is said that this version of the phoenix derived its name because of its allegedly purple-red hue. Because Phoenician purple dye has upper-class and even royal associations, the phoenix was considered ‘the royal bird’.
  • The phoenix is often depicted with a nimbus, emphasising its connection to the sun. It is also described as having a crest of feathers on its head, much like a rooster.

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One thought on “15 Terrifying Greek Mythological Creatures

  1. Erinyes were not the chthonic deities of vengeance but of remorse, they were the messengers of Hades and seized the souls of the dead.

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