In ancient times, the Greek people believed their mythical world was real. Sometimes, Greek storytellers would tell tales of the Greek monsters of myth. The children listening to these stories would shiver and ooh, but they weren't really scared. After all, most of the monsters were dead! Everybody knew that brave Greek heroes had killed them using courage, intelligence, and strength.
As long as the main characteristics of the monsters were the same, ancient Greek artists and storytellers presented these mythical beings in their own way. The Harpies, for example, were always part human female and part bird. In some Greek myths, the three Harpies had wrinkled faces and smelled horribly. But archaeologists have found vases designed with the three Harpies wearing beautiful faces. In some myths, the Harpies were winged monsters that snatched up evil doers in their crooked, sharp claws and tortured them all the way to the Underworld. But in the Odyssey, the Harpies used winds to carry people away.
Here are some ancient Greek monster myths retold by Lin Donn. Keep in mind, these are just stories. Don't let these creepy monsters scare you one bit.
Theseus and the Minotaur, the monster in the maze
Andromeda and the Jealous Sea Creatures
Perseus and Medusa (with snakes for hair)
The Story of Medusa (video cartoon)
The Golden Apples of the Hesperides
Created by others:
Jason and the Argonauts 3D animated film for kids
The Labors of Hercules - stories for kids
This is a list of some of the ancient Greek monsters. We included this list so you could see at a glance how many monsters there were in the ancient Greek mythical world. Artists and authors today still create stories and art, each in their own way, just like the ancients, while staying true to the main characteristics of each monster. For example, the Cyclops always has one eye, Medusa always has snakes for hair, and Cerberus is always a three-headed dog.
