Echidna
Also called Ekhidna.
In Greek mythology, Echidna is the "Mother of Monsters," a half-woman, half-serpent drakaina whose unions with Typhon produced the Hydra, Cerberus, the Chimera, and much of the era's monstrous brood.
At a glance
- Tradition
- Greek mythology
- Region
- Greece (place of origin)
- Trait family
- The Monstrous Broods
Kinship
Lines of descent added by hand and approved one at a time.
- Cerberus derived from this figure
why
Echidna's principal mythological significance is genealogical rather than active: she is named as mother, by Typhon, of the multi-headed hound Orthrus, the many-headed Hydra of Lerna, the fire- breathing Chimera, and Cerberus, the multi-headed hound who guards the gates of the underworld; in some tellings she is also given as mother of the Sphinx and the Nemean Lion, and of the dragon that guarded the golden apples of the Hesperides.
- Chimera derived from this figure
why
Born to the monstrous Typhon and Echidna, the Chimera was said to have terrorized the lands of Lycia in Asia Minor.
- Sphinx derived from this figure
why
Echidna's principal mythological significance is genealogical rather than active: she is named as mother, by Typhon, of the multi-headed hound Orthrus, the many-headed Hydra of Lerna, the fire- breathing Chimera, and Cerberus, the multi-headed hound who guards the gates of the underworld; in some tellings she is also given as mother of the Sphinx and the Nemean Lion, and of the dragon that guarded the golden apples of the Hesperides.
- Hydra derived from this figure
why
Echidna's principal mythological significance is genealogical rather than active: she is named as mother, by Typhon, of the multi-headed hound Orthrus, the many-headed Hydra of Lerna, the fire- breathing Chimera, and Cerberus, the multi-headed hound who guards the gates of the underworld; in some tellings she is also given as mother of the Sphinx and the Nemean Lion, and of the dragon that guarded the golden apples of the Hesperides.
- Ladon derived from this figure
why
Ancient sources vary on his exact parentage: he is most often called a child of Typhon and Echidna, placing him among their brood of monstrous siblings, though some accounts instead make him the offspring of the sea-deities Phorcys and Ceto, or born directly from Gaia.
- Nemean Lion derived from this figure
why
In Hesiod's Theogony it is the offspring of Orthrus, the hound of Geryon, upon Echidna, making the Sphinx its sibling in that passage and connecting it only indirectly, through its father, to the broader monstrous brood Echidna bore to Typhon, which includes the Hydra, Cerberus, and the Chimera
Near this figure
Traits
Read from the figure's description, which a model wrote. Open "why" for the sentence a trait came from.
Form
- Serpentine elongated body
why
her lower body a great coiling snake's tail rather than legs
- Front half back half different species hybrid
why
beautiful and nymph-like from the face down to the waist, with bright cheeks and eyes, but serpentine and monstrous below
Behaviour
- Mother of monsters
why
In Greek mythology, Echidna is the "Mother of Monsters," a half-woman, half-serpent drakaina whose unions with Typhon produced the Hydra, Cerberus, the Chimera, and much of the era's monstrous brood.
- Solitary and territorial by nature
why
Hesiod calls her ageless and immortal, and says she dwells apart from both gods and mortals in a hollow cave, in some tellings devouring raw flesh in her subterranean lair.
Offensive powers
- Devouring
why
Hesiod calls her ageless and immortal, and says she dwells apart from both gods and mortals in a hollow cave, in some tellings devouring raw flesh in her subterranean lair.
Roles
Judged from the works' own entries, not from the description. Carries: the figure holds the role. Meets: the role is in its stories, held by something it meets.
- Serpent carries
2 citations
- Apollodorus, translated by J. G. Frazer, The Library, p. 339.
- Hesiod, translated by Hugh G. Evelyn-White, Hesiod, the Homeric Hymns and Homerica, p. 9.
- Shadow carries
2 citations
- Apollodorus, translated by J. G. Frazer, The Library, p. 339.
- Hesiod, translated by Hugh G. Evelyn-White, Hesiod, the Homeric Hymns and Homerica, p. 9.
- Threshold carries
2 citations
- Apollodorus, translated by J. G. Frazer, The Library, p. 339.
- Hesiod, translated by Hugh G. Evelyn-White, Hesiod, the Homeric Hymns and Homerica, p. 9.
- Hero meets
2 citations
- Apollodorus, translated by J. G. Frazer, The Library, p. 339.
- Hesiod, translated by Hugh G. Evelyn-White, Hesiod, the Homeric Hymns and Homerica, p. 9.