by Tony Narloch

Created on: June 14, 2009

The Greek mythology is a rich and diverse array of stories featuring many horrific and hideous monsters as well as the brave heros that slayed them. Interestingly, many of these monsters were either created by the Gods to serve some purpose, or were brought into existence because a person displeased the Gods in someway, thereby meriting punishment. There was often a degree of "poetic justice" in the latter examples, i.e. the punishment was made to fit the crime. The reason for this is not merely that the gods had a twisted sense of humour (!) but also in order to more clearly and effectively express that certain forms of conduct and behaviour were wrongful.

An excellent reference point for a variety of the different Greek monsters that are to be found is within the legend of Heracles, specifically because during the performance of his twelve tasks, he had to encounter a myriad of these beasts!

This list is by no means comprehensive, nor exhaustive.

The Hydra was a monster which had to begin with, 9 heads with one of these heads totally immortal therefore rendering them immune from any sort of physical harm, and if it that was not enough for poor Heracles to contend with, the remaining eight heads had the remarkable ability to grow back double, if they were severed! In order to defeat the Hydra then, he cut each of the heads that would regenerate, taking care to cauterise the wound with fire to prevent the head from regrowing. With all of the heads thus dispatched, Heracles then proceeded to bury the remaining immortal head beneath a great boulder to prevent it causing further harm.

The Sirens were a trio of sea creatures that resided on an island, whilst they enchanted helpess sailors with their enchanting songs, only for the sailor to meet a grisly fate. The precise nature of the demise suffered by the victims is unknown, some authtors debate that the sailors were merely dashed against the rocks due to the strong current, others contend that the sirens wilfully lured the men to the island, only to devour them. A more recent argument has been that the sailors reached the island safely, but because they were so transfixed with the magical lilt of the song, would be unable to do anything else and thus would fade away to nothing.

As was fitting for most monsters within the Greek pantheon, the Sirens were a hybrid of animal and human, in this particular female and bird.

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