Echidna (mythology)

In Greek mythology, Echidna was a monster with a very unusual appearance: she was half-woman and half-snake. She lived alone in a cave, far away from others. Echidna was known for being the partner of another famous monster named Typhon.

Because of her special place in the stories, Echidna became the mother of many well-known monsters in Greek myths. Her children were often very powerful and scary creatures, which made her an important figure in the old tales of gods and heroes.

Genealogy

Echidna's family tree is told differently by various ancient writers. The oldest story comes from Hesiod in his book Theogony, from around the 8th to 7th century BC. Hesiod says Echidna was probably born to the sea goddess Ceto, with her father being the sea god Phorcys. But he also suggests she might be the daughter of another water goddess named Callirhoe, which would make Chrysaor, the child of Medusa, her father.

Later writers gave different parents for Echidna. The writer Pherecydes of Athens, from the 5th century BC, said her father was Phorcys but did not name her mother. The traveler Pausanias, writing in the 2nd century AD, said she was the daughter of the river goddess Styx and a person named Peiras. Another writer, Apollodorus, from the 1st or 2nd century AD, claimed her parents were Tartarus and Gaia. In one version from the Orphic tradition, Echidna was the daughter of Phanes, who was seen as the first god in that story.

Description

In Greek stories, Echidna was a special creature who was half woman and half snake. She was very scary and had a body like a large snake with spots. According to the ancient writer Hesiod, Echidna never grew old and always stayed the same. Another writer, Aristophanes, said she lived in a place deep under the earth and had many snake heads, just like her partner, Typhon. A later writer named Nonnus described her as looking very unpleasant and having a poisonous nature.

Offspring

In ancient stories, Echidna had many famous monster children with her partner Typhon. First, there was Orthrus, a two-headed dog that guarded special cattle. Then there was Cerberus, the multi-headed dog that guarded the gates of the underworld. Another child was the Lernaean Hydra, a snake that grew two heads whenever one was cut off.

Other stories also mention the Chimera, a creature with a lion’s head, a goat’s body, and a snake-headed tail, as well as the Sphinx, a monster with a woman’s face and a winged lion’s body. There was also the Nemean lion, which was defeated by the hero Heracles. Different tellers of these stories sometimes give different parents for these monsters, but many say they came from Echidna and Typhon.

Legend:

✓✓ = Echidna and Typhon given as parents

✓? = Only Echidna given as parent

?✓ = Only Typhon given as parent

?? = Echidna and Typhon possibly meant as parents

? = Echidna possibly meant as parent

Notes:

Cave

In Greek stories, the monster Echidna was born in a cave and lived alone there. This cave was described as a secret place deep under the earth, far from both gods and people. It was said to be guarded by the gods and located in a place called Arima, though exactly where Arima was remains a mystery. Different stories suggest it might be in places like Cilicia, Syria, or even a volcanic island called Pithecussae near Cumae in Italy. The cave was also linked to Typhon, Echidna's partner, who fought with the god Zeus in some tales.

Death

In some stories, Echidna lived forever and never grew old. But another story says that Echidna was attacked and killed while she was resting by Argus Panoptes, a giant with one hundred eyes. Argus served Hera, a powerful goddess.

The Scythian echidna

Further information: Snake-Legged Goddess

A long time ago, around the fifth century BC, a writer named Herodotus told a story about a special creature. Though he didn’t call her Echidna, she was known as an echidna, meaning “she-viper.” She looked like a woman from the waist up and a snake from the waist down. She lived alone in a cave and was seen as a mother figure. In this story, she helped create the people known as the Scythians.

According to the tale, Greeks living in Pontus, near the Black Sea, said that the famous hero Heracles once passed through the land that would become Scythia. One day, he woke up to find his horses missing. He searched and found them in a cave with the snake-woman creature. She asked him for something in return for helping him get his horses back. They had three sons together: Agathyrsus, Gelonus, and Scythes. She asked what to do with the boys when they grew up. Heracles gave her a bow and a belt and said the boy who could use the bow and wear the belt should stay, and the others should go away. The youngest, Scythes, succeeded and became the founder of the Scythian people.

The Viper in the Acts of Philip

In an old story called the Acts of Philip, there is a creature named the Viper, also called Echidna. She was known as a "she dragon" and the "mother of the serpents." She lived in a special temple in a place called Hierapolis and was honored by the people there. According to the story, the Viper, along with her temple and the priests, disappeared when the ground opened up because of a curse spoken by Philip the Apostle.

Delphyne

Echidna might be linked to a monster named Delphyne, who was killed by the god Apollo in Delphi. In an old story, Apollo killed a female serpent called Delphyne, who was raised by Typhon. Echidna and Delphyne had much in common. Both had the body of a woman and the tail of a snake. Both were seen as a trouble for people, and both were closely tied to Typhon and a special cave called the Corycian cave.

Main article: Delphyne

Iconography

We do not have clear ancient pictures of Echidna that still exist today. However, a writer named Pausanias said that Echidna was shown along with her partner Typhon on an old temple from the sixth century BC at Amyclae. This temple was designed by Bathycles of Magnesia. Pausanias described two standing figures on the left as Echidna and Typhon, and Tritons stood on the right, but he did not give more details about what they looked like.