GRYPHON - Gryphons were creatures from Greek mythology with body of a lion and head and wings of an eagle. In tales and myths Gryphons were guardians of royal thrones and fearsome beasts in wars. Gryphons were worshiped as kings of all beasts because they had parts of lion na eagle - both of these animals are considered kings of their sorts (lion is king of animals while eagle is king of birds).

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MUMMY - A mummy is a corpse whose skin and dried flesh have been preserved by either intentional or accidental exposure to chemicals, extreme cold, very low humidity, or lack of air when bodies are submerged in bogs.

In ancient Egypt rulers of Egypt, Pharaohs, were prepared in process of mummification for their after life. They were then placed in their tombs as mummies together with their wealth, their closest servants and anything else they might need in after life.

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GOLEMS - In Jewish folklore, a golem is an animated being created entirely from inanimate matter. The name appears to derive from the word golem, which means raw material.

Having a golem servant was seen as the ultimate symbol of wisdom and holiness, and there are many tales of golems connected to prominent rabbis throughout the Middle Ages.

In Norse mythology, Mokkurkalfi was a clay giant, built to help the troll Hrungnir in a battle with Thor.

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THOR - Norse God Thor was one of the most famous and most powerful Gods in Norse mythology. Thor was the God of Lightning and was usually portrayed as God with long red beard, eyes of lightning and a helmet with horns. Thor was son of Odin and Jord, he was father of Magni, Modi and Thrud with giantess Jarnsaxa. Thor was married to Norse fertility Goddess Sif.

Thor was protector of human and Gods. He had powerful mythical hammer called Mjollnir, belt Megingjard which doubles his strength and chariot pulled by two goats Tanngrisni and Tanngnost.

Thor was killed by Jormungand, the Midgard Serpent. At the day of Ragnarok, Thor managed to kill Jormungand but died from its poison.

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CHIMERA - In Greek mythology, the Chimera was a monstrous creature of Lycia in Asia Minor, which was made of the parts of multiple animals. Chimera was one of the offspring of Typhon and Echidna and sister of such monsters as Cerberus and the Lernaean Hydra.

Chimera is a thing of immortal make, not human, lion-fronted and snake behind, a goat in the middle, and snorting out the breath of the terrible flame of bright fire.

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DRYAD - Dryads are female tree spirits in Greek mythology. Thus dryads are specifically the nymphs of oak trees, though the term has come to be used for all tree nymphs in general. Normally considered to be very shy creatures, except around the goddess Artemis who was known to be a friend to most nymphs.

Meliai - The nymphs of ash trees were called the Meliai. The ash-tree sisters tended the infant Zeus in Rhea's Cretan cave. Rhea gave birth to the Meliai after being made fertile by the blood of castrated Ouranos. They were also sometimes associated with fruit trees.

Hamadryad - Dryads, like all nymphs, were supernaturally long-lived and tied to their homes, but some were a step beyond most nymphs. These were the hamadryads who were an integral part of their trees, such that if the tree died, the hamadryad associated with it died as well. For these reasons, dryads and the Greek gods punished any mortals who harmed trees without first propitiating the tree-nymphs.

Daphnaie - The nymphs of the laurel trees who spent most of their time sleeping, only coming out when no one was around.

Posted in: Mythical Creatures -> Dryads

NIKE - Nike was the Greek goddess of victory and Athena's companion.

Posted in: Greek Mythology -> Greek Goddess Nike

HEPHAESTUS - The son of the Zeus and Hera, he was the god of fire, volcanoes, black smiths, metal working, he had a strong following in the cities where his skills were important to commerce and war. He was usually seen with an axe. In one account he sided with his mother Hera against Zeus who threw him so far that he fell all day and limped thereafter. Hephaestus was associated with mountain Etna on the island of Sicily. In his workshop he fashioned many wondrous things for the gods, including thunderbolts for Zeus, Athena's shield Aegis, arrows for Eros, and the chariot with which Helios the sun god rode across the sky. He also made weapons for other gods and even for some human heroes (armor of Achilles). He helped create the first human woman from clay, named Pandora, who released the evils of the world on humankind from her magic jar. Hephaestus created items used against the gods when he was wrong, such as a throne that held Hera prisoned when she cast him out of Olympus for being so ugly, a chain-link net used to trap his wife, Aphrodite, when he suspected her of cheating on him with Ares.

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HERMES - God Hermes was son of Zeus and Maia. He was personal messenger of his father, God Zeus. Hermes had winged sandals and a winged hat. He conducted the souls of the dead to the underworld and was believed to possess magical powers over sleep and dreams. Hermes was also the god of commerce, protector of traders and herds and god of athletes.

Despite his virtuous characteristics, Hermes was also a dangerous foe, a trickster, and a thief. On the day of his birth, when he was only few hours old, he stole the cattle of his brother god Apollo, obscuring their trail by making the herd walk backward.

Posted in: Greek Mythology -> Greek God Hermes

TROLLS - Trolls are mythical creatures from Norse mythology. They are ugly giants who eat meat (including humans) so they were enemies of humans and Gods.

In some legends trolls were kind of elves long time ago but they got cursed, turned into these ugly creatures and were banished from elves realms. Also it was said that trolls can only move in night, caves, shadows or underground because if only one Sun beam touches them they get turned into stone.

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ATHENA - Athena was Greek goddess of wisdom, crafts, justice and war. She was often associated with a shield for war, the owl for wisdom or the olive tree. She was also a patron of the agricultural arts and of the crafts of women, especially spinning and weaving. Among her gifts to man were the inventions of the plow and the flute and the arts of taming animals, building ships, and making shoes. Zeus entrusted her with his shield, adorned with the hideous head of Medusa the Gorgon, his buckler, and his principal weapon, the thunderbolt. When Athena and Poseidon vied to be the patron of a prominent city , they held a contest to see who could give the city the finest gift. Poseidon provided the well , but it produced salty water. Athena gave the olive tree that provided food , oil and wood. The city took the name Athens. Athena had a prominent role in Homer's epics the Iliad and the Odyssey, serving as Odyssey's patron throughout his long voyage. In addition to sponsoring warriors and heroes, she introduced many skills necessary for civilization. In an unusual but not unique birth, she sprang from Zeus's head fully grown and ready for battle. Legends say that Zeus had prevented a normal birth of a son with Athena's abilities, who he feared to unseat him. Although she was a protector of human heroes, she maintained a distance from male gods whom she perhaps found unworthy of her. Athena was the strongest supporter, among the gods, of the Greek side in the Trojan War. After the fall of Troy, however, the Greeks failed to respect the sanctity of an altar to Athena at which the Trojan prophet Cassandra sought shelter. As punishment, storms sent by the God of the sea, Poseidon, at Athena's request destroyed most of the Greek ships returning from Troy. Athena's companion was Nike, the goddess of victory.

Posted in: Greek Mythology -> Greek Goddess Athena

ANUBITE - Anubites were Anubis' (Egyptian God) priests. They wore jackal masks and were helping during the mummification rituals.

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APOLLO - God Apollo was son of Zeus and Leto, and twin brother to Goddess Artemis. Apollo was the god of music, archery, medicine, colonization, herds, divination, he represents many of the better qualities of the humankind, including order, intelligence, rationalization, and an appreciation for the finer things. He could cause or cure the plague. He established the Oracle at Delphi when he rid the city of the dragon Python. The Oracle could predict the future. Apollo dedicated a bronze tripod to the sanctuary there and bestowed divine powers on the priestess, Pythia. She would chew on laurel levels and inhale the the hallucinating vapors issuing from the temple floor, while mumbling prophecies that had to be translated by attendant male priest. Apollo perhaps established the city of Troy also. He is often perceived as the perfect male. Apollo was also well known for his love affairs with beautiful mortals of both sexes, including among them Calliope, Coronis and Daphne. Apollo's Oracle at Delphi was well known throughout the Mediterranean. Apollo is closely associated with the sun, or at least with Helios, the Greek sun god. Apollo is often shown as holding bow and arrow symbolizing the sun's rays.

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Cyclops - In Greek mythology a Cyclops, or Kyklops is a member of a primordial race of giants, each with a single round eye in the middle of its forehead. Zeus released the Cyclopes, from the dark pit of Tartarus. They provide Zeus's thunderbolt, Hades' helmet of invisibility, and Poseidon's trident, and the gods used these weapons to defeat the titans.

The Cyclopes were huge one-eyed monsters that resided on an island with the same name. Commonly, the term Cyclops refers to a particular son of Poseidon and Thoosa named Polyphemus who was a Cyclops. Another member of this group of Cyclopes was Telemus, a seer.

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Cerberus - In Greek mythology Cerberus or Kerberos was the hound of Hades, a monstrous three-headed dog (sometimes said to have 50 or 100 heads). Cerberus guarded the gate to Hades and ensured that spirits of the dead could enter, but none could exit (additionally no living person was to come into Hades). Among his siblings are Chimera and the Hydra. Cerberus is the offspring of Echidna and Typhon.

In the last of his Twelve Labours, Hercules was to capture Cerberus. After having been given the task, Hercules went to Eleusis to be initiated in the Eleusinian Mysteries so that he could learn how to enter and exit the underworld alive, and in passing absolve himself for killing centaurs. He found the entrance to the underworld at Tanaerum, and Athena and Hermes helped him to traverse the entrance in each direction. He passed Charon with Hermes's assistance and his own heavy and fierce frowning.

Whilst in the underworld, Hercules freed Theseus, but the earth shook when he attempted to liberate Pirithous, so he had to leave him behind.

They had been imprisoned by Hades, by magically binding them to a bench, because they had attempted to kidnap Persephone. The magic was so strong that when Hercules pulled Theseus free, part of Theseus's thighs remained on the bench, explaining why his descendants had notably lean thighs.

Hercules presented himself before the throne of Hades and Persephone and asked permission to take Cerberus, to which the gods agreed as long as Hercules did not harm the hound in any way. Some say Persephone gave her consent because Hercules was her own brother. In any case, Hercules wrestled the dog into submission and dragged it out of Hades, passing through a cavern entrance in the Peloponnese. When he returned with Cerberus to the palace, Eurystheus, the man who had assigned the task to Hercules, was so afraid of the fearsome beast that he jumped into a pithos (large storage jar) to hide. From the spittle of the dog which fell upon earth, the first poisonous plants were born, including deadly aconite.

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SATYR - In Greek mythology, satyrs are young humans, possibly with horse ears, that roamed the woods and mountains, and were the companions of Pan and Dionysus. In mythology they are often associated with male sex drive and Greco-Roman art often portrays them with erections.

Their chief was called Silenus, a minor deity associated with fertility. These characters can be found in the remaining Satyr plays: Cyclops by Euripedes and Sophocles' The Searching Satyrs. The satyr play was a lighthearted follow-up attached to the end of each trilogy of tragedies in Athenian festivals honoring Dionysus. These plays would take a lighthearted approach to the heavier subject matter of the tragedies in the series, featuring heroes speaking in tragic iambic verse and taking their situation seriously as "straight men" to the flippant, irreverent and obscene remarks and antics of the satyrs.

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MINOTAUR - In Greek mythology, the Minotaur was a creature that was part man and part bull. It dwelt at the center of the Labyrinth, which was an elaborate maze-like construction built for King Minos of Crete and designed by the architect Daedalus to hold the Minotaur. He and his son Icarus were ordered to build it. The historical site of Knossos is usually identified as the site of the labyrinth. The Minotaur was eventually killed by Theseus.

The literary myth satisfied a Hellenic interpretation of Minoan myth and ritual. According to this, before Minos became king, he asked the Greek god Poseidon for a sign, to assure him that he, and not his brother, was to receive the throne. Poseidon agreed to send a white bull as a sign, on condition Minos would sacrifice the bull to the god in return. Indeed, a bull of unmatched beauty came out of the sea. King Minos, after seeing it, found it so beautiful that he instead sacrificed another bull, hoping that Poseidon would not notice. Poseidon was enraged when he realized what had been done, so he caused Minos's wife, Pasiphae, to be overcome with a fit of madness in which she conceived a passion for the bull. Pasiphae tried to seduce the bull without success, then she requested some help from Daedalus the greatest artificer from Crete. Pasiphae went to Daedalus for assistance, and Daedalus devised a way to satisfy her. He constructed a hollow wooden cow covered with cowhide for Pasiphae to hide in and allow the bull to mount her. As a result of this union Pasiphae gave birth to the Minotaur, who some say bore the proper name Asterius.

The Minotaur, as the Greeks imagined him, had the body of a man and the head and tail of a bull. Pasiphae nursed him in his infancy, but he grew and became ferocious. Minos, after getting advice from the Oracle at Delphi, had Daedalus construct a gigantic labyrinth to hold the Minotaur. Its location was near Minos' palace in Knossos.

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CENTAURS - In Greek mythology, the Centaurs are a race of creatures composed of part human and part horse. In early Attic vase-paintings, they are depicted as the creatures who had torso of a human and body of a horse.

This half-human and half-animal composition has led many writers to treat them as luminous beings, caught between the two natures, embodied in contrasted myths, and as the embodiment of untamed nature, as in their battle with the Lapiths, or conversely as teachers, like Chiron.

The centaurs descended from Centaurus, who mated with the Magnesian mares. Centaurus was the son of either Ixion and Nephele (the cloud made in the image of Hera) or of Apollo and Stilbe, daughter of the river god Peneus. In the latter version of the story his twin brother was Lapithus, ancestor of the Lapiths, thus making the two warring peoples cousins.

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HADES - God Hades was the god of the underworld and son of the Titans Cronus and Rhea. He had three older sisters, Hestia, Demeter, and Hera, and two younger brothers, Poseidon and Zeus.

Hades worn the helmet of invisibility which he got from the Cyclops after Gods freed them just before start of war against Titans called Titanomachy. During the night before the first battle Hades put on his helmet and, being invisible, slipped over to the Titans' camp and destroyed their weapons.

Posted in: Greek Mythology -> Greek God Hades

POSEIDON - Poseidon was the third son of Kronos and the brother of Zeus and Hades. He drew the seas as his domain to rule. He was also known as the god of earthquakes and the god of horses. The symbols most often associated with Poseidon were the trident and dolphin. Sailors relied upon him for favorable winds and safe voyages, but he was moody. Despite sacrifices including drowned horses, he could cause storms, bad winds and earthquakes, at a whim. Like Zeus, he projected his power and masculinity on women, fathering many children. In a famous contest between him and Athena to decide which of the two would be the patron god of Athens, he threw a spear into the ground to create the Spring of the Acropolis. Athena surpassed him, however, by creating the olive tree. He often used water and earthquakes to exact revenge, but could be cooperative as well. He greatly aided the Greeks it the Trojan war, but took years of revenge on Odysseus, who had harmed one of Poseidon's Cyclops offspring.

Posted in: Greek Mythology -> Greek God Poseidon

ZEUS - Greek God Zeus was the ruler of the Gods. His name Zeus was related to the Greek word "dios" which means light, lightning... Zeus was the Greek God of thunder, lightning, rain, storms...

Zeus was the youngest son of two Greek Titans, Cronus and Rhea. Since he knew of a prophecy that one of his sons will withthrow him, Cronus et all of his children as soon as they were born, so all of Zeus's older brothers and sisters were eaten. Zeus's mother Rhea talked with Titan Gaia about all this and decided to hide Zeus from his father. When Zeus was born she gave Cronus a rock wrapped in clothes, Cronus didn't noticed and swallowed the rock thinking it's his newborn son Zeus.

All his childhood God Zeus was hiding from his father and was raised by Titan Gaia, goat Amalthea and nymphs.

When he was grown up Zeus forced his father Cronus (with help of Titan Gaia) to release his older brothers and sisters, the Gigantes, the Hecatonchires and the Cyclopes, from their dungeon in Tartarus. After he released them, Cyclops gave him Thunder which Zeus used as his ultimate weapon.

Zeus then led other Greek Gods to the war against Titans that was called Titanomachy. Zeus, his brothers and sisters Gods, Cyclops Gigantes and Hecatonchires managed to win this war and to banish Titans deep into dungeons of Tartarus.

After achieving victory in Titanomachy, Zeus and his brothers Poseidon and Hades ruled whole world. Zeus became God of Sky and supreme ruler over the Gods and humankind, Poseidon God of Oceans and Seas and Hades God of the Underworld (The World of The Dead).

However the Titan Gaia who raised Zeus when he was a child was angry of what he has done to her children, other Greek Titans, and Zeus had to fight against Gaia's soldiers and two giants Typhon and Echidna, also children of Titan Gaia.

Zeus had many children with Goddesses, mortal women and nymphs, and with them he had many children who became prominent in Greek mythology. Zeus took his sister Hera to his wife but it was known that he had many lovers. He could shape-shift, taking the shape of any object or living thing, and he used this ability in his seductions.

There were many statues built in Zeus's honor... The most famous was the colossal statue of Zeus at Olympia, one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. Also The original Olympic games were held in Zeus's honor.

Posted in: Greek Mythology -> Greek God Zeus