Typhon — Father of All Monsters

I. What Was Typhon?

Typhon was the most terrifying monster in all of Greek mythology — a colossal storm giant so enormous that his head brushed the stars and his outstretched arms could touch the eastern and western horizons simultaneously. He had a hundred dragon heads sprouting from his shoulders, each one spitting fire and roaring with the sounds of every animal imaginable — lions, bulls, serpents, and dogs. From the waist down, his legs were replaced by massive coiling vipers.

Born of Gaea (Earth) and Tartarus (the Abyss) after the defeat of the Titans and the Giants, Typhon was the earth mother's final, most devastating weapon against Zeus and the Olympians. When Typhon attacked Olympus, the gods were so terrified that they fled to Egypt and disguised themselves as animals. Only Zeus stood to fight.

The battle between Zeus and Typhon was the most cataclysmic conflict in Greek mythology. Zeus hurled thunderbolt after thunderbolt, but Typhon seized the god's weapon — the adamantine sickle — and cut the sinews from Zeus's hands and feet, leaving him helpless. Hermes and Pan rescued Zeus and restored his sinews. In their final confrontation, Zeus buried Typhon under Mount Etna in Sicily, where the monster's fury still causes volcanic eruptions and earthquakes to this day.

With his mate Echidna, Typhon fathered virtually every famous monster in Greek mythology: the Hydra, Cerberus, the Chimaera, the Sphinx, the Nemean Lion, the Colchian Dragon, and the eagle that tortured Prometheus. He is literally the Father of All Monsters.