Mythical+Creatures

= = = In Greek mythology, heroes or demigods, the children of gods, often have to fight creatures like Medusa or the Minotaur. There are also creatures that are not monsters, like the Pegusas. =



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Medusa was a beautiful mortal girl who always bragged about her beauty.She said that Athena's temple should be hers because she was so much prettier. Athena got revenge by making her immortal, but cursed her to look hideous with snakes for hair. So hideous, that if anyone looked at her they would turn to stone. It is said that Perseus, the son of Zeus, slayed Medusa with a sword from Hermes. He used a shiny,silver shield from Athena to look at Medusa's reflection so that he would not turn to stone. a a  a  a  a

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The Minotaur is a monster with the body if a man, but the head of a bull. In the labyrinth, Theseus takes Araidne's string to find his way to the Minautor in the midle of the maze. He slays the Minotaur, saving 20 children of Athens from the Minautor. a a  a  a  a  a  a  aa  a  a  a

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The Hydra is a dragon-like creature with 7 or 9 heads, depending on your source. When one of the heads is severed, two more heads replace it. Legend says that Herakles, son of Zeus, slew the Hydra with his nephew Iolaos. Herakles cut the heads and Iolaos held torches over the severed necks so that more heads could not grow. In this way, they finally defeated the Hydra.

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 * Pegusas (peg-uh-suhs) **

The Pegusas is a winged horse, born from Medusa's neck. Bellerophon, the son of Poseidon,
rode the Pegusas, as he killed the chimera. Bellerophon was too proud of himself and went to go be with the gods of Olympus. To stop him, Zeus sent an insect to annoy the Pegusas and throw Bellerophon off it's back. The horse then rose to the heavens and became a constellation.

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The Nemean Lion looks like any normal lion, but it has hide that is impenetrable. This is another one of the monsters that Herakles defeated. Since Herakles couldn't use his weapons against the animal, he strangled the creature to death. Herakles took the hide and used it as a cape and as armor, since nothing could pierce the hide. a a  a  a  a  a  a  a  a  a  a The Cerberus is a large, three headed dog. It is known to be stationed at the gates of the underworld. There are legends about Orpheus, son of Apollo, getting past Cerberus by lulling it to sleep with beautiful music, as Orpheus was a famed musician. Another hero, Herakles also got past Cerberus by choking and kidnapping it. The Cerberus is supposedly still at it's post in the underworld today.
 * Cerberus (sur-bur-uhs) **

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** Bibliography: **
a a "The Story of Medusa and Athena." //DLTK's Growing Together//. N.p., n.d. Web. 18 May 2012. []. a "Perseus and Medusa." //eduweb.co.uk//. N.p., n.d. Web. 18 May 2012. []. a gsketch. //Medusa//. N.d. //deviantart.com//. N.p., n.d. Web. 20 May 2012. []. a "Theseus and the Minotaur." //mrdonn.org//. N.p., n.d. Web. 18 May 2012. []. a N.d. //dotd.com//. N.p., n.d. Web. 20 May 2012. []. a "The Lernean Hydra." //Hercules Greece's Greatest Hero//. N.p., n.d. Web. 17 May 2012. []. // a // //The nine-headed Hydra//. N.d. //tripod.com//. N.p., n.d. Web. 20 May 2012. []. a "Pegasus." //pantheon.org//. N.p., n.d. Web. 23 May 2012. []. a "Pegasus Story." //monstrous.com//. N.p., n.d. Web. 23 May 2012. []. a "The Legend of **Pegasus**." //southcome.org.au//. N.p., n.d. Web. 23 May 2012. []. a //Nemean Lion//. N.d. //wikia.com//. N.p., n.d. Web. 23 May 2012. . a "Kit's Guide to Greek Mythology ." //Squidoo//. N.p., n.d. Web. 9 May 2012. []. a "Nemean Lion." //pantheon.org//. N.p., n.d. Web. 23 May 2012. []. a //dictionary.com//. N.p., n.d. Web. 23 May 2012. []. a //Ancient to Modern Mythology//. N.p., n.d. Web. 15 May 2012. [].