Top 10 Creatures from Greek Mythology

these classic mythical beasts have captured imaginations for centuries welcome to watchmojo.com and today we're counting down our picks for the top ten creatures from Greek mythology for this list will be ranking the most well-known and best loved creatures from the world of Greek myth we're excluding the actual gods and goddesses from Mount Olympus however as we've already covered them in our video of the top 10 Greek gods and goddesses he belongs in the underworld not here number 10 the Sphinx although most closely associated with the culture of ancient Egypt this mythical creature was quickly adopted by the Greeks during the Bronze Age usually depicted with a human face a lion's body and the wings of an eagle the sphinx serves as a gatekeeper upon crossing the Sphinx's path it challenges the traveler with the riddle which creature walks on four legs in the morning 2 in the afternoon and 3 in the evening should the traveler not reply with the answer mankind he or she will immediately be swooped upon and devoured by the victorious Sphinx it's a tough life in ancient Greece huh number 9 satyrs what's the matter you never seen a SATA before uh no from the classic Federico Fellini film Satyricon to the Norwegian black metal band references to satyrs are a dime a dozen but in Greek myth these creatures are classic troublemakers and revelers these man beasts are companions of the god of wine Dionysus therefore having a penchant for drinking and we're usually depicted in human form but with horse tails and ears the most famous of their kind was Salinas a close cohort of Dionysus and a character associated with fertility sometimes the figures would crop up in Greek plays with their very own genre the satyr play which took a usually dramatic story well known to the public and you guessed it made it satirical it's not about the money it's about the message right wait a minute whoa whoa you don't actually believe this crap do you number eight chimera it seems metal bands really like Greek mythological beasts the chimera is yet another hybrid creature this time a female that combines the physical traits of three separate animals usually the body and head of a lion with a second goat head and a snake's tail making up the rest the earliest mention of the beast was in Homer's Iliad which is where the physical description originated the chimera is also known to possess a terrible temper as well as the ability to breathe deadly fire from her jaws at any who might oppose her beast you might in other words you might not want to get this one angry number seven Medusa one of the most well known creatures on our list Medusa is the mightiest of a race called the Gorgons who are snake headed sorceresses with the power to turn men to stone with a single gaze many attempted to defeat her hoping to gain the amassed gold and treasure in her lair myth tells of the hero Perseus finally beating her which was later adapted for the screen in The Clash of the Titans films Medusa has been portrayed in our time by such actresses as uma Thurman and appears in the video game worlds of the God of War and Castlevania franchises which just goes to show her enduring legacy as an icon of evil number 6 Cerberus this triple headed guard dog is one of the fiercest and most frightening creatures from the world of Greek mythology and with good reason Cerberus is the gatekeeper of Hades a Hound of Hell who prevents all lost souls from escaping the underworld as if the three snarling Maz weren't frightening enough Cerberus has sometimes been described as having snakes emerging from his body as well as a serpent for a tail making this beast a dangerous foe from all angles the only person ever to obtained him was the hero Heracles or the Roman Hercules number five centaurs forest is not safe at this time these hybrid creatures are instantly recognizable the legendary race has the lower half of a horse and a human upper body and proves to be popular in the world of fantasy time and time again please do your part to help keep my people alive a horse indeed the image of centaurs has been adopted for ads like Adult Swim and Old Spice and if you've ever wished to see what a sent or version of Saturday Night Live's Chris Parnell would look like look no further is their scent or pornography that is not a medical question their usage in popular media isn't new though it dates back decades as evidenced by their appearance in such films as Fantasia and the golden voyage of Sinbad number four the Minotaur this next hybrid has the head of a bull and quite the reputation according to myth the Minotaur was held in a labyrinth in the kingdom of Crete creats King Minos pissed off the gods and as a result his wife was bewitched to fall for and lay with a bull producing this enraged creature the Minotaur would devour 14 Athenians each year until Theseus succeeded in killing him with help from Minos daughter Ariadne the intimidating image of the Minotaur carries on even now in video games like God of War and vagrant story as well as in such films as wrath of the Titans and Percy Jackson and the Olympians he's that terrifying number three Cyclops this round I'd race of giants was known for excellent building and crafting skills and their overall nasty nature the most infamous Cyclops is undoubtedly Polyphemus who appeared in homers classic poem The Odyssey as a significant obstacle for the stranded hero Odysseus in this story Holley famous is the son of Poseidon god of the sea and a sea nymph known as fussa he holds the hero Odysseus and his crew hostage devouring any man who attempts to escape men do not eat one another shark all true it isn't until Polyphemus falls asleep that Odysseus and his crew are able to blind the Cyclops and finally make their way from their island prison though to impale the son of a god proved not to be the best choice as Poseidon kept Odysseus from getting home for a while number two Pegasus the most beautiful stallion in the world this dark white and regal steed was actually birthed from the blood of the slain Medusa after her defeat at the hands of Perseus Pegasus a winged horse would later be instrumental in the hero Bellerophon defeat of the Chimera he's made many appearances in pop culture being seen in films like Fantasia and His image has been used across several media from a logo in world war ii by UK parachute troops to the old opening montage of Tristar pictures today Pegasus is famous in the God of War franchise as an ally of Kratos regardless of his origins the use of Pegasus as an emblem demonstrates his legacy of beauty and wisdom before we unleash our greatest creature from the world of Greek mythology here are some honorable mentions number one the Hydra they cut off one head two more shall take its place the name Hydra may be more familiar in recent times since it was adopted as the name for a terrorist organization in Marvel's universe the Hydra also called the lernaean hydra after its den of choice was a multi-headed water serpent that protected what was said to be a gateway to the underworld as if that weren't bad enough it was virtually impossible to decapitate the snake after severing one head two more would take its place that doesn't sound great couple that with the hydras poisonous blood and venomous breath and you essentially have a beast with almost limitless destructive potential until Heracles came along do you agree with our list which creature of Greek myth did we miss for more massive top 10s published every day be sure to subscribe to watchmojo.com you

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Keywords: history, politics, creatures, greek mythology creatures, chimera, satyrs, the sphinx, centaurs, cerberus, medusa, hyrda, pegasus, cyclops, the minotaur, top 10, watchmojo, mythical creatures, top 10 mythical creatures, greek mythical creatures, greek mythology, classic mythical beasts, Creatures from Greek Mythology, creatures from the world of Greek myth

Id: GvVg3r1t8gw

Length: 10min 53sec (653 seconds)

Published: Tue Jul 05 2016