ABSTRACT
A monster (literally ‘snake’), the child of the mysterious Chrysaor and of Oceanus’ daughter Callirrhoe; or else of Tartarus and Gaia, or Ceto and Phorcys. The Echidna was part beautiful woman, part voracious serpent. To Typhon she bore a hideous brood, the Chimaera, the Hydra of Lerna, and Cerberus. Subsequently the Echidna mated with Orthus to produce the Sphinx, the Nemean Lion, and the Crommyonian Sow. Other creatures are sometimes called her children: Orthus, Geryon’s dog, with which the Echidna mated, the serpent Ladon which guarded the garden of the Hesperides, and the eagle that tormented Prometheus. Eventually Argus with his hundred eyes caught the Echidna asleep one day and killed it, ridding Arcadia of a grievous plague.
