Greek Monsters - Downloaded from the Wizards Community, all coding removed by Solauren

Greek Monsters

Post/Author/DateTime Post
#1
gnomemaster
Feb 16, 2009 14:10:39 So I've been thinking a little bit about greek monsters in Dungeons and Dragons

and I was hoping you could help me come up with some that may not be in DnD.

Here's what I got that are in the DnD books:
Cyclops
Pegasus
Chimaera
Nymphs
Dryads
Satyr
etc. etc. I'm not going to list them all here. Does anyone have others?
#2
dirtyfrank
Feb 16, 2009 14:14:35 I think that they all have been in D&D at one point or another. If there is one that has not been in D&D it is because it is extremely obscure and nobody knows much about it.
#3
dirtyfrank
Feb 16, 2009 14:55:12
Cyclops
Pegasus
Chimaera
Nymphs
Dryads
Satyr

Here are some more.

Centaurs
Minotaurs
Elementals (spirits usually called nymphs, dryads, furies and such)
Nereid
Sylph
Giants -> usually a Cyclops, divine being or something that has some divinity in it.
Harpy
Hippocampus
Hydra
Lamia
Medusa
Manticore
Phoenix -> originated in India but mentioned in late greek mythology
Sirine
Sphinx -> Egyptian/Greek
Titans
#4
ciaran
Feb 17, 2009 7:47:13 The hundred handed, fifty headed giants. What were they called?
#5
minja_dup
Feb 17, 2009 11:12:40 Scylla and Charybdis
#6
dirtyfrank
Feb 17, 2009 11:19:17 How much do you read the Odyssey?
#7
zombie_babies
Feb 17, 2009 11:38:35 I haven't so much as looked at it since I was ten or so. Thanks for askin'! :D
#8
annoyinglizardvoice
Feb 17, 2009 11:57:18 A few of the monster use names from Greek myths, even though they are nothing like they were in the myths. The example that comes to mind is Lamia, a vampire-like creature who could turn into a snake in the myths, but either a cat-centaur or a hive of insects inside a human corpse (depending on edition) in d+d.
#9
arderkrag
Feb 17, 2009 12:45:03
The hundred handed, fifty headed giants. What were they called?

Hecatonchieres.
#10
zousha_omenohu
Feb 17, 2009 13:03:54
Here are some more.

Centaurs
Minotaurs
Elementals (spirits usually called nymphs, dryads, furies and such)
Nereid
Sylph
Giants -> usually a Cyclops, divine being or something that has some divinity in it.
Harpy
Hippocampus
Hydra
Lamia
Medusa
Manticore
Phoenix -> originated in India but mentioned in late greek mythology
Sirine
Sphinx -> Egyptian/Greek
Titans

NO! No! That is wrong! The proper name for this monster is a gorgon and nothing else! I don't care if it's for some mechanical bull in the game, the proper name is GORGON! Medusa was one of three GORGONS! How long will Wizards of the Coast support this heinous lie?!
#11
zombie_babies
Feb 17, 2009 13:11:13 As long as it doesn't really matter. Which means forever. :P
#12
dirtyfrank
Feb 17, 2009 13:45:34
NO! No! That is wrong! The proper name for this monster is a gorgon and nothing else! I don't care if it's for some mechanical bull in the game, the proper name is GORGON! Medusa was one of three GORGONS! How long will Wizards of the Coast support this heinous lie?!

Ya, which makes the Medusa a mythological creature that is in D&D.

Gorgons are also in D&D but they are big mean bulls that turn things to stone.
#13
stompie5
Feb 17, 2009 14:02:45
NO! No! That is wrong! The proper name for this monster is a gorgon and nothing else! I don't care if it's for some mechanical bull in the game, the proper name is GORGON! Medusa was one of three GORGONS! How long will Wizards of the Coast support this heinous lie?!

What were the other two Gorgons?
#14
zombie_babies
Feb 17, 2009 14:03:53
What were the other two Gorgons?

Jealous. ;)
#15
dirtyfrank
Feb 17, 2009 14:06:25
What were the other two Gorgons?

The Gorgons were sisters.

There was actually 1 Gorgon and attempting to look at her would turn you to stone. She was a protective deity. In later Myths there were 3 Gorgon sisters that had similar abilities to the original Gorgon of myth.
#16
arderkrag
Feb 17, 2009 14:07:01
What were the other two Gorgons?

Euryale and Stheno.
#17
stompie5
Feb 17, 2009 14:20:01
Euryale and Stheno.

Hmmm interesting...
#18
rake
Feb 18, 2009 8:57:16 The Catoblepas is greek, I do believe.
#19
dirtyfrank
Feb 18, 2009 9:02:58 The Catoblepas is mentioned in Greek culture but I'm not sure if they thought it was real or myth. It did however originate around Ethiopia......I believe.

The Greeks believed in the Unicorn. They did not have it in their mythology because they thought that it was a real creature that lived in the far off land of India. So, even though the unicorn doesn't exist, the Greeks did not include it in their mythology because believed it to be real and not myth.
#20
annoyinglizardvoice
Feb 18, 2009 13:52:13
The Catoblepas is mentioned in Greek culture but I'm not sure if they thought it was real or myth. It did however originate around Ethiopia......I believe.

The Greeks believed in the Unicorn. They did not have it in their mythology because they thought that it was a real creature that lived in the far off land of India. So, even though the unicorn doesn't exist, the Greeks did not include it in their mythology because believed it to be real and not myth.

The Greeks had similar thoughts about the manticor (which I think is actually African). The unicorn was originally Norse, but cropped up later in other nations' myths (particularly British)
#21
dirtyfrank
Feb 18, 2009 14:59:16
The Greeks had similar thoughts about the manticor (which I think is actually African). The unicorn was originally Norse, but cropped up later in other nations' myths (particularly British)

It is believed that the Greeks believed that the unicorn lived in India, or possibly even Africa, because they had heard of animals that could fit a rough description of a unicorn. Such animals include some types of deer and antelope, and rhinoceroses.
#22
annoyinglizardvoice
Feb 18, 2009 15:29:15
It is believed that the Greeks believed that the unicorn lived in India, or possibly even Africa, because they had heard of animals that could fit a rough description of a unicorn. Such animals include some types of deer and antelope, and rhinoceroses.

Wouldn't supprise me if that's the case. A lot of Greek myths come from their missunderstanding of nature. The skeleton they thought bellonged to a cyclops was actually that of a reative of the mamoth (they thought the big hole where the trunk used to be was an eye socket).
#23
dirtyfrank
Feb 18, 2009 15:32:44 Ya, when I found out about that I had a bit of a laugh.

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
#1 gnomemaster Feb 16, 2009 14:10:39	So I've been thinking a little bit about greek monsters in Dungeons and Dragons and I was hoping you could help me come up with some that may not be in DnD. Here's what I got that are in the DnD books: Cyclops Pegasus Chimaera Nymphs Dryads Satyr etc. etc. I'm not going to list them all here. Does anyone have others?
#2 dirtyfrank Feb 16, 2009 14:14:35	I think that they all have been in D&D at one point or another. If there is one that has not been in D&D it is because it is extremely obscure and nobody knows much about it.
#3 dirtyfrank Feb 16, 2009 14:55:12	Cyclops Pegasus Chimaera Nymphs Dryads Satyr Here are some more. Centaurs Minotaurs Elementals (spirits usually called nymphs, dryads, furies and such) Nereid Sylph Giants -> usually a Cyclops, divine being or something that has some divinity in it. Harpy Hippocampus Hydra Lamia Medusa Manticore Phoenix -> originated in India but mentioned in late greek mythology Sirine Sphinx -> Egyptian/Greek Titans
#4 ciaran Feb 17, 2009 7:47:13	The hundred handed, fifty headed giants. What were they called?
#5 minja_dup Feb 17, 2009 11:12:40	Scylla and Charybdis
#6 dirtyfrank Feb 17, 2009 11:19:17	How much do you read the Odyssey?
#7 zombie_babies Feb 17, 2009 11:38:35	I haven't so much as looked at it since I was ten or so. Thanks for askin'! :D
#8 annoyinglizardvoice Feb 17, 2009 11:57:18	A few of the monster use names from Greek myths, even though they are nothing like they were in the myths. The example that comes to mind is Lamia, a vampire-like creature who could turn into a snake in the myths, but either a cat-centaur or a hive of insects inside a human corpse (depending on edition) in d+d.
#9 arderkrag Feb 17, 2009 12:45:03	The hundred handed, fifty headed giants. What were they called? Hecatonchieres.
#10 zousha_omenohu Feb 17, 2009 13:03:54	Here are some more. Centaurs Minotaurs Elementals (spirits usually called nymphs, dryads, furies and such) Nereid Sylph Giants -> usually a Cyclops, divine being or something that has some divinity in it. Harpy Hippocampus Hydra Lamia Medusa Manticore Phoenix -> originated in India but mentioned in late greek mythology Sirine Sphinx -> Egyptian/Greek Titans NO! No! That is wrong! The proper name for this monster is a gorgon and nothing else! I don't care if it's for some mechanical bull in the game, the proper name is GORGON! Medusa was one of three GORGONS! How long will Wizards of the Coast support this heinous lie?!
#11 zombie_babies Feb 17, 2009 13:11:13	As long as it doesn't really matter. Which means forever. :P
#12 dirtyfrank Feb 17, 2009 13:45:34	NO! No! That is wrong! The proper name for this monster is a gorgon and nothing else! I don't care if it's for some mechanical bull in the game, the proper name is GORGON! Medusa was one of three GORGONS! How long will Wizards of the Coast support this heinous lie?! Ya, which makes the Medusa a mythological creature that is in D&D. Gorgons are also in D&D but they are big mean bulls that turn things to stone.
#13 stompie5 Feb 17, 2009 14:02:45	NO! No! That is wrong! The proper name for this monster is a gorgon and nothing else! I don't care if it's for some mechanical bull in the game, the proper name is GORGON! Medusa was one of three GORGONS! How long will Wizards of the Coast support this heinous lie?! What were the other two Gorgons?
#14 zombie_babies Feb 17, 2009 14:03:53	What were the other two Gorgons? Jealous. ;)
#15 dirtyfrank Feb 17, 2009 14:06:25	What were the other two Gorgons? The Gorgons were sisters. There was actually 1 Gorgon and attempting to look at her would turn you to stone. She was a protective deity. In later Myths there were 3 Gorgon sisters that had similar abilities to the original Gorgon of myth.
#16 arderkrag Feb 17, 2009 14:07:01	What were the other two Gorgons? Euryale and Stheno.
#17 stompie5 Feb 17, 2009 14:20:01	Euryale and Stheno. Hmmm interesting...
#18 rake Feb 18, 2009 8:57:16	The Catoblepas is greek, I do believe.
#19 dirtyfrank Feb 18, 2009 9:02:58	The Catoblepas is mentioned in Greek culture but I'm not sure if they thought it was real or myth. It did however originate around Ethiopia......I believe. The Greeks believed in the Unicorn. They did not have it in their mythology because they thought that it was a real creature that lived in the far off land of India. So, even though the unicorn doesn't exist, the Greeks did not include it in their mythology because believed it to be real and not myth.
#20 annoyinglizardvoice Feb 18, 2009 13:52:13	The Catoblepas is mentioned in Greek culture but I'm not sure if they thought it was real or myth. It did however originate around Ethiopia......I believe. The Greeks believed in the Unicorn. They did not have it in their mythology because they thought that it was a real creature that lived in the far off land of India. So, even though the unicorn doesn't exist, the Greeks did not include it in their mythology because believed it to be real and not myth. The Greeks had similar thoughts about the manticor (which I think is actually African). The unicorn was originally Norse, but cropped up later in other nations' myths (particularly British)
#21 dirtyfrank Feb 18, 2009 14:59:16	The Greeks had similar thoughts about the manticor (which I think is actually African). The unicorn was originally Norse, but cropped up later in other nations' myths (particularly British) It is believed that the Greeks believed that the unicorn lived in India, or possibly even Africa, because they had heard of animals that could fit a rough description of a unicorn. Such animals include some types of deer and antelope, and rhinoceroses.
#22 annoyinglizardvoice Feb 18, 2009 15:29:15	It is believed that the Greeks believed that the unicorn lived in India, or possibly even Africa, because they had heard of animals that could fit a rough description of a unicorn. Such animals include some types of deer and antelope, and rhinoceroses. Wouldn't supprise me if that's the case. A lot of Greek myths come from their missunderstanding of nature. The skeleton they thought bellonged to a cyclops was actually that of a reative of the mamoth (they thought the big hole where the trunk used to be was an eye socket).
#23 dirtyfrank Feb 18, 2009 15:32:44	Ya, when I found out about that I had a bit of a laugh.