Written and Illustrated by Jay Lopez Written and Illustrated by Jay Lopez

Copyright © 2021 by Jay Lopez

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or used in any manner without written permission of the copyright owner. Table of Contents

MEDUSA ...... 3

CERBERUS ...... 5

HYDRA ...... 7

PEGASUS ...... 9

CHIMERA ...... 11 MEDUSA

Medusa was one of the three Gorgons, daughters of Phorcys and Ceto, sisters of the Graeae, Echidna, and Ladon – all dreadful and fearsome beasts. A beautiful mortal, Medusa was the sole exception in the family, until she incurred the wrath of Athena, either due to her boastfulness or because of an ill-fated love affair with Poseidon. Transformed into a vicious monster with snakes for hair, she gained the abilty to turn anyone into stone after one look at her eyes.

Medusa was beheaded by the hero Perseus, who thereafter used her head, which retained its ability to turn onlookers to stone, as a weapon until he gave it to the goddess Athena to place on her shield. For Medusa was pregnant at the time of her death, and when Perseus severed her head, her two unborn children, Chrysaor and Pegasus, suddenly sprang from her neck. In classical antiquity the image of the head of Medusa appeared in the evil-averting device known as the Gorgoneion.

CREATURE

...watch out for her stone-cold gaze.... 3 ...hound of hades, guardian of the gates of hell....

Cerberus – also known as the “hound of Hades” – was the multi-headed dog who guarded the gates of the Underworld, preventing the dead from leaving, and making sure that those who entered never left. A child of Typhon and Echidna, he was part of a monstrous family, which included Orthus, the Lernaean Hydra, and the Chimaera as well. Each of Cerberus’s heads represent something; the first, birth, the second, youth, the last, old age. It also represents birth, life, and death. Sometimes it is described with fifty heads or a thousand heads, or even with a mane made of fire.

Only a few heroes ever escaped Cerberus’s guard. However, the Greeks did note in their myths that Cerberus was a fan of sweet things like honey cakes and music, and this became his undoing. The three occasions Cerberus was tricked by visitors of Hades were: Heracles did it with strength alone, Orpheus with his music, and the Sybil of Cumae with a honey-cake.

Monster

5 The Lernaean Hydra was a monster in Greek mythology. It is generally said to have eight mortal heads, and one immortal head. This head could not be harmed by any weapon. Every time someone would cut off one of them, two more heads would grow out of the stump. It was one of the offspring of Typhon and Echidna, the father and mother of all monsters respectively. It lived in the lake Lerna in the region of Argolid in the Peloponnese. The Hydra guarded an entrance to the Underworld at a swamp near Lake Lerna at the time of her death. It terrorized with place quite often, and Hercules was sent to it as the second of his impossible labors.

It is said that he killed three heads with his club upon his arrival, but found that two more grew back each time one was killed. Heracles sought the help of his nephew, Iolaus, who came up with the idea of burning the stumps of the severed heads, stopping the poison blood flow, causing it’s heads to stop returning. Hera sent a large crab, Karkinos (Cancer), to distract Heracles while he fought the Hydra, nipping his feet. Only one head remaining, the immortal one, Heracles buried the still living one-headed Hydra under a large boulder. Finally, Cancer was crushed by Heracles. Both monsters were made into a constellation by the grieving Hera. Monster

...cut it’s head off, two will grow back... 7 ...immortal winged horse....

Pegasus was an immortal winged horse, one of the two children of Poseidon and Medusa. Along with his brother, the golden-sworded Chrysaor, Pegasus sprang forth most miraculously from his pregnant mother’s neck after Perseus had beheaded her. Pegasus’ name originates in the Greek word pegae, meaning spring, since he was believed born near the springs of Ocean. But he was also associated with waters due to an exceptional trait of his he had inherited from his father.

In another myth, it aided the hero Bellerophon in his quest to kill the Khimaira. When Bellerephon later attempted to fly Pegasus to Mount Olympus, he was knocked off of the winged horse by Zeus. Despite this, Pegasus continued on and made it to Mount Olympus, where he spent his days stabled with pulling the chariot of the god of thunder Zeus’s, containing his thunderbolts.

CREATURE

9 ...a thing of immortal make, not human, lion- fronted and snake behind, a goat in the middle...

The Chimaera was a hybrid monster in Greek mythology, child of Typhoeus and Echidna and sibling of Cerberus and the Lernaean Hydra. It had the head and body of a lion, as well as the head of a goat that was attached to its back, and a tail that ended on a head of a snake. It resided in Lycia, a place in Asia Minor, where it ravaged the lands with its fire breath. It’s said to have also appeared away from Lycia, but it’s appearance elsewhere was interpreted as a forewarning of an impending natural disaster.

It was killed by Bellerophon, assisted by Pegasus, when the former was asked by King Iobates of Lycia. Bellerophon rode on Pegasus’ back, out of range of the monster’s fiery breath, the Greek hero would shoot arrow after arrow at the monster. The arrows of Bellerophon though, were unable to penetrate the hide of the Chimera. Returning once more after a swift retreat, the hero had discarded his bow and arrows, and was this time armed with a lance. Bellerophon though, did not mean to try and spear the Chimera, for the tip of the lance was covered with a block of lead. Bellerophon would swoop down upon the Chimera, and with a well-aimed thrust released the block of lead down the throat of the monster. The lead would melt, suffocating the Chimera. MONSTER

11

Monster or Creature?

In the early times of Greek mythology, when man was closer to gods, there roamed unique beings of all shapes and sizes. All these monsters and creatures intertwine with each other one way or another; but how were they truly in their time? Were they always hostile? Were they good or bad? Misunderstood? Shrunk into easy sections, Monsters and Creatures: From Greek Mythology goes into depth about who and what these creatures were. With eye-catching designs and easy to read descriptions, this book will bring you up close and personal with these monsters and creatures like never before.

Written and Illustrated by Jay Lopez