To this day, when he struggles to get out, the earth shakes with him and his fiery breath melts down rocks of the mountain. This fight he could not win however, and he end up stroke be a Zeus’ lightning and crushed with the mount Etna on Sicily. Typhon was so confident in his unnatural strength and the power of his fiery gaze, that he challenged Zeus over the rule of the world. He was the mightiest of creatures, his snake heads were intimidating his enemies with constant hissing, and his eyes were throwing flames as he wished. Instead of legs he had two enormous snake tails. His upper part of the body was partly human-shaped, but he had a hundred snake heads on his shoulders, and a pair of huge wings. He was a dreadful giant taller than the highest mountains, and whose head reached the skies and while stretching his hands he could reach both ends of the Earth. Oedipus was wise though, and after some consideration, he answered the riddle: “Man crawls on all fours as a young child, walks on two feet as an adult, and during the sunset of his life requires the help of a cane.” That was indeed the answer to the Sphinx’s riddle and Oedipus was free to continue his travels, unlike many others before him who were devoured by the beast.Īs the youngest son of Gaia and Tartarus, Typhon was one of the oldest creatures that ever walked the Earth, and himself father of many monsters, such as the abovementioned Cerberus, Sphinx, Chimera and Hydra. The most famous sphinx, however, is the one that blocked Oedipus’s way and demanded an answer to the following riddle: “What creature walks upon four feet in the morning, upon two feet at noon, and upon three in the evening?” The creature threatened Oedipus with death unless he was able to provide the correct answer. Sphinxes in the ancient Greek tradition were gatekeepers and were often depicted above tombs. The Sphinx is a monster that was said to have the head of a woman, the body of a lion, and the wings of an eagle. Arion Another name from Greek mythology that means ‘melodious.’ The legend goes that Arion was an immortal horse, which many believed had the power of speech. Argus was a creature with one hundred eyes and is also a character in the Harry Potter series, Argus Filch. Although the Sphinx is most closely associated with ancient Egypt, this mythical beast was also famous in the ancient Greek world. Argus From Greek mythology, Argus is Greek for a watchful guardian.
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