The Beasts of Greek Mythology
Centaurs
 Horse body, front is
human from waist up
 Gentle and wise
 Skilled in music and
medicine
Cerberus
 3 headed dog that
guards the entrance to
the underworld
Chimera
 Lion in front
 Goat in middle (goat
head)
 Serpent tail
 Fire breathing
Cyclops (es = plural)
 1 eyed giants
 Children of Gaia &
Uranus, also Poseidon
 Polyphemus (Odyssey)
Echidna
 “Mother of all Monsters”
 Chimera, Cerberus,
Sphinx
Gorgons
 3 sisters – Medusa




most famous
Lived underground
Snakes instead of hair
Scales on body
Anyone who looked into
their eyes turned to
stone.
Griffons
 Lion bodies
 Eagle wings & head
 Guardians of the god’s
treasures
Harpies
 Birds with women’s
heads and sharp claws
 Fierce
 Preyed on people
 Pecked eyes out
Hecatonchires
 Children of Gaia &
Uranus
 100 hands, 50 heads
Hydra
 9 headed dragon
 When 1 head is cut off,
2 more grow in its place
Minotaur
 Bull’s head on man’s
body
 Man-eating beast on
Crete
Pegasus
 White winged horse
 Sprang from blood of Medusa when Perseus killed
her
Satyr
 Part goat part man




(usually male)
Signify fertility
Carefree characters
who roam the forest
having fun
Companions of Pan and
Dionysus
Play the flute
Sphinx
 Woman’s head on lion’s
body – sometimes
shown with wings
 Riddle: What walks on 4
legs in the morning, 2
legs in the afternoon
and 3 legs in the
evening?
 Answer:
 Human
Triton
 Top half man – bottom
half fish (Merman)
 Son of Poseidon
 During big war, helped
Olympians by blowing a
conch shell and scaring
Titans.
Other Characters
Nymphs
 Beautiful women
 Mostly daughters of
Zeus, but some
daughters of the Titan
Ocean (lived in sea).
 Often fell in love with
human men.
Fates (3)
 3 women who control
the destiny of humans
 Hold the threat of life
and can cut it when
they want to – that is
the end of life.
Furies (3)
 Hideous to look at
 Bodies of old women
 Heads of dogs
 Snakes for hair
 Bat’s wings
 Live in Hades and
torture people
 Born of drops of blood
that fell on Gaia when
Uranus was castrated.
Graces (3)
 Daughters of Zeus and
a sea nymph
 Beautiful, handmaidens to Aphrodite
 Associated with spring
Graeae (3)
 3 Sisters of Gorgons
 Guarded Gorgons
 Shared 1 eye and 1
tooth
 Named Spiteful, Terrible
and Warlike
Muses (9)
 Daughters of Zeus and
Mnemosyne.
 Goddesses of the arts
 Followers of Apollo
 Served as inspiration to
humans who wanted to
be creative
The End !
Created by Ms. Birtcher
February 2011
Westerville North High School
English 9