Aggrieved that someone was finally able to solve her riddle, the Sphinx threw herself off the high rock she’d perched upon for so many years and died. Another Greek version claims she devoured herself. Whatever the outcome Oedipus had saved Thebes from the Sphinx, and he moved on to meet his own destiny in that city.

The Teumessian Fox

Thebes also suffered under the torment of the Theumessian Fox, which was sent to punish the descendants of Kadmos, who lived in the city. It’s not clear what Kadmos did to cause such rage among the Greek gods, but the Thebians retaliated by excluding any member of the family from ruling Thebes. The giant fox preyed upon the citizens of Thebes, forcing them to send it a monthly meal in the form of a child. The ruler of Thebes, Creon, set the hero Amphitryon the seemingly impossible task of destroying the beast. Amphitryon fetched a magical dog called Laelaps, who was guaranteed to catch everything he chased. The problem was the Theumessian Fox could not be caught. It fell to Zeus to solve this contradiction of fate, and he turned the uncatchable fox and that unavoidable fox into stone.

The Nemean Lion

This dreadful creature lived at Nemea, and was renowned for his tough skin, so thick no weapon could harm him. He had been terrorising the local population for years, attacking and killing people and livestock and generally causing great hardship. Hercules’ cousin Eurystheus set him the first of his twelve labours – he was to slay the lion and recover its impermeable skin. When Hercules first encountered the lion he tried to slay it using his bow and arrows, a club made from olive wood and a bronze sword. None of these weapons had any effect upon the Nemean Lion. As a last resort brave Hercules seized the lion, wrestled it to the ground and choked it to death by thrusting his arm down its throat.

Encouraged by his success and slaying this dreadful creature, Hercules set about skinning the Nemean Lion. This proved an impossible task, and Hercules began to despair he’d fail to complete his first task. The goddess Athena took pity upon the hero, and disguised as an owl managed to help Hercules realise the Nimean Lion’s claws would be the best tools for cutting the hide. Because the skin was so strong Hercules used it as armour. When Eurystheus caught sight of Hercules wearing his new armour he was so frightened he hid himself in a large bronze jar and communicated with Hercules through a messenger.

Orthrus

Like his brother Cerberus, Orthrus was supposedly a two headed dog who walked upright. One head faced forward, the other looked backward. His owner was a Titan named Geryon, who had three bodies below his single head. Orthrus and the shepherd Eurytion were tasked with guarding Geryon’s magnificent herd of red cattle living in Erytheia, an island in the Mediterranean Sea. Hercules’ tenth labour was to retrieve the prized herd of cattle, because Eurystheus wanted to offer them to the goddess Hera. Hercules had by this time gained a lot of experience, and used his powerful arrows to kill Orthus, Eurytion and Geryon before bringing the cattle back to Eurystheus.

Ladon

As protector of the Garden of the Hesperides, Ladon was a fearful creature. He had many heads – some say as many as 100 – and each head spoke in a different voice. Ladon guarded a tree that produced golden apples, entwining himself around the branches and leaves to protect its unique fruit, which if eaten bestowed eternal life upon its consumer. Enter Hercules, tasked with collecting the apples as the last of his twelve labours. Hercules killed Ladon with ease, picked the apples and delivered them to Eurytheus.

Ethon

As the tormentor of Prometheus, the giant eagle Ethon was a truly dreadful being. When Zeus caught Prometheus stealing fire from Mount Olympus the god punished the unfortunate titan, chaining him to a rock. By day Ethon would swoop down to Prometheus and eat his liver. At night there was some respite because the liver regenerated. The following morning Ethon would be back, eating the new liver. Prometheus’s wife and son tried their hardest to chase away the monstrous eagle while tending to the chained Prometheus, but it wasn’t easy. On his way to retrieve the golden apples, Hercules came across this dreadful scenario. Needless to say Hercules killed Ethon and freed Prometheus. After thanking Hercules for freeing him from this torture Prometheus ate Ethon’s liver…

I should point out there are many versions of each of these stories. Although the basics of each myth do not change, some of the finer details and explanations are rather different. The fact that each myth has survived a few thousand years proves just how powerful fantasy writing can be. All these stories – and I include Hercules’ Labours here – have stood the test of time, and still serve as inspiration for fantasy writers today. I admit some knowledge of Prometheus, golden apples and the Nemean Lion, but until I researched this newsletter I’d not come across the specific characters like Ladon, Orthus and the Teumessian Fox. I hope you’ve enjoyed reading about them, and that they’ve given you some ideas for your own fantasy writing.