Monsters

By J.C.

When the gods of Olympus took over the world from Cronnos, certain monsters were kept in the world for future Greek heroes to battle against.  These monsters could be seen as practice for the heroes preparing for human battles.  One type of monster is the Cyclopes, a race of brutes that were a roadblock to the heroes of Greece.  Cyclopes played many different roles in Greek mythology; some crafted thunderbolts, some built walled cities, and some simply minded their own business.  All Cyclopes were giants with a single, large eye in the middle of their forehead.  Polyphemus was a Cyclops that had a major role in Greek literature’s epic poem “The Odyssey”.  Similar to the Cyclopes, the Minotaur is a classic monster that caused much havoc before being slain by a hero.  This creature was a man with a bull’s head that was placed inside a labyrinth to eat Athenian youths.  Theseus was one of these youths and he killed the Minotaur.  This showed the Greek nation how the young and small could defeat the large and powerful, similar to the Bible’s story of David and Goliath.  The chimera is another central monster that posed a threat to the Greeks before being brought down.  The chimera went around the kingdom of Lycia scaring and killing people.  This Lion headed, goat bodied, and snake tailed monster was eventually hunted down by the hero Bellerophon.  This story of the chimera showed the Greeks what happened if somebody killed for no reason.  Monsters can be considered practice dummies for human warfare, but they are really much more.  These splendid creatures contributed not only to mythology, but to the literature, language, and art of the ancient Greeks.