10 Feared Female Creatures of Greek Mythology

 

 

Have you ever thought about why so many leading ladies in ancient Greek mythology are usually in the guise of wicked witches, devious femme fatales, evil goddesses and fearsome monsters?

 I’m no psychologist, so maybe, just maybe, could it have been that the ancient Greek male was doing a bit of shadow work?

Was he confronting his innermost fear, realizing that what he had suspected all along, was actually true; that women are equal, if not sometimes superior to males and so he concocted stories portraying women as the abomination of humanity?

Food for thought!

 

 

The ancient Greek male:

The original misogynist

 

Misogyny (a word derived from the Greek misos meaning hatred and gunē meaning woman), is the  hatred or contempt for women, something  which was notoriously rampant in ancient Greece.

In ancient Greece, unless you were smart enough to become an hetaira an ancient Greek courtesan, women were controlled by men at almost every stage of their lives.

 Women had no political rights, were considered socially inferior to men, their only  roles and obligations being household duties, being subservient wives, serving their husband’s needs and of course, bearing children; male only please!

Aristotle (384–322 BC), the revered philosopher believed women were inferior to men; in his work Politics, he states:

 “as regards the sexes, the male is by nature superior and the female inferior, the male ruler and the female subject”

 

 

Misogyny can be traced back to the Greek myth of the origins of the first woman ever to walk upon Earth; Pandora.

After Prometheus was caught stealing fire from the gods, to give to mankind, the gods punished him by chaining him to a rock where, forever more, a giant eagle would devour his liver.

The punishment to mankind for the crime of receiving stolen goods came in the form of Pandora; the first mortal woman on earth, the bane of all mankind.

Hesiod, famous ancient Greek poet, in his work “Theogony”, says of Pandora:

 “From her is the race of women and female kind,

of her is the deadly race and tribe of women who

live amongst mortal men to their great trouble,

no helpmates in hateful poverty, but only in wealth.”

Below are ten wonderful accounts of females in Greek mythology, who all play the part of evil, vengeful, monstrous creatures.

They have one thing in common; they are all tremendously powerful women!

 

1. The Fates – The Moirai:

The rulers of destiny

 

 

 

The ancient Greeks viewed fate and destiny, as one and the same, in fact they used only one word; Moirai – Μοῖραι, in English the Fates, the rulers of destiny, when referring to both fate and destiny

In Greek mythology, the Fates, or, the Moirai, were three sisters; Clotho, Lachesis and Atropos, the daughters of Erebus (deep darkness and shadow) and Nyx (night), who were both primordial deities and children of chaos.

They were believed to be the mother of all things mysterious such as death, disease, sleep, ghosts, dreams, witchcraft and enchantments.

In some later versions of the myth, The Fates are said to be the daughters of Zeus, king of Greek gods and Themis, the Lady of Good Council.

The three fates are three women of three different ages: maiden, mother, and crone, each assigned a different task.

 

 

Clotho: The Spinner

 

The youngest sister, Clotho, represented the present and spun the thread of life, her name meant The Spinner.

 

Lachesis: The Caster of Lots

 

The middle sister, Lachesis, represented the future; she measured the thread of life spun by Clotho.

Lachesis was the one to decide how many years of life were allotted to each and everyone. Her name meant the Caster of lots.

 

Atropos: the Goddess of Death

 

The oldest of the three sisters, Atropos, represented the past; she cut the thread of life, she chose the manner and time of each mortal’s death; whoever the thread was attached to, died.

Atropos, the most terrible of the three sisters, was also known as the Goddess of Death.

 

The Thread of Life

 

 

Together, the three sisters; The Fates, weave the thread of each mortal’s destiny; Clotho, spins the thread, Lachesis, measures it and Atropos, cuts it.

 When the thread is cut, your time is up and there’s nothing you can do about it, fate has wielded its scissors, you’ve come to the end of your life on Earth.

Symbols of The Fates are; the thread, the staff, the Spindle, the shears and the Book of Fate.

 

How Fate was allotted

 

 

The Fates were said to be present at the birth of all babies, gods and mortals alike, to determine the course of its life, yes, even the great Greek gods could not escape destiny.

At the moment of birth, Clotho, the spinner, whom, if you remember depicts the present, spins the baby’s destiny, with what criteria fate was allotted; only Clotho knew.

Lachesis, representing the future, looked ahead, took note of all deeds done, good or bad, consulted her sister, Atropos, who, after all, made the final cut, measured the thread of life accordingly and allotted to the baby, the appropriate number of years they would walk upon the Earth.

Now, Atropos, who portrayed the past, with her sharp scissors ever ready to cut through the thread of life, was taking stock, looking back, weighing up the good against the bad.

Had suitable punishment been served to this individual, in the form of karma, assigned by The Erinyes (The Furies), agents of the Fates, for evilness, dastardly deeds and crimes he had committed?

 Should she give them the snip, or allot them a couple of more years for good behavior?

 

 

Fate or Destiny?

 

Slowly, many great minds and philosophers began to believe that one important factor separated Fate and destiny and that was free will, the freedom of choice.

We get to choose how to make the most of what fate gives us (of which we have no control over), to determine our own destiny.

 

 

2. The Erinyes (Furies) :

Goddesses of Retribution

 

 

 

The Erinyes, sometimes called the Eumenides (The Furies), were three goddesses of vengeance and retribution and sidekicks to the Fates.

 

 Tisiphone: Punisher of murderers

 

Tisiphone was the Avenger who unleashed vengeful destruction, she was the punisher of murderers.

 

Megara: Punisher of infidelity

 

Megara, full of jealous rage, she was the punisher of infidelity, oath breakers, and theft.

 

Alecto: Punisher of moral crimes

 

Alecto, was unresting and possessed endless anger, she was the punisher of moral crimes (anger, etc).

 

 

According to the ancient Greek poet, Hesiod, the Titan god, Cronus, castrated his father, Uranus and threw his genitals into the sea, where they emerged from the sea foam as the goddess, Aphrodite, the Erinyes materialized from the drops of Uranus’ blood which fell to Earth.

Various other myths would have them to be from an older era, where they resulted from Nyx (night), or from a coming together of air and Mother Earth.

The Furies are depicted as three whip wielding, ugly, sisters, with wings of bats and venomous snakes wrapped around their black-clothed bodies.

The furies (The Erinyes), were assigned by the Fates, (The Moira), to bring torment upon sinners, not only on Earth, but also in Tartarus, the Underworld.

 

Let the punishment fit the crime

 

 

In the beginning, The Furies’ main concerns were with patricide, matricide, offenses against the gods, and perjury.

However, as time went on; it seemed they acquired a taste for vengeance and retribution and would punish any sin, however insignificant.

Any injured party wanting justice could call upon the Furies to dole out some karma or kismet; call it what you will.

The anger of the furies revealed itself in many ways, even catching sight of one had been known to cause insanity and they often drove offenders to suicide.

The harshest punishment, illness and disease, went to children who murdered their parents and parents, who murdered their children, any nation or person found to be protecting such a person, could suffer hunger, disease and death.

The Erinyes are best known for the role they played in Aeschylus’s Oresteia, a trilogy of plays dipicting the murder and mayhem in the lives of Agamemnon, the King of Argos and his son, Orestes.

 

The punishment of Orestes

 

 

Agamemnon, with his fleet of a thousand ships, must set sail for Troy; good weather and fair winds are imperative.

After Agamemnon accidently killed a deer though, Artemis, goddess of the hunt, declares that unless, as retribution, Agamemnon does not agree to sacrifice his eldest daughter, Iphigenia, she, Artemis, will make sure a calm descends all the seas, preventing him from sailing.

 

Agamemnon kills Iphigenia

 

 

Clytemnestra, the distraught mother of Iphigenia and wife of Agamemnon, with the help of her lover, Aegisthus, murder Agamemnon.

Orestes, son of Agamemnon and Clytemnestra, avenges his father’s death by murdering his mother and her lover Aegisthus, whereupon, the Furies, hunt down Orestes and drive him to insanity as a punishment for the crime of matricide.

 

 

3.  Keres:

Goddesses of violent death

 

 

 

In Greek mythology, the Keres (the Greek word κήρ means death or doom”), were described as goddesses of violent death or death spirits with an insatiable craving for human blood.

They were the daughters of Nyx; Goddess of the night and some versions say the daughters of Erebus; the personification of darkness; a place between Earth and Hades; the Underworld.

Their parentage made them the sisters of Thanatos; god of peaceful death and also of the Moirai, the three fates of Greek mythology.

The Keres are depicted as dark, gruesome, winged creatures with sharp teeth and talons, attired in robes dripping with blood.

 

 

Despite the fact that their presence guaranteed a violent death, including death in battle, by accident, murder or ravaging disease,  the Keres did not have the power to kill.

 Instead, flocks of them could be seen hanging around battle fields like vultures (often sent there by Zeus, who could summon or send them away at will), searching and waiting for the wounded and dying to draw their last breath.

 Once their eagle eye had spotted a dead body, the Keres would swoop down, rip out the soul and send it on its way to Hades before feasting on the flesh and gulping down blood as if there were no tomorrow.

It’s said that many an Olympian god was to be seen at the battle scene, fighting off the Keres from dying warriors they wished to save.

 

4. Medusa: The Gorgon

 

 

 

The gorgon, from the word gorgos, meaning dreadful or terrible, is one of the most well-known creatures of Greek mythology; a monstrous woman, who, in one glance, had the ability, with her powerful gaze, to turn mortals into stone.

Described as having a wide, round head, the tusks of a boar, as well as large, protruding teeth and a short, rough beard she was not a pretty sight!

Nowadays, when the word gorgon comes to mind, we picture the evil Medusa, with a head of writhing serpents instead of hair.

Did you know though, that Medusa was the youngest of three sister gorgons and was once ravishingly beautiful?

 

 

The Three Gorgon Sisters:

Stheno – Euryale and Medusa

 

 

Medusa; her name means ruler, the youngest of the sisters, was said to be the only mortal, Sethno (the eldest) and Euryale, were both immortal.

Stheno; her name means forceful, was the fiercest of the three sisters and had killed more men than both of her sisters put together.

 Euryale; her name means far-roaming, could burst a person’s ear drums with her piercing, high-pitched scream.

 

How the beautiful Medusa became a terrible monster

 

 

 

In Greek mythology, Medusa was originally a great beauty but after being caught consorting with Poseidon, god of the sea, in Athena’s temple, regardless of the fact that Poseidon had probably forced himself upon the unfortunate Medusa, Athena, goddess of wisdom, in a state of rage, transformed Medusa into an ugly old hag.

She turned her glorious hair into a heap of writhing serpents and bestowed on her the ability to turn to stone, anyone her wicked eyes fell upon.

 

The Quest of Perseus:

The Beheading of Medusa

 

Perseus, Greek hero, founder of Mycenae and of the Perseid dynasty and his mother, the beautiful Danaë, were living happily on the Greek island of Serifos, when it so happened that the king of the island; Polydectes, fell madly in love with Danaë and was determined to win her hand in marriage.

The sly Polydectes, knowing that Perseus thought him to be a man of dishounor and would oppose the match, devised a plan to remove Perseus, the over-protective son, from the equation.

Knowing that all his subjects were at his bidding and dare not refuse him any whim his heart may desire, Polydectes demanded that Perseus, bring him the head of the monstrous Medusa.

Polydectes was confident that as soon as Perseus looked into the eyes of the gorgon, he would instantly be turned to stone, removing all opposition to the King’s marriage with Danaë.

With help from the messenger of the gods; Hermes, in the form of a pair of gold, winged sandals, a mirrored shield from goddess Athena, a sword from Hephaestus; god of blacksmiths and Hades’s helmet of invisibility, Perseus set off on his mission.

 

Mission accomplished

 

 

 

Despite the help from his friends, Perseus had first to discover where Medusa hung out, a secret known only to the Graeae; the Grey Sisters; three grey haired hag-like sisters of the Gorgons.

With a little persuasion, the Graeae eventually spilled the beans; on condition he was to tell no one of their whereabouts. (In early versions of the myth, the gorgons dwelt in subterranean caves beneath Mount Olympus).

Using the reflective shield of Athena, in order to approach the Gorgon without looking upon her face and with one fell swoop of  Hephaestus’s sword, Perseus lopped off the head of Medusa.

Medusa had apparently been with child at the time of her beheading; the result of her dealings with Poseidon and from her bleeding neck, sprang forth Pegasus, a winged horse and Chrysaor, a golden sword-wielding giant.

 

 

Donning Hades’ helmet of invisibility, Perseus, with the aid of the winged sandals of Hermes, made his swift getaway, bypassing Stheno and Euryale, who were coming to help their sister.

Medusa, despite being dead, retained the power to turn to stone, anyone unlucky enough to be struck by her gaze.

 

A triumphant home-coming

 

Perseus returned home to Serifos and triumphantly presented the head of Medusa to King Polydectes, who, after one look into the face of the petrifying monster, was promptly turned to stone.

 

 

Perseus, in gratitude for her help, gave the head of Medusa to Athena, who attached it to her shield, as decoration and as further protection.

 

 

The shield is known as ‘The aegis of Athena’; the word aegis, which has its roots in Greek mythology, resonates with protection by a powerful, knowledgeable, or benevolent source.

 

 

5.Harpies:

Vicious and violent flying creatures

 

 

 

Known as some of the most fearsome monsters in Greek mythology, the Harpies were cruel, vicious and violent flying creatures with hooked beaks and claws with the heads of women and pale faces.

The word harpy means ‘snatcher’ as they had the ability to snatch anything and everything, including humans, away in an instant.

Always ravenously hungry, the harpies stole food and valuables from humans; in ancient Greece, whenever anything went missing without a trace, especially food, it was usually blamed on the harpies.

It seems that causing havoc must have been a team effort for the harpies or at least done in pairs as there are no ancient myths which refer to any individual harpy acting alone.

Most were given names associated with the winds and the speed with which they moved; their names were: Aello – storm wind, Aellopus – storm foot, Nicothoe – racing victor, Podarge – flashing foot, Podarce – fleet-footed and Calaeno –the black one.

 

 

The law-keepers of Zeus

 

Often called the Dogs or hounds of Zeus, the harpies served the king of all ancient Greek gods, as keepers of the law and as guards at the gates of Hades (The Underworld).

They snatched up villains and took them to the Erinyes for punishment in the blink of an eye, giving the illusion that the person were chasing had vanished into thin air.

Sometimes they would bypass the Erinyes and deliver them directly to the Underworld, torturing the wrong-doers themselves along the way.

The harpies were thought to reside on the Strofades; two small islands in the Ionian Sea.

The best-known reference to the Harpies is in the myth of Jason and the Argonauts.

 

Phineus and the Harpies

 

 

As with all ancient Greek myths, there are many versions of the same story which often become tangled together, causing much confusion and misunderstanding; to me at least!

I’m still not sure I fully understand the ins and outs of Phineus; his numerous relatives, or who actually blinded him and why; I’ve done my best to unravel it all and give you the simplest and shortest of the many accounts!

 

The Argonauts arrive in Thace

 

 

The Argonauts were a band of heroes, who, in Greek mythology, sailed, in the ship Argo, to  Colchis, with their leader Jason, in his quest to find the Golden Fleece.

After many ports of call and trials and tribulations, the Argonauts dropped anchor at Thrace, the domain of Phineus; king of Salmydessus, who had been bestowed with the gift of prophecy by the god Apollo.

Phineus had brought about the wrath of Zeus after misusing his gifts, by revealing secrets of the gods to mankind; for his indiscretion, Phineus was blinded by Zeus, who then, to add insult to injury, summoned  the Harpies to further torture him.

 

The torture of Phineus by the harpies

 

 

The torture doled out to Phineus by the harpies was, in a state of starvation, to be seated at a table groaning under the weight of delicious food.

Before the hungry king had the chance to eat a single morsel of the mouthwatering feast, the harpies swooped in, at the speed of light, or so it seemed to Phineus and snatched most of the delicacies.

What they left behind, they spit and defecated on before making their getaway, leaving it inedible.

This torment of Phineus, by the harpies, continued until the arrival of the Argo and her crew upon the shore of Thrace.

When he heard the Argonauts coming, Phineus, with a sigh of relief, called out to Jason informing him that, a couple of his crew; the brothers Calais and Zetes, known as the Boreads, as they were sons of the Anemoi Boreas (the north winds), were his relatives and were therefore obliged to rescue him from the harpies.

 

Help in the shape of The Boreads

 

 

The Boreads were hesitant to defy Zeus, who had ordered the harpies to punish Phineus, however, after being reassured by Phineus, that there would be no reciprocations, they reluctantly agreed to help.

Consequently, the next time the harpies swooped in to grab more food, they were not prepared for the Boreads, who, being sons of the north winds, had inherited the ability to fly and took off after the harpies, chasing them all the way home to the Strophades.

In return for their help, Phineus, using his powers of prophecy, told the Argonauts the best and safest route to take for Colchis, the location of the Golden Fleece.

 

 

6. Chimera – The Hybrid Monster:

Part lion, part goat and part snake.

 

 

 

The Chimera (Ancient Greek: Χίμαιρα, Chímaira means she-goat), was a three-headed, fire-breathing monster,  usually portrayed as a lion, with the head of a goat protruding from its back and a tail which ends with the head of a snake.

The Chimera was born to Typhon; a fire-breathing dragon with a hundred heads; father of all monsters and his wife; Echinida, half-woman and half-snake, considered to be the mother of all monsters.

The Chimera wreaked havoc, killing cattle in the countryside of Lycia in Anatolia, also known as Asia Minor, modern-day Turkey,

Today the term Chimera is used to describe any fictional creature with body-parts taken from different animals.

Homer, ancient Greek poet, tells us in his epic poem; The Iliad, how Bellerophon; the Corinthian hero of Greek mythology killed the Chimera:

 

The Quest of Bellerophon

 

 

Bellerophon, after murdering his brother, had been exiled to Argos as atonement for his crime, where he was put under the protection of Proetus, king of Tiryns.

Bellerophon had not been long in Argos before the wife of Proetus took a shine to him, however, after he rejected her advances, she accused him of ‘ravishing; her.

Proetus was livid but dare not kill a guest (who is protected by xenia), so he sent Bellerophon to King Iobates his father-in-law, in Lycia, together with a sealed letter, which read: “Pray remove the bearer from this world: he attempted to violate my wife, your daughter.

Iobates welcomed Bellerophon, put the letter to one side and promptly forgot about it.

Nine days later, after much feasting and merriment with his guest, Iobates found and opened the message; his heart sank on reading the words; apart from the fact that he had grown fond of the chap, he too was afraid to kill a guest, what to do?

Iobates devised a plan: he would send Bellerophon on a mission he considered impossible: to kill the Chimera, the monster terrorizing his countryside; he was sure the Chimera would instead kill Bellerophon, which would please Proetus and remove any blame from himself.

 

In Search of the Chimera

 

 

The gods were on the side of Bellerophon, who on his way to track down the Chimera, bumped into Polyeidos, a famous Corinthian psychic, who gave him a few tips on how to slay the fire-breathing monster.

Polyeidos told Bellerophon that he would require the help of the untamed winged horse; Pegasus and sent him off to sleep in the temple of Athena.

Whilst Bellerophon slept, Athena sent Pegasus to him; tamed, bridled and ready for battle.

Without further ado, Bellerophon mounted his steed and they raced off to face the Chimera: even with the help of Pegasus though, it was a tough battle.

 

The Slaying of the Chimera

 

 

The heat of the monster’s breath gave him an idea: he impaled a large block of lead upon his spear and with one quick move, pushed it down the monster’s throat.

The Chimera’s fire-breath melted the lead which blocked its air passage, suffocating it.

The triumphant home-coming Bellerophon expected didn’t happen; on returning, he was confronted by a doubting Iobates, who just couldn’t believe Bellerophon had achieved the impossible; killing the Chimera, plus, he was still alive.

And so, Iobate set Bellerophon a myriad of grueling tasks; yet once again the Corinthian hero prevailed and came out on top.

Iobates relented and gave Bellerophon his daughter’s hand in marriage and half his kingdom.

But what became of Pegasus, the magical winged horse, who, after all, had saved the day with the battle of the Chimera?

 

The downfall of Bellerophon and the reward of Pegasus

 

 

 Bellerophon, who was now the man of the day, felt entitled to a place to call his own on Mount Olympus, home of the ancient Greek gods, this arrogance angered Zeus no end!

He sent a gadfly to sting Pegasus as he was carrying Bellerophon to Mount Olympus, causing Bellerophon to fall back to Earth.

Pegagus carried on riderless and reached the home of the gods, where he was welcomed by Zeus who employed him to carry his thunderbolts.

 

7.Sirens – prophetic creatures:

Females with the legs of birds – with or without wings

 

 

 

Many people confuse Sirens with mermaids but Sirens are bird women, prophetic creatures, who knew the future as well as the past and  are depicted in early Greek art, as birds, with large women’s heads, feathers and scaly feet; they never had the half body of fish and neither did they live under water.

 However, there are three different versions; one is a half-woman half-birdlike creature who has the wings of a bird and talons instead of feet, the second had the body of a giant bird with the head of a beautiful woman, finally the last version is just a beautiful woman.

 

Where did the Sirens live?

 

 

Home to the sirens, were the ‘flowery islands’ referred to as Anthemoessa or Anthemusa,  said by the Roman poets, Virgil and Ovid, to be the Sirenum Scopuli, three small, rocky islands, (South of Capri) or Pelorus, today known as Punto del Faro, Sicily.

Other versions of the Siren myth, state they may have lived in Le Sirenuse, or Li Galli, a small group of islands off the Amalfi coast of Italy.

All locations, thought to be home to the sirens, were surrounded by cliffs and rocks, perfect for luring sailors to their death.

 

How the handmaidens of Persephone became Sirens

 

 

According to Ovid, the famous Roman poet (43 BC – 17/18 AD), the sirens of Greek mythology were handmaidens to Persephone, daughter of Zeus, king of all Greek gods and the Goddess of harvest; Demeter.

After Persephone had the bad luck to be kidnapped by Hades, God of the Underworld, her distraught mother, Demeter, ordered Persephone’s handmaidens to quickly find and rescue her, to help them with their task, Demeter gave them wings.

The handmaidens of Persephone, searched high and low, all the while, calling out to Persephone with their sweet song but to no avail, Persephone was nowhere to be found.

Demeter, in a state of rage at the handmaidens who had failed to bring home her precious daughter, condemned them to live forever more as sirens, far away, on rocky, rugged islands, singing their siren song, a song with the power to put body and soul into a state of fatal lethargy.

These beautiful, dangerous creatures, with their sweet siren song, impossible to resist, once heard, lured sailors to the rocky shores, where they were instantly shipwrecked.

 

How many sirens were there and what were their names?

 

 

When the question arises, asking how many sirens actually existed and what their names were, there seems to be quite a bit of confusion.

The most popular answer is that there were three sirens in Greek mythology.

Homer mentions only two, with no other detail, apart from where they may have lived.

Later writers mention three, their names being Peisinoe, Aglaope and Thelxiepeia or Parthenope, Ligeia, and Leucosia.

Apollonius of Rhodes (First half of 3rd century BCE), in his epic poem “Argonautica”, about Jason and the Argonauts and their quest for the Golden Fleece, gives three sirens the names of; Thelxinoe, Molpe and Aglaophonos.

 

 

Hyginus (Latin Author), mentions four sirens, with the names; Teles, Raidne, Molpe and Thelxiope.

Eustathius (Greek Archbishop of Thessaloniki, and scholar), states, as did Homer, that there two and gives them the names Aglaopheme and Thelxiepeia.

All later mention of the sirens of ancient Greek mythology use the following individual names:

Thelxiepeia/Thelxiope/Thelxinoe, Molpe, Himerope, Aglaophonos/Aglaope/Aglaopheme, Pisinoe/Peisinoë/Peisithoe, Parthenope, Ligeia, Leucosia, Raidne and Teles.

 

 Confrontations with sirens

 

 

In the epic poem ‘Argonautica’, written by Apollonius of Rhodes in the early third century B.C, Jason is warned by Chiron (A centaur), that Orpheus (Musician, poet and prophet), would be needed on his journey, to play his lyre, in order to  drown out the song of the sirens, which is exactly what Orpheus did.

One member of the crew, Butes, heard the song though and jumped into the sea but luckily for him, was caught and brought to safety by Aphrodite, Goddess of love, pleasure and procreation.

In Homer’s ‘The Odyssey’, Odysseus was curious to hear the song of the sirens and so on the advice of Circe; A powerful sorceress in Greek mythology, ordered his crew to plug their ears with beeswax and to tie him to the mast.

 

 

No matter what happened, or how much Odysseus begged them, they were not to untie him.

Upon hearing the siren song Odysseus begged his crew to untie him but they heeded their master’s orders and only tied him tighter, enabling their ship to pass by the island of the sirens.

 

 

Death of the sirens

 

 

Some post-Homeric authors believe the Sirens were sure to die if someone heard their singing and escaped and that after Odysseus passed by, the sirens flung themselves into the sea and drowned.

According to Julius Hyginus, (Latin author), sirens were fated to live only until the mortals who heard their songs were able to pass by them.

Another story is that Hera, queen of the gods, persuaded the Sirens to enter a singing competition with the Muses.

 The Muses won the competition and then plucked out all of the Sirens’ feathers and made crowns out of them.

Out of their anguish from losing the competition, the Sirens turned white and fell into the sea at Aptera, (“featherless”), where they formed the islands in the bay that were called Leukai, meaning white.

Today, the Leuka islands are ithe islands of Nisi and Leon, in the bay of modern day Souda, on the island of Crete.

 

8. Scylla: A female sea monster

and

9. Charybdis: A whirlpool personified as a female monster

 

 

 

In Greek mythology, Scylla and Charybdis, both legendary sea monsters, dwell on either side of a narrow channel of water, which most historians agree to be located in the Strait of Messina, off the coast of Sicily and opposite a rock on the mainland.

Scylla was said to live on the Calabrian side of the strait and opposite, lived the whirlpool of Charybdis, off the coast of Sicily.

A whirlpool does exist there, formed by the meeting of currents; however, it is dangerous to small boats only in severe conditions.

The sides of the channel were so close together that they were considered a hazard to passing sailors who, to avoid Scylla, must sail too close for comfort to Charybdis and vice versa.

 

 

From this particular ancient Greek myth comes the Greek saying; ‘between Scylla and Charybdis’; the original saying we all know today as; ‘between a rock and a hard place’, meaning, being forced to choose between two equally bad situations.

 

Scylla: a six legged – six headed sea monster

 

 

Scylla was a sea monster with six legs (depending on which version of the story you read, some say up to twelve legs) and six heads; each with three sharp rows of teeth, which sprang from different parts of her body.

There is some confusion about the parents of Scylla, the historians and poets; Homer, Ovid and Apollodorus, all name Crataeis, a nymph, as her mother and either Triton, a merman, or Phorcus (Phorcy), also a fish-tailed merman, as the father.

Originally, Scylla was a beautiful nymph, until one day, whilst taking a walk along the sea shore; she caught the eye of Glaucus, a fisherman who was transformed into a sea God after discovering a magical herb.

It was instant love, or rather lust, for Glaucus but unrequited on the part of Scylla.

 

 

Glaucus decides to ask for help from Circe, a witch known for her love potions, in hindsight, he probably wished he hadn’t.

Just as it was instant love for Glaucus, at the sight of Scylla, so it was for Circe when she laid eyes on him!

Circe tried to tempt Glaucus away from Scylla but alas, without success and in a fit of jealousy, whipped up a potion, which, when she poured it into the pool where Scylla was bathing, turned her into a horrid monster who devoured any man who had the bad luck to come within her reach.

 

 

Scylla first appeared in ‘The Odyssey’; the epic poem by Homer, the ancient Greek author, where Odysseus and his crew have dealings with both her and Charybdis on their journey home from the Trojan Wars.

Odysseus was advised to pass by Scylla and lose only a few sailors, rather than risk the loss of the whole ship in the whirlpool; he took the advice and lost only six men to Scylla.

Later, Odysseus, stranded on a raft, was swept back through the narrow channel, where he passed too close to Charybdis and was sucked down into her whirlpool but survived by clinging to a fig tree growing on a rock, where he waited for the next outflow of water and paddled away to safety.

 

Charybdis: A whirlpool personified

 

 

Charybdis, a sea monster who lived under a small rock, on one side of a narrow channel, had an unquenchable thirst for sea water which, three times a day, she would swallow in huge amounts .

When she spewed the water back out again, it caused fearsome whirlpools, capable of dragging a large ship underwater.

Some versions of the myth simply describe Charybdis not as a sea monster but as the personification of a treacherous whirlpool.

Charybdis, is said to have helped her father Poseidon, in his war against his brother, Zeus, by flooding the kingdom of Zeus.

As a punishment for her part in the flooding of his kingdom, Zeus chained Charybdis to the sea bed and turned her into a monster with an uncontrollable craving for sea water.

Another version of the myth is that Charybdis stole cattle from Zeus and was consequently flung by the thunderbolt of Zeus into the sea, where she remained as a thirsty monster.

Both Scylla and Charybdis are mentioned in the ancient Greek tales of Jason and the Argonauts, The Aeneid and in the Fables of Aesop.

 

10. Lamia:

A female daemon who devoured children

 

 

 

Lamia, a beautiful queen of Libya, who had an affair with Zeus, king of Greek gods,  became a child-eating monster after her children were destroyed by Hera, who learned of her husband Zeus’s affair with her.

In Greek mythology, originally, before letting herself become involved with Zeus, king of all Greek gods, Lamia was an exceptionally beautiful woman.

Lamia became disfigured from a deep torment which transformed her into a terrifying being that hunted and killed the children of others, after Zeus’s vengeful wife Hera, destroyed all her children, or, some would have it, caused Lamia herself to kill her own children.

 

 

To further torment Lamia, Hera put a magic spell upon Lamia, causing her to be stricken with permanent insomnia, which led to endless nights of anguish, spent reliving the deaths of her children.

Feeling sorry for Lamia and more than just a little guilty, Zeus, bestowed upon her, removable eyes, enabling her to take out her eyes at night, allowing her some relief.

 Zeus also bestowed on lamia the ability to shape shift and become an alluring half serpent, half sultry seductress, who enticed young men into satisfying their sexual needs with her, once they were satisfied, she devoured the young men.

 

 

The man invariably wins

 

Did you notice?

It seems to be, in Greek mythology, that it’s consistently the man who kills the woman, or wins the day, never the other way around.

In fact, I have read that it is so, without exception, however, there are hundreds of ancient Greek myths; I don’t think I could manage to read them all to verify if this statement is true or not!

I’m still pondering on the question, of whether these dastardly female creatures of Greek mythology, really were created out of man’s’ fear of the power of females.