Typhon the Greek Legend
Typhon the Greek Legend
Origin
Born of Mother Earth Gaia and Tartarus, he commands the fierce destructive winds of the world, which he used on land to destroy crops and in water to sink ships and drown sailors.
Description
Typhon was the largest and most grotesque of all creatures that have ever lived. He was so tall that he towered over the highest mountains, and his head often brushed the stars. He was of human form down to his thighs, but he had huge snake coils instead of legs. When the coils were drawn out, they reached all the way to his head and let out a loud hissing.
A hundred dragons’ heads sprung from his shoulders and his body was covered with feathers. His body was winged: scruffy hair streamed on the wind from his head and cheeks; and fire flashed from his eyes.
He made sounds of a bull, lion, and dog, and has even been said to have made hissing sounds like a snake.
Story
After the defeat of the Giants against the Olympian gods, Gaia brought forth Typhon, a super-Giant. He was larger and stronger that any of Earth's other children.
One time Typhon challenged the heavens and the gods were so frightened by Typhon's features that they fled to Egypt and disguised themselves among the wild. Only Athena stood her ground and accused the Great Zeus of cowardice.
Zeus had to defend Mount Olympus so he threw bolts of lightning at Typhon. Typhon fought back with force and cut off several of Zeus' muscles from his hands and feet, leaving him helpless.
Typhon had his sister, Delphyne, guard the muscles in a cave, but Hermes and Pan tricked her and the muscles were returned to Zeus. Zeus became even more distraught and threw more thunderbolts at Typhon. Typhon fled around the world and in Sicily Zeus threw Mount Etna on top of him, which crushed Typhon. It is said to this day that the flames and steam that rise from the volcano are from Typhon.
Typhon fathered a foul brood of other monsters on Echidna from pieces of his body torn by Zeus' stricking thunderbolts: the Chimaera, the Nemean Lion, Orthus (two-headed dog) and Cerberus, the Hydra of Lerne, Ladon (a sleepless dragon that guards the golden apples of the Hesperides garden), the Sphinx, Prometheus' eagle, and Phaea, the Crommyonian sow.
Typhon is the offspring of Gaia and Tartarus. His mate is Echidna and both were so fearful that when the gods saw them they changed into animals and fled in terror. Typhon's hundred, horrible heads touched the stars, venom dripped from his evil eyes, and lava and red-hot stones poured from his gaping mouths. Hissing like a hundred snakes and roaring like a hundred lions, he tore up whole mountains and threw them at the gods.
Zeus soon regained his courage and turned, and when the other gods saw him taking his stand, they came back to help him fight the monster. A terrible battle raged, and hardly a living creature was left on Earth. But Zeus was fated to win, and as Typhon tore up huge Mount Aetna to hurl at the gods, Zeus struck it with a hundred well-aimed thunderbolts and the mountain fell back, pinning Typhon underneath. There the monster lies to this very day, belching fire, lava and smoke through the top of the mountain.
Echidna, his hideous mate, escaped destruction. She cowered in a cave, protecting Typhon's offspring, and Zeus let them live as a challenge to future heroes. to raise their children, there are the Nemean Lion, Cerberus, Ladon, the Chimera, the Sphinx, and the Hydra.
Source:
http://monsters.monstrous.com/typhon.htm
http://www.pantheon.org/articles/t/typhon.html
