Hydra
A gigantic water serpent with multiple heads that regenerate when severed. Slain by Heracles as his second labor, who discovered that two heads grow back for each one cut off.
The Bestiary
Greek Mythological Creatures
9 creatures from the Greek Pantheon in the atlas, listed from most to least dangerous by the atlas's own rating.
Medusa
The mortal Gorgon sister with living serpents for hair. Once beautiful, she was cursed by Athena and could turn anyone who looked upon her face to stone. Beheaded by the hero Perseus.
Cerberus
The three-headed hound of Hades who guards the gates of the Underworld to prevent the dead from leaving. His mane consists of writhing serpents.
Chimera
A fire-breathing hybrid monster with the head of a lion, body of a goat, and tail of a serpent. Slain by the hero Bellerophon while riding the winged horse Pegasus.
Cyclops
One-eyed giants of immense strength. The most famous, Polyphemus, trapped Odysseus and his men in his cave. They were master craftsmen who forged Zeus's thunderbolts.
Ladon
The serpent that guarded the golden apples in the garden of the Hesperides. Hesiod calls it the youngest child of Ceto and Phorcys; Apollodorus gives it a hundred heads; Apollonius of Rhodes names it Ladon and shows it lying dead the day after Heracles took the apples.
Minotaur
A creature with the body of a man and head of a bull, born from Queen Pasiphae and the Cretan Bull. Imprisoned in the Labyrinth of Daedalus and fed Athenian youths until slain by Theseus.
Nemean Lion
The lion of Nemea whose hide no weapon could pierce. Killing it was the first of Heracles' labours: when his arrows glanced off, he trapped it in its cave and strangled it, and its skin became his emblem.
Sphinx
A creature with the body of a lion, wings of an eagle, and head of a woman. She terrorized Thebes, devouring travelers who failed to answer her riddles until Oedipus solved her puzzle.
Built from each creature's catalog entry. Back to the Greek Pantheon, or browse every creature.