Echidna (mythology) - All About All

Echidna (mythology)

In the most ancient layers of Greek mythology Echidna (ekhis, meaning "she viper") was called the "Mother of All Monsters". Echidna was described by Hesiod (Theogony) as a female monster, who mothered with Typhon every major monster in the entire Greek mythos. Usually considered offspring of Uranus and Gaia, or sometimes Ceto and Phorcys or Chysaor and the naiad Callirhoe. She had the face of a beautiful woman but the body of a serpent (see also Lamia). When she and her mate, Typhon, attacked the Olympians, Zeus beat them back and punished Typhon by sealing him under Mount Etna. However, Zeus allowed Echidna and her children to live as a challenge to future heroes.

Echidna and Typhon's Offspring

The offspring of Typhon and Echidna were:

1. Geryon
2. Nemean Lion
3. Cerberus
4. Orthrus
5. Ladon
6. Chimera
7. Sphinx
8. Lernaean Hydra
9. Ethon

According to Herodotus ((3, c. 108), Hercules had three children by her:

1. Agathyrsus
2. Gelonus
3. Scytha

See also

External links

• Mythography article (http://www.loggia.com/myth/echidna.html)