Myths of Ancient Greece are not just fairy tales for children that were read to the little Hellenes at night. These are not just fantasies that people entertained in the old days in the absence of television and the Internet. This is a whole system of knowledge that could tell about how the world works, explain the essence of different phenomena, teach the wisdom of previous generations. Myths taught life, ridiculed vices, exalted the courage of heroes and their kindness.
But in these legends there was a place for monsters who could harm not only man, but also immortal gods. The ancient monsters explained the activity of many negative situations (for example, pestilence and loss of livestock, death of travelers and so on). And among such characters an honorable (let's not be afraid of this word) place is taken by mother Echidna. Who is this and what is it remarkable for, read in our article.
Pedigree of an ancient monster
It is known what Echidna looked like. Mythology draws such a portrait of her: a woman of large stature, who had a beautiful face. Her body was serpentine, covered with spots. This creature combined both female charms and a fierce disposition. Sometimes she was called a hundred-headed, but perhaps it was an epithet reflecting various traits of her character (women are inconstant). Some authors claimed that Echidna gnawed at the light from her mother’s womb, and, having matured, abducted travelers.
The female form of evil
It is known what Echidna looked like. Mythology draws such a portrait of her: a woman of large stature, who had a beautiful face. Her body was serpentine, covered with spots. This creature combined both female charms and a fierce disposition. Sometimes she was called a hundred-headed, but perhaps it was an epithet reflecting various traits of her character (women are unstable!). Some authors claimed that Echidna gnawed at the light from her mother’s womb, and, having matured, abducted travelers.
Some more facts
Echidna lived far from people and gods in the Cilician Arim (Arima), lying in its underground cave. This "address" of the creature indicated Homer.
According to one version, she was immortal. Zeus left her on Earth after her victory over the Titans, so that she and her descendants could challenge the heroes (according to Hesiod). However, there are myths that describe the death of Echidna at the hands of Heracles, Bellerophon, Argus, or Oedipus.
A number of researchers consider Echidna a chthonic deity, whose strength is embodied in his descendants. Therefore, when the heroes killed the monsters born by her, the mother gradually died. This state of affairs signified the victory of heroic mythology over the fear of the world.
Mother of monsters in other cultures
Such a terrible and beautiful character at the same time existed not only in the imagination of the ancient Greeks. The Gauls, conquered by the Roman legions, took over their belief in the terrible Echidna and spread them to the territory of Europe. In southern France, for example, there were legends about the fiery serpent (monster Vuivre). To the waist, she looked like a girl, and from the waist - like a crocodile. On the forehead, the creature wore a carbuncle gem, which it removed while swimming. If a person could take possession of this mineral, then he could find out where the treasures were buried. But only Vuivre ran very fast, so no mortal could boast of such prey: everyone was overtaken and killed.
Spawn of the Echidna
Echidna was a mother of many children, and all her children terrified mortals. She had many husbands, she gave birth according to some legends, even from her son. Among the descendants of the female snake are:
- Orff dog with two heads;
- three-headed dog Cerberus;
- Lernean hydra;
- Sphinx;
- Chimera;
- Nemean lion ;
- Colchis Dragon slain by Jason;
- Efon (the eagle Zeus sent to peck Prometheus' liver).
Each of these characters is found on the pages of ancient Greek myths. Almost all the children of Echidna were killed by earthly heroes (demigods), but some served the gods. For example, Cerberus guarded the underworld of Hades. The Nemean lion and the Lernean hydra were killed by Heracles (two of the twelve heroic deeds). True, in the case of the multi-headed hydra, the son of Zeus was helped by a friend Iolaus and patroness Athena.
Modern interpretation
Today, the name mother Echidna means not only a mythical creature with terrible features. It has other interpretations, some of them positive. For example, this is the name of a Russian company founded in 2006. Her specialization is sewing high-quality slings, clothes for pregnant and lactating women, and children's things. Agree that there is no room for negativity or all kinds of fears.
What does mother echidna mean? Often this combination is called women with a special attitude to the child. For better or worse, we’ll figure it out now. So, such a mother brings up a child in conditions as close to natural as possible. Firstly, she does not wash her children several times a day, does not wash the floor excessively in the nursery, and does not sterilize toys and breasts before each feeding. She will not change the diaper in two hours, if he does not get dirty, will not walk for five hours a day. A lot of people will say that this is a bad and lazy mother, but let's look at it from the other side. Now many medical luminaries consider excessive passion for cleanliness harmful. Therefore, Echidna has just the approach that is best suited for children.
According to mythology, mother Echidna had very difficult children. For example, the girl Sphinx puzzled people with riddles, and if they couldn’t find the answer, she would kill (maybe why did she just want to know what was inside them?). Cerberus was aggressive, but if he had not been put on a chain, he might not have rushed at all. The chimera suffered from colic and heartburn - typical childhood troubles. Many of the descendants of Echidna had a bright personality. And the mother herself was beautiful, that is, she managed to take care of herself.
Animal world
In the animal world there is also such a small animal, which is called viper. This amazing creature lives in Australia. It is unpretentious, sleeps, burrowing into the ground, preens its paws and eats small living organisms (ants, worms). Having laid an egg, the animal hatches it in a bag until the baby hatches. The echidna feeds the baby with its own milk and then carries it in a bag until needles appear on its back. That is, as long as he needs it. Then the mother sends the child into an independent life, and he is ready for all kinds of trials.
It is also known that up to the nineteenth century the viper was called poisonous snake. On the same Green continent there still lives a species of reptiles, which are called viper. But such snakes do not attack people themselves, they only become aggressive if they offend children or step on her tail. Then they can bite, but here, as they say, a person is to blame.
Summarize
So, Echidna is portrayed by mythology as a mother of many children of different monsters. Nevertheless, she loves her children, takes care of them and educates them special. Perhaps in myths this individuality of man was opposed to society. Being different is not good; therefore, the children of the Echidna were considered freaks and monsters. There were a minority of such monsters, and they were defeated by the majority, that is, heroes and ordinary people. But this is exclusively the opinion of the author, which may not coincide with the point of view of the reader. However, any reasoned opinion has the right to exist.