The Centaurs lived in the mountains of Thessaly alongside the Lapiths with whom they maintained a constant war because the Centaurs wanted to abduct Hippodamia, the beautiful wife of King Piritoo.

Centaurs have the head, arms, and torso of a man and the body and legs of a horse. Public Domain,Ī centaur is a creature that is half man and half horse. Credit: John La Farge – Online Collection– Brooklyn Museum. She was later beheaded by Perseus, who used her head as a weapon and gave it to Athena for her shield. That is why gorgons were carved at the entrances of the temples to ward off visitors.Īthena, jealous of the beauty and attention that Medusa possessed, cursed her. They were beautiful but had snakes instead of hair, and anyone who looked at them was instantly petrified. The gorgons were ruthless female monsters: Medusa, Steno, and Euryale, who were daughters of the sea gods, Forcis and Ceto.

Gorgon An archaic Gorgon (around 580 BC), as depicted on a pediment from the temple of Artemis in Corfu, on display at the Archaeological Museum of Corfu. Tornadoes would form when she spit the water back out. She used to swallow large amounts of water each day, forming whirlpools and devouring sailors. This enraged her uncle Zeus, who thus turned her into a monster and banished her to the sea.Ĭharybdis became one of the most fearsome sea monsters. According to myth, she flooded large amounts of the Earth to expand her father’s kingdom and return to him. Public Domain,Ĭharybdis, a nymph, was once the beautiful daughter of Poseidon and Gaea.

Charybdis A 19th-century engraving of the Strait of Messina, the site associated with Scylla and Charybdis. The hydra took care of him and watched over his treasures. One myth tells the story of Apollo, who went in search of griffins and returned to Greece riding a hydra. Demigods were capable of taming them, however, and under them, they became loyal. They usually roamed in packs and were difficult to tame. This mythological creature takes the hybrid form of an eagle and a lion, combining their ferocity and courage into a single being. Griffin Martin Schongauer: The griffin, 15th century.

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