In the land far away from the deathless gods,
and mortal men.
in the deepest caves of Arima, lived a half
maiden half snake creature, who preyed on
unaware travelers.
Echidna, the mother of all monsters, the she-viper,
the half-nymph half-serpent, the one who was
neither like "mortal men" nor "the undying
gods.
Some say Echidna was the daughter of Tartarus,
and Gaia.
Some say she was the daughter of the primordial
sea god, Phorcys and his consort, Ceto, the
goddess of the dangers of the deep.
While others say she was the daughter the
daughter of the river goddess Styx.
In appearance, Echidna was an irresistible,
yet fearsome creature, with the beautiful
upper body of a young maiden, and the lower
body of a viper.
She was half a nymph, with enchanting eyes,
and fair cheeks, and half again a huge snake,
great and awful.
She was an ageless creature, who never grew
old all her days.
Echidna consorted with a fellow monster, known
as Typhon, the father of all monsters, and
from the union of these two monsters, came
nothing but monsters.
The most famous of their children were, Cerberus,
the three-headed hound who guarded the gates
of the hades; the Lernaean Hydra, a many-headed
serpent that grew two heads if one was cut
off; the sphinx, a winged half-woman, half
lion creature that guarded the road to thebes.
and the Chimera, a creature with the head
of a lion, a goat's body, and a snake as its
tail.
Echidna would lie in wait in her caves, for
unaware passers-by and animals.
Whichever unfortunate victim fell into her
trap, she carried off and fed upon.
However, After the powerful Typhon was defeated
at the hands of Zeus, Echidna soon met her
own death.
She was killed while sleeping, by the hundred
eyed giant, Argus Panoptes, who was sent by
Hera.
In a different version though, Echidna remained
alive after the defeat of her husband, Typhon,
and continued living in the caves of Arima,
carrying off passers-by.
