A Bestiary of Monsters in Greek Mythology

Greek myths abound in images of beauty and perfection: charming gods, attractive goddesses, and handsome heroes, all of them standards of physical and spiritual flawlessness. However, the ancient Greeks were not fond of absolutes. No god or hero is shown without blemishes in character and ethics, and some are even physically imperfect, like Hephaestus, who is ugly and lame. Another element that dominates Greek mythology is the idea of balance. Good and evil, light and darkness, hubris and punishment. What could not be missing from this world is the image of reversed beauty: monstrosity. The aim of this book is to explore the realm of the imaginary world of Greek mythology and present the reader with a categorization of monstrosity, referring to some of the most noted examples in each category.

Table of Contents

Preface

Introduction, by Richard Buxton

Introduction

Chapter 1 Humanoid Monsters

Chapter 2 Serpentine Creatures

Chapter 3 Partly Human

Chapter 4 Monstrous Animals

Chapter 5 Ghosts and Daemons

Works Cited