The Greeks had a lot of monsters in the various myths, from a 3 headed dog to a woman-headed beast that eats men. But where do all of these monsters come from? While many are caused by curses or cross breeding, most come one being. He is known as the Father of All Monsters. His name is Typhon and he is the most powerful monster in all of the Greek mythology, almost as powerful as Zeus himself!
Typhon was born for one reason: to destroy the Olympians. His power comes from mother Earth and his wrath comes from his father Tartarus. He is said to have huge wings and large snakes coming from him that could destroy whole cities. His power was so great that all the gods ran in fear from him. He was the size of a mountain, looking down at the gods like insects.
He was born from a courtship of Gaea and Tartarus after the Titans and Giants lost to the Olympians. Typhon was to take over the universe in place of the Olympians because Gaea could not stand the fact that her children were defeated and the Olympians refused to worship her. When he rose from the earth, the sky turned dark and he roared in delight when he saw the Olympians running. All except Zeus.
Zeus was the only one who stood against the large monster. He threw lightning bolts at the beast, but they had little effect. Typhon commanded the earth and heavens to strike against Zeus and they obeyed, but Zeus stood against Typhon's attacks. Typhon and Zeus fought for a long time before Zeus finally landed one critical blow and Typhon fell in defeat.
To make sure Typhon stays down, Zeus threw a mountain over the beast and Typhon stays defeated for eternity, but still explodes in rage, causing him to bleed and his blood spews out as lava. That mountain is Mt. Etna. It is a fun fact to mention that this is the same mountain where the Forge God Hephaestus makes his weapons.
Typhon, before his battle with Zeus, was married to the half-snake, half-woman creature Echnida and fathered some of the most famous monsters of all time, including the Chimera, Cerberus, Orthrus, the Hydra, and Ladon. Most of these creatures were mostly serpentine in nature or had bodies of mammals. Most were a combination of powers and were always hungry for human flesh.
So, as a curse to the Olympians, Typhon allowed his children to attack the Olympians' greatest creation, man. So throughout the rest of mankind, humans fight these monsters without the help of the gods. Many heroes claim titles and immortality in stories for slaying these monsters, such as Heracles and Bellerophon. Still, Typhon's hate towards the gods and all those related to them can be seen today in the lava that spews from Mt. Etna and the fears of his children attacking us as we sleep.
