Dragons

Dragons slither, stomp and soar through myths from many parts of the world.

Níðhöggr

Dragin Beneath the World Tree

Nidhöggr is a fearsome dragon or serpent who gnaws at a root of Yggdrasil, the world tree. His name is often translated as “Malice Striker”, although the exact meaning is debated. He lives beneath the worlds, near the realm of the dead, and exchanges spiteful messages with the eagle above through Ratatoskr. Nidhöggr is not the villain of one long adventure. He is a constant danger under the structure of the cosmos, always biting at the roots that hold everything together.

Fun fact: Nidhoggr gnaws at a root of Yggdrasil beneath the worlds.

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The Hydra

The Many-Headed Serpent

Meet the Hydra, the enormous many-headed serpent that made one of Heracles’ Labours especially difficult! The Hydra lived in the marshes near Lerna and had poisonous breath and several snake-like heads. The really annoying part was that cutting off a head did not solve the problem. More heads could grow back in its place! Heracles eventually needed help from his nephew Iolaus, who burned each neck after a head was removed so it could not regrow. One head was immortal, so Heracles buried it beneath a huge rock. I love this monster because it teaches a very useful heroic lesson: if hitting the problem makes it bigger, stop hitting it and make a better plan!

Fun fact: The Hydra is the ultimate monster version of ‘this problem is getting worse!’

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Echidna

Mother of Greek Monsters

Meet Echidna, the mysterious mother of some of Greek mythology’s most famous monsters! Echidna was usually described as half beautiful woman and half enormous snake. She lived hidden away in a cave and became the partner of Typhon, the gigantic enemy of Zeus. Together they produced a terrifying family that included Cerberus, the Hydra and Orthus, with other monster family connections changing between different stories. Echidna does not have one huge adventure of her own. Instead, her children turn up everywhere causing trouble for heroes. I think of her as the hidden root of a monster family tree. Find Echidna and suddenly half the scary creatures in Greek mythology seem to be related!

Fun fact: Echidna was basically the grandmother of a huge chunk of Greek mythology’s monster collection!

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