Monstrous beasts and Gods do exist! But a Divine monster, it is much less frequent! Well yet, that’s what Typhon is. It is one of the most dangerous creatures that ever existed.
It is most often described as the strongest and most fearsome Divinity in the mythology of ancient Greece.
It is therefore not surprising that the mere mention of his name provokes so much fear and awe.
Typhon was so powerful that it even frightened the Olympians.
The Appearance of Typhon
Typhon was so gigantic that its skull grazed the stars. It had a human torso, but it had viper legs that persified and attacked when it moved.
He had 100 serpentine heads that were supported on a main head. Each one made a different animal sound. Its reddish eyes shone and frightened those who had the audacity to see them.
Also, he had a “wild jaw”, through which he spat out flames. A multitude of different wings sprouted from his body. His hands consisted of 100 coiled snakes. The same for his legs.
Some sources say that Typhon had up to 100 heads, all of different animals such as bulls, wild boars, etc., and that he was a “wild snake”.
When he was a volcano demon, Typhon threw red stones directly to the sky and fire boiled from his mouth.
As we have already said, Typhon is a god. He is the child of GAIA and Tartarus. GAIA was the goddess of the earth.
As for the Tartarus, he was a murderer at heart. Some legends tell that HERA wanted to conceive a god stronger than ZEUS.
To do so, she organized the mating between these two gods, and this resulted in the furious Typhon.
Typhon is also known as Typhoeus, Typhaon, Typhos, Typho and many other names. But the story remains the same.
Its hands stretched east and west and some of its heads were actually dragon heads. He had a dirty, tangled beard, pointed ears and there was fire in his eyes.
Typhon was soot-black in color and was dirty from head to toe, but especially with his hair.
Typhon was reputed to be the father of all monsters. This 100-headed flame-breathing dragon was insomniac.
He was in love with the famous ECHIDNA, considered as the mother of all the horrible beasts.
The Typhon’s Children
Typhon and Echidna both had children, like the Sphinx who killed anyone who could not decipher his riddles.
When Oedipus solved one of his riddles, the Sphinx was desperate.
The two madmen also gave birth to the Lion of Nemea, who had an impassable skin. Hercules was forced to defeat this lion to complete his famous 12 labors.
They also gave birth to the Cerberus, a three-headed dog who was the guardian of the World of the Dead.
Along with the other monsters we have mentioned, Typhon and Echidna also had the monster Orthos. The latter was a two-headed doggie, which lived among the giants.
They also sired Ladon, a dragon resembling a snake, who had to guard the golden apple in a mythical garden.
The hydra of Lerna was an ancient water monster like a snake that had several heads that would come back and multiply if they were cut off.
They gave birth to the Caucasian Eagle, an eagle that ate Prometheus’ liver every day.
They also gave birth to the Chimera, a fire-spitting creature with a goat’s head, a tail with a snake’s head, and a body resembling the king of the jungle (lion).
The lower part of its body, which was made of viper coils, could stretch all the way to its head whenever it wanted to, and the viper coils whistled constantly.
There is another story that has been told where Hera is the mother of Typhon, but the most likely story is the one we have told where Hera begged Gaia and Tartarus to have this child between them.
Typhon and Zeus
Typhon had many battles with Zeus in ancient mythology.
In one story, Typhon ravaged cities and even threw mountains in its absolute rage. Many gods of Olympus were afraid of Typhon after that.
So they put on their animal appearance. Only Dionysus, Athena, and Zeus remained in their usual form.
Athena even claimed that Zeus was a coward. Furious, the latter launched an assault on Typhon before taking Mount Olympus, home of all the Olympian Divinities. Zeus struck Typhon with a hundred lightning bolts. This paralyzed him.
When Typhon was defeated, Zeus threw him into the bottomless pit of Tartarus. There, Zeus blocked the exit by placing an entire mountain (Mount Etna) above it. Thus, the scabby Typhon could no longer escape.
The Greek Dragon Typhon
Typhon being a fire-fearing monster, volcanic eruptions are thought to be due to the fact that Typhon tried to escape from the mountain.
The same is true for earthquakes, which are thought to be triggered by Typhon’s attempt to escape.
The Greek dragon Typhon was sent to Earth to strike down Zeus and destroy the World. He was able to do so.
When Typhon erupted from the molten rock, only Athena was able to persuade the Divinities to “rise up” to fight. The others had fled.
In another version, Zeus’ thunderbolts were no match for Typhon, who easily defeated the god.
Typhon dragged him into a cave. He pulled some tendons out of him, so that he could not get away. Thus, Typhon could torture Zeus as he wished.
Hermes and Pan decided to go and help Zeus. So they went into the cave and put Zeus’ muscles back in place.
His immortality did the rest of his healing, and he lived to fight another day.
After that, a fight raged between Typhon and the gods. It lasted 10,000 years and finally ended with Zeus trapping Typhon under Etna, where he would be trapped forever to become a volcano.
