A lion with a snake's tail is called. Mythical creatures (40 photos). Compatibility in friendship

In Greek mythology chimera(“goat”) - a monster defeated by the hero Bellerophon. We find mention of it in ancient authors. Homer reports that this fire-breathing monster “looks like a lion from the front, has the body of a goat and the tail of a snake.” Hesiod also says that the chimera breathes fire and describes it as “a terrible creature, huge, fleet-footed and strong. She has three heads: one is a lion’s, the other is a goat’s, and the third is a snake’s, the head of a bloodthirsty dragon.” In Greek art, the chimera was usually depicted with the body of a lion, the head of a goat, and the tail of a snake.

Over time, the chimera became associated with a number of creatures “assembled” from body parts of various animals and humans. An example of this is the description of the chimera by the 18th century researcher Coates: “A creature with the face of a beautiful maiden, the forelegs and chest of a lion, the body of a goat, the hind legs of a griffin, and the tail of a serpent.” In modern language, a chimera in a figurative sense often means an unrealistic dream or a crazy idea.

Both Homer and Hesiod believed in the divine origin of the chimera. According to Hesiod, her mother was Echidna - half a girl "with burning eyes and pale cheeks", half a terrible huge snake. The father of the chimera was Cypheus, the youngest son of Gaia and Tartarus. Cypheus is described as a monster "higher than any mountain", with huge wings, fiery eyes, dragon paws and a viper's tail. The chimera had no less wonderful brothers: the guardian of the underground kingdom, the dog Cerberus, and the two-headed dog Orth, who guarded Geryon's herds.

However, this is not the only version of the origin of the chimera. According to other sources, her father was Orth, and her mother was the many-headed Hydra. However, whatever its origin, it is, of course, one of the most ancient mythical monsters that constantly fought with the Olympian gods for power in the Universe.

In ancient literature, in addition to Homer and Hesiod, Euripides, Ovid and Virgil turned to the image of the chimera. In the Aeneid, the chimera appears as one of the terrible monsters that King Aeneas encounters in the underworld.

Already in ancient times, some scientists tried to connect its origin with the Lycian volcano Yanar. Servius, a commentator on Virgil, writes that flames erupted from the crater of the volcano, lions lived at its top, goats grazed on the slopes, and snakes nested at the foot: all this together, they say, formed the image of a monster. And Plutarch believed that the source of the myth of the chimera was pirate ships decorated with images of a snake, lion and goat.

It was believed that the chimera lived in the inaccessible mountains of the remote Lycian province. Not a single person dared to come close to her home, surrounded by the decaying carcasses of headless animals. The king of Lycia sent his troops several times to destroy the monster, but not a single warrior returned alive.

The son of the king of Corinth, Bellerophon, riding the beautiful winged horse Pegasus, flew up to the monster’s lair and saw on the ground a creature the size of a horse, spewing flames and growling menacingly so that the air around him shook. Bellerophon struck the chimera with arrows. But it was not so easy to kill her. And then the young man threw a lead-tipped spear straight into her mouth. The fire that escaped from the throat melted the lead, which burned the insides of the chimera, and it died... From now on, its place is in the underworld. From time to time the chimera reminds itself of itself with tongues of flame.

Scenes of the battle with the chimera are depicted on vases from Corinth and Attica. On Attic amphorae, the lion and goat heads of the chimera are located on opposite parts of its body and look in different directions. In a famous 5th-century bronze figure found in Italy, the chimera is represented as a lion with a snake's tail and a goat's head on its back.

In the Middle Ages, images of chimeras are often found on military shields, in mosaics with religious motifs, and in illustrations to the Bible. Francesco di Giorgio and Peter Paul Rubens dedicated paintings to Bellerophon's battle with the chimera. The name “Chimera” is given to a painting by the 19th century French artist Postav Moreau. It reflects the new meaning of this word: there is no image of a classic monster on the canvas, here it is rather the personification of nightmares and vicious desires. Moreau himself said that his work was devoted to “chimeric dreams of disaster, pain and death.”

Modern literature, such as Gustave Flaubert's The Temptation of Saint Anthony, depicts a chimera - "fantasy", a green-eyed creature that barks and spits fire from its nostrils and carries on a conversation with the Sphinx - "reality". The nature of the conversation symbolizes the irreparable gap between reality and dream. In the play "The Circus of Dr. Lao" by Charles Finney, the chimera is shown as a lion with eagle wings and a dragon's tail, and the hero of the novel, Dr. Lao himself, claims that it cannot cleanse the stomach naturally and is forced to burn the remains of food inside the body - hence the fire escaping from graze.

Probably the most famous image of chimeras can be seen on the facade of Notre Dame Cathedral. These are fantastic, often ugly creatures with the body of a monkey and the wings of bats, embodying human sins and evil forces. The gallery of chimeras contains figures of demons, monsters and fairy birds. The famous chimeras hide behind the ledges on the upper platform at the foot of the towers and hang over the city, slightly baring their teeth.

The most famous chimera is Strix, the “night bird,” a winged night demon, half-woman, half-bird, who, according to legend, fed on the blood of newborn babies. There is a popular belief that strixes poison children with their poisonous milk. The Romans feared these night spirits that resembled vampires. It is curious that chimeras and all the figures of Notre Dame have an amazing property: you cannot draw, write or take photographs near them - next to them people seem dead, expressionless stone sculptures.

Finally, from the point of view of modern psychology, the chimera personifies the “dark”, subconscious side of the human being, with which the male ego fights. Such monsters are no less important than heroes. If the subconscious is killed or brutally suppressed, even the “hero” can lose his human face, and then, like the ambitious Bellerophon, divine punishment awaits him. You should be wary of the chimera and even fight it, but you should not console yourself with the thought that it can someday be completely defeated.

From the book Brownies, mermaids and other mysterious creatures author Pernatyev Yuri Sergeevich

Chimera In Greek mythology, the chimera (“goat”) is a monster defeated by the hero Bellerophon. We find mention of it in ancient authors. Homer reports that this fire-breathing monster “looks like a lion from the front, has the body of a goat and the tail of a snake.” Hesiod also says that

Chimera is a mythical creature. According to the ancient Greek description, this is a monster with the head and neck of a lion, the body of a goat, and a snake-shaped tail. Also, the ancient Greek chimera was fire-breathing and, according to some versions, had white wings and could fly. She first appeared in the sixth song of the Iliad and was given divine origin.

One of the legends spoke of a young man named Bellerophon, who fought with a fire-breathing monster and defeated him. Of course, it was impossible to pierce the skin of the Chimera, but the Greek hero acted differently - he pushed a spear into the monster’s throat when it was preparing to spew fire. The heat melted the tip of the weapon, and the lead flowed into the creature's throat, burning its insides. Thus, human cunning defeated the mythical monster.

However, over time, people associated the image of the chimera not with a deity. There is a concept of “chimerical” - impossible, incompatible. Today in the dictionary you can find a chimera as “an empty fiction, a false idea.”

Others describe the chimera as a kind of three-headed dragon. The body is entirely dragon-like, but the most interesting aspect of this version is the other side: the heads. Here the head of a “cat” (or rather, either the head of a lion or a non-existent animal that clearly belongs to the cat family) is located between two heads of a dragon, one of which is black in color, and the other is the same as the body, or in shades of green. colors. In this version there is a clear emphasis on the separation of “good” and “evil”, protecting this border and maintaining the so-called world balance.

Still others consider a chimera to be any fictional animal that combines body parts from real ones. On the Internet you can find an image of a hare with goose wings and deer antlers. The group that agrees with this point of view is the largest. Perhaps due to the high level of illiteracy.

The name "Chimera" can be found in the film of the same name. There, a chimera is the result of an experiment: a girl in whom human and animal genes have been “crossed.” It is practically a killing machine: an agile, powerful creature capable of using its powers with incredible cunning.

Chimeras are also found in some computer games. The most striking example is the well-known “stalker”. There, the chimera is a creature with duplicate organs, two heads and very durable skin. In other games (as for a considerable number of people), these were mostly modified animals, which contradicts the original appearance of the creature: a “mixture” of different animals.

But let's return to the original, ancient Greek version. Why lion, goat and snake?

A lion. The first thought with this word: strength, pride, nobility... Perhaps this is the personification of something good, bright in the image. The snake is the complete opposite of the lion. Many people associate it with meanness and deception. This is darkness in the image. The most difficult to explain is the image of a goat. I think it represents a kind of neutral side... the first association with the word "goat" is "goat's milk", that is, in a broader concept, food.

How can this be combined in the image of a chimera and how can it be interpreted? Lion and snake. Head and tail. The eternal theme is “good is stronger than evil.” However, they are in the same body, which means the loss of one will lead to the loss of the other. Indeed, if evil disappears, what then can we call good? Goat. Apparently, it is what prevents either good or evil from winning, thereby maintaining “world balance.”

Ancient Greece is considered the cradle of European civilization, which gave modernity many cultural riches and inspired scientists and artists. The myths of Ancient Greece hospitably open the doors to a world inhabited by gods, heroes and monsters. The intricacies of relationships, the insidiousness of nature, divine or human, unimaginable fantasies plunge us into the abyss of passions, making us shudder with horror, empathy and admiration for the harmony of that reality that existed many centuries ago, but so relevant at all times!

1) Typhon

The most powerful and terrifying creature of all those generated by Gaia, the personification of the fiery forces of the earth and its vapors, with their destructive actions. The monster has incredible strength and has 100 dragon heads on the back of its head, with black tongues and fiery eyes. From his mouth comes either the ordinary voice of the gods, or the roar of a terrible bull, or the roar of a lion, or the howl of a dog, or a sharp whistle echoing in the mountains. Typhon was the father of mythical monsters from Echidna: Orphus, Cerberus, Hydra, Colchis Dragon and others, who on earth and underground threatened the human race until the hero Hercules destroyed them, except for the Sphinx, Cerberus and Chimera. All the empty winds came from Typhon, except Not, Boreas and Zephyr. Typhon, crossing the Aegean Sea, scattered the islands of the Cyclades, which had previously been closely located. The fiery breath of the monster reached the island of Fer and destroyed its entire western half, and turned the rest into a scorched desert. The island has since taken on a crescent shape. Giant waves raised by Typhon reached the island of Crete and destroyed the kingdom of Minos. Typhon was so terrifying and powerful that the Olympian gods fled from their monastery, refusing to fight him. Only Zeus, the bravest of the young gods, decided to fight Typhon. The duel lasted a long time; in the heat of battle, the opponents moved from Greece to Syria. Here Typhon plowed the earth with his gigantic body; subsequently, these traces of the battle filled with water and became rivers. Zeus pushed Typhon north and threw him into the Ionian Sea, near the Italian coast. The Thunderer incinerated the monster with lightning and cast him into Tartarus under Mount Etna on the island of Sicily. In ancient times, it was believed that the numerous eruptions of Etna occur due to the fact that lightning, previously thrown by Zeus, erupts from the crater of the volcano. Typhon served as the personification of the destructive forces of nature, such as hurricanes, volcanoes, and tornadoes. The word “typhoon” comes from the English version of this Greek name.

2) Dracaines

They are a female snake or dragon, often with human features. Dracains include, in particular, Lamia and Echidna.

The name "lamia" etymologically comes from Assyria and Babylon, where it was the name given to demons who kill infants. Lamia, daughter of Poseidon, was the queen of Libya, beloved of Zeus and gave birth to children from him. The extraordinary beauty of Lamia herself ignited the fire of revenge in Hera’s heart, and Hera, out of jealousy, killed Lamia’s children, turned her beauty into ugliness and deprived her beloved husband of sleep. Lamia was forced to take refuge in a cave and, at the behest of Hera, turned into a bloody monster, in desperation and madness, kidnapping and devouring other people's children. Since Hera deprived her of sleep, Lamia wandered tirelessly at night. Zeus, who took pity on her, gave her the opportunity to take out her eyes to fall asleep, and only then could she become harmless. Having become in a new form half woman, half snake, she gave birth to eerie offspring called lamias. Lamia have polymorphic abilities and can act in various forms, usually as animal-human hybrids. However, more often they are likened to beautiful girls, since it is easier to charm unwary men. They also attack sleeping people and deprive them of their vitality. These night ghosts, disguised as beautiful maidens and youths, suck the blood of young people. Lamia in ancient times was also called ghouls and vampires, who, according to the popular belief of the modern Greeks, hypnotically lured young men and virgins and then killed them by drinking their blood. With some skill, a lamia can be easily exposed; to do this, it is enough to make it give a voice. Since lamias have a forked tongue, they are deprived of the ability to speak, but they can whistle melodiously. In later legends of European peoples, Lamia was depicted in the guise of a snake with the head and chest of a beautiful woman. She was also associated with a nightmare - Mara.

The daughter of Forkis and Keto, the granddaughter of Gaia-Earth and the god of the sea Pontus, she was depicted as a gigantic woman with a beautiful face and a spotted snake body, less often a lizard, combining beauty with an insidious and evil disposition. From Typhon she gave birth to a whole host of monsters, different in appearance, but disgusting in their essence. When she attacked the Olympians, Zeus drove her and Typhon away. After the victory, the Thunderer imprisoned Typhon under Mount Etna, but allowed Echidna and her children to live as a challenge to future heroes. She was immortal and ageless and lived in a dark cave underground, far from people and gods. Crawling out to hunt, she lay in wait and lured travelers, then mercilessly devouring them. The mistress of snakes, Echidna, had an unusually hypnotic gaze, which not only people, but also animals were unable to resist. In various versions of the myths, Echidna was killed by Hercules, Bellerophon or Oedipus during her tranquil sleep. Echidna is by nature a chthonic deity, whose power, embodied in his descendants, was destroyed by the heroes, marking the victory of ancient Greek heroic mythology over primitive teratomorphism. The ancient Greek legend about Echidna formed the basis of medieval legends about the monstrous reptile as the most vile of all creatures and the absolute enemy of humanity, and also served as an explanation for the origin of dragons. The name of Echidna is given to an egg-laying, spine-covered mammal native to Australia and the Pacific Islands, as well as to the Australian snake, the largest venomous snake in the world. Echidna is also called an evil, sarcastic, treacherous person.

3) Gorgons

These monsters were the daughters of the sea deity Forkis and his sister Keto. There is also a version that they were the daughters of Typhon and Echidna. There were three sisters: Euryale, Stheno and Medusa Gorgon - the most famous of them and the only mortal of the three monstrous sisters. Their appearance was terrifying: winged creatures, covered with scales, with snakes instead of hair, fanged mouths, with a gaze that turned all living things to stone. During the duel between the hero Perseus and Medusa, she was pregnant by the god of the seas, Poseidon. From the headless body of Medusa, with a stream of blood, came her children from Poseidon - the giant Chrysaor (father of Geryon) and the winged horse Pegasus. From drops of blood that fell into the sands of Libya, poisonous snakes appeared and destroyed all life in it. Libyan legend says that red corals appeared from a stream of blood that spilled into the ocean. Perseus used the head of Medusa in a battle with a sea dragon sent by Poseidon to devastate Ethiopia. Showing the face of Medusa to the monster, Perseus turned him into stone and saved Andromeda, the royal daughter, who was destined to be sacrificed to the dragon. The island of Sicily is traditionally considered the place where the Gorgons lived and Medusa, depicted on the flag of the region, was killed. In art, Medusa was depicted as a woman with snakes instead of hair and often boar tusks instead of teeth. In Hellenic images there is sometimes a beautiful dying gorgon girl. Separate iconography includes images of the severed head of Medusa in the hands of Perseus, on the shield or aegis of Athena and Zeus. The decorative motif - the gorgoneion - still adorns clothing, household items, weapons, tools, jewelry, coins and building facades. It is believed that the myths about the Gorgon Medusa have a connection with the cult of the Scythian snake-footed ancestral goddess Tabiti, evidence of whose existence are references in ancient sources and archaeological finds of images. In Slavic medieval book legends, Medusa Gorgon turned into a maiden with hair in the form of snakes - the maiden Gorgonia. The animal jellyfish got its name precisely because of its resemblance to the moving hair-snake of the legendary Gorgon Medusa. In a figurative sense, a “gorgon” is a grumpy, angry woman.

Three goddesses of old age, granddaughters of Gaia and Pontus, sisters of the Gorgons. Their names were Deino (Trembling), Pefredo (Anxiety) and Enyo (Terror). They were gray-haired from birth, and the three of them had one eye, which they used alternately. Only the Grays knew the location of the island of Medusa the Gorgon. On the advice of Hermes, Perseus headed towards them. While one of the grays had an eye, the other two were blind, and the sighted grayya led the blind sisters. When, having taken out the eye, Graya passed it on to the next in line, all three sisters were blind. It was this moment that Perseus chose to take the eye. The helpless Grays were horrified and were ready to do anything if only the hero would return the treasure to them. After they had to tell how to find the Gorgon Medusa and where to get winged sandals, a magic bag and an invisibility helmet, Perseus gave the eye to the Grays.

This monster, born of Echidna and Typhon, had three heads: one was a lion's, the second was a goat's, growing on its back, and the third, a snake's, ended with a tail. It breathed fire and burned everything in its path, devastating the houses and crops of the inhabitants of Lycia. Repeated attempts to kill the Chimera made by the king of Lycia were invariably defeated. Not a single person dared to come close to her home, surrounded by the decaying carcasses of headless animals. Fulfilling the will of King Iobates, the son of the King of Corinth, Bellerophon, on the winged Pegasus, headed to the cave of the Chimera. The hero killed her, as predicted by the gods, hitting the Chimera with an arrow from a bow. As proof of his feat, Bellerophon delivered one of the severed heads of the monster to the Lycian king. The chimera is the personification of a fire-breathing volcano, at the base of which snakes teem, on the slopes there are many meadows and goat pastures, flames blaze from the top and there, at the top, are the lairs of lions; The Chimera is probably a metaphor for this unusual mountain. The Chimera Cave is considered to be an area near the Turkish village of Cirali, where natural gas comes to the surface in concentrations sufficient for its open combustion. A detachment of deep-sea cartilaginous fish is named after the Chimera. In a figurative sense, a chimera is a fantasy, an unfulfilled desire or action. In sculpture, chimeras are images of fantastic monsters, and it is believed that stone chimeras can come to life to terrify people. The prototype of the chimera served as the basis for creepy gargoyles, considered a symbol of horror and extremely popular in the architecture of Gothic buildings.

The winged horse that emerged from the dying Gorgon Medusa at the moment when Perseus cut off her head. Since the horse appeared at the source of the Ocean (in the ideas of the ancient Greeks, the Ocean was a river encircling the Earth), it was called Pegasus (translated from Greek as “stormy current”). Swift and graceful, Pegasus immediately became the object of desire for many heroes of Greece. Day and night, the hunters set up ambushes on Mount Helikon, where Pegasus, with one blow of his hoof, caused clear, cool water of a strange dark violet color, but very tasty, to flow. This is how the famous source of Hippocrene’s poetic inspiration appeared - the Horse Spring. The most patient happened to see a ghostly horse; Pegasus allowed the luckiest ones to come so close to him that it seemed that just a little more - and you could touch his beautiful white skin. But no one was able to catch Pegasus: at the last moment this indomitable creature flapped its wings and, with the speed of lightning, was carried away beyond the clouds. Only after Athena gave young Bellerophon a magic bridle was he able to saddle the wonderful horse. Riding on Pegasus, Bellerophon was able to get close to the Chimera and struck the fire-breathing monster from the air. Intoxicated by his victories with the constant help of the devoted Pegasus, Bellerophon imagined himself equal to the gods and, riding Pegasus, went to Olympus. The angry Zeus struck down the proud man, and Pegasus received the right to visit the shining peaks of Olympus. In later legends, Pegasus was included in the ranks of the horses of Eos and in the society of strashno.com.ua muses, in the circle of the latter, in particular, because he stopped Mount Helicon with the blow of his hoof, which began to waver at the sounds of the songs of the muses. From a symbolic point of view, Pegasus combines the vitality and power of a horse with liberation, like a bird, from earthly heaviness, so the idea is close to the unfettered spirit of the poet, overcoming earthly obstacles. Pegasus personified not only a wonderful friend and faithful comrade, but also boundless intelligence and talent. The favorite of the gods, muses and poets, Pegasus often appears in the visual arts. A constellation in the northern hemisphere, a genus of marine ray-finned fish, and a weapon are named after Pegasus.

7) Colchis dragon (Colchis)

The son of Typhon and Echidna, a vigilant, fire-breathing huge dragon who guarded the Golden Fleece. The name of the monster was given to the area where it was located - Colchis. King Eet of Colchis sacrificed a ram with a golden skin to Zeus, and hung the skin on an oak tree in the sacred grove of Ares, where Colchis guarded it. Jason, a pupil of the centaur Chiron, on behalf of Pelias, king of Iolcus, went to Colchis for the Golden Fleece on the ship "Argo", built specifically for this journey. King Eetus gave Jason impossible tasks so that the Golden Fleece would remain in Colchis forever. But the god of love, Eros, kindled love for Jason in the heart of the sorceress Medea, daughter of Eetus. The princess sprinkled Colchis with a sleeping potion, calling on the god of sleep Hypnos for help. Jason stole the Golden Fleece, hastily sailing with Medea on the Argo back to Greece.

Giant, son of Chrysaor, born from the blood of the Gorgon Medusa, and the oceanid Callirhoe. He was known as the strongest on earth and was a terrible monster with three bodies fused at the waist, had three heads and six arms. Geryon owned wonderful cows of unusually beautiful red color, which he kept on the island of Erithia in the Ocean. Rumors about the beautiful cows of Geryon reached the Mycenaean king Eurystheus, and he sent Hercules, who was in his service, to get them. Hercules walked all of Libya before reaching the extreme West, where, according to the Greeks, the world ended, which was bordered by the Oceanus River. The path to the Ocean was blocked by mountains. Hercules pushed them apart with his mighty hands, forming the Strait of Gibraltar, and installed stone steles on the southern and northern shores - the Pillars of Hercules. On the golden boat of Helios, the son of Zeus sailed to the island of Erithia. Hercules killed the watchdog Orff, who was guarding the herd, with his famous club, killed the shepherd, and then fought with the three-headed owner who arrived in time. Geryon covered himself with three shields, three spears were in his mighty hands, but they turned out to be useless: the spears could not pierce the skin of the Nemean Lion, thrown over the hero’s shoulders. Hercules fired several poisonous arrows at Geryon, and one of them turned out to be fatal. Then he loaded the cows into Helios's boat and swam across the Ocean in the opposite direction. Thus the demon of drought and darkness was defeated, and the heavenly cows - the rain-bearing clouds - were freed.

A huge two-headed dog guarding the cows of the giant Geryon. The offspring of Typhon and Echidna, the elder brother of the dog Cerberus and other monsters. He is the father of the Sphinx and the Nemean Lion (from the Chimera), according to one version. Orff is not as famous as Cerberus, therefore much less is known about him and information about him is contradictory. Some myths say that in addition to two dog heads, Orff also had seven dragon heads, and in place of the tail there was a snake. And in Iberia the dog had a sanctuary. He was killed by Hercules during his tenth labor. The plot of the death of Orff at the hands of Hercules, who was leading away the cows of Geryon, was often used by ancient Greek sculptors and potters; presented on numerous antique vases, amphoras, stamnos and skyphos. According to one very adventurous version, Orff in ancient times could simultaneously personify two constellations - Canis Major and Canis Minor. Now these stars are combined into two asterisms, but in the past their two brightest stars (Sirius and Procyon, respectively) could well have been seen by people as fangs or the heads of a monstrous two-headed dog.

10) Cerberus (Kerberus)

The son of Typhon and Echidna, a terrible three-headed dog with a terrible dragon tail, covered with menacing hissing snakes. Cerberus guarded the entrance to the dark, horror-filled underground kingdom of Hades, making sure that no one came out. According to the most ancient texts, Cerberus greets those entering hell with his tail and tears into pieces those who try to escape. In a later legend, he bites new arrivals. To appease him, honey gingerbread was placed in the coffin of the deceased. In Dante, Cerberus torments the souls of the dead. For a long time, at Cape Tenar, in the south of the Peloponnese peninsula, they showed a cave, claiming that here Hercules, on the instructions of King Eurystheus, descended to the kingdom of Hades in order to bring Cerberus out from there. Presenting himself before the throne of Hades, Hercules respectfully asked the underground god to allow him to take the dog to Mycenae. No matter how harsh and gloomy Hades was, he could not refuse the son of the great Zeus. He set only one condition: Hercules must tame Cerberus without weapons. Hercules saw Cerberus on the banks of the Acheron River - the border between the world of the living and the dead. The hero grabbed the dog with his powerful hands and began to strangle him. The dog howled menacingly, trying to escape, the snakes wriggled and stung Hercules, but he only squeezed his hands tighter. Finally, Cerberus gave in and agreed to follow Hercules, who took him to the walls of Mycenae. King Eurystheus was horrified at one glance at the terrible dog and ordered to quickly send him back to Hades. Cerberus was returned to his place in Hades, and it was after this feat that Eurystheus gave Hercules freedom. During his stay on earth, Cerberus dropped drops of bloody foam from his mouth, from which the poisonous herb aconite later grew, otherwise called hecatina, since the goddess Hecate was the first to use it. Medea mixed this herb into her witchcraft potion. The image of Cerberus reveals teratomorphism, which heroic mythology fights against. The name of the evil dog has become a common noun to denote an overly harsh, incorruptible watchman.

11) Sphinx

The most famous Sphinx in Greek mythology was from Ethiopia and lived in Thebes in Boeotia, as mentioned by the Greek poet Hesiod. It was a monster, born of Typhon and Echidna, with the face and breasts of a woman, the body of a lion and the wings of a bird. Sent by Hero to Thebes as punishment, the Sphinx settled on a mountain near Thebes and asked everyone who passed by a riddle: “Which living creature walks on four legs in the morning, on two in the afternoon, and on three in the evening?” The Sphinx killed the one who was unable to give a solution and thus killed many noble Thebans, including the son of King Creon. Creon, overcome with grief, announced that he would give the kingdom and the hand of his sister Jocasta to the one who would rid Thebes of the Sphinx. Oedipus solved the riddle by answering the Sphinx: “Man.” The monster, in despair, threw itself into the abyss and fell to its death. This version of the myth superseded the more ancient version, in which the original name of the predator who lived in Boeotia on Mount Fikion was Fix, and then Orphus and Echidna were named as his parents. The name Sphinx arose from a connection with the verb “to squeeze”, “to strangle”, and the image itself was influenced by the Asia Minor image of a winged half-maiden-half-lioness. Ancient Fix was a ferocious monster, capable of swallowing prey; he was defeated by Oedipus with a weapon in his hands during a fierce battle. Images of the Sphinx abound in classical art, from 18th-century British interiors to Empire furniture of the Romantic era. Masons considered sphinxes a symbol of the mysteries and used them in their architecture, considering them as guardians of the temple gates. In Masonic architecture, the sphinx is a frequent decorative detail, for example, even in the version of the image of its head on the form of documents. The Sphinx personifies mystery, wisdom, the idea of ​​man's struggle with fate.

12) Siren

Demonic creatures born from the god of fresh waters Achelous and one of the muses: Melpomene or Terpsichore. Sirens, like many mythical creatures, are mixanthropic in nature, they are half-birds, half-women or half-fish, half-women, who inherited wild spontaneity from their father, and a divine voice from their mother. Their number ranges from a few to a whole lot. Dangerous maidens lived on the island's rocks, strewn with the bones and dried skin of their victims, whom the sirens lured with their singing. Hearing their sweet singing, the sailors, losing their minds, steered the ship straight towards the rocks and eventually died in the depths of the sea. After which the merciless virgins tore the bodies of the victims into pieces and ate them. According to one of the myths, Orpheus on the ship of the Argonauts sang sweeter than the sirens, and for this reason the sirens, in despair and furious anger, threw themselves into the sea and were turned into rocks, for they were destined to die when their spells were powerless. The appearance of sirens with wings makes them similar in appearance to harpies, and sirens with fish tails are similar to mermaids. However, sirens, unlike mermaids, are of divine origin. Attractive appearance is also not a mandatory attribute. Sirens were also perceived as muses of another world - they were depicted on tombstones. In classical antiquity, wild chthonic sirens turn into sweet-voiced wise sirens, each of whom sits on one of the eight celestial spheres of the world spindle of the goddess Ananke, creating with their singing the majestic harmony of the cosmos. To appease sea deities and avoid shipwreck, sirens were often depicted as figures on ships. Over time, the image of sirens became so popular that a whole order of large marine mammals was called sirens, which included dugongs, manatees, and sea (or Steller's) cows, which, unfortunately, were completely exterminated by the end of the 18th century.

13) Harpy

Daughters of the sea deity Thaumant and the oceanid Electra, archaic pre-Olympic deities. Their names - Aella ("Whirlwind"), Aellope ("Whirlwind"), Podarga ("Swift-footed"), Okipeta ("Fast"), Kelaino ("Gloomy") - indicate a connection with the elements and darkness. The word "harpy" comes from the Greek "to seize", "to kidnap". In ancient myths, harpies were deities of the wind. The proximity of the strashno.com.ua harpies to the winds is reflected in the fact that the divine horses of Achilles were born from Podarga and Zephyr. They interfered little in the affairs of people; their duty was only to take the souls of the dead to the underworld. But then the harpies began to kidnap children and harass people, swooping in suddenly like the wind and disappearing just as suddenly. In various sources, harpies are described as winged deities with long flowing hair, flying faster than birds and winds, or as vultures with female faces and sharp hooked claws. They are invulnerable and smelly. Always tormented by a hunger that they cannot satisfy, the harpies descend from the mountains and, with piercing screams, devour and dirty everything. Harpies were sent by the gods as punishment for people who had offended them. The monsters took food from a person every time he started eating, and this continued until the person died of hunger. Thus, there is a well-known story about how the harpies tortured King Phineus, who was cursed for an involuntary crime, and, stealing his food, doomed him to starvation. However, the monsters were driven out by the sons of Boreas - the Argonauts Zetus and Kalaid. The heroes were prevented from killing the harpies by the messenger of Zeus, their sister, the rainbow goddess Iris. The Strophada Islands in the Aegean Sea were usually called the habitat of harpies; later, along with other monsters, they were placed in the kingdom of gloomy Hades, where they were considered one of the most dangerous local creatures. Medieval moralists used harpies as symbols of greed, gluttony and uncleanliness, often combining them with the furies. Harpies are also called evil women. The harpy is the name given to a large bird of prey from the hawk family that lives in South America.

The brainchild of Typhon and Echidna, the hideous Hydra had a long serpentine body and nine dragon heads. One of the heads was immortal. Hydra was considered invincible, since two new ones grew from its severed head. Coming out of the gloomy Tartarus, Hydra lived in a swamp near the city of Lerna, where murderers came to atone for their sins. This place became her home. Hence the name - Lernaean Hydra. The hydra was always hungry and devastated the surrounding area, eating herds and burning crops with its fiery breath. Her body was thicker than the thickest tree and covered with shiny scales. When she rose on her tail, she could be seen far above the forests. King Eurystheus sent Hercules with the task of killing the Lernaean Hydra. Iolaus, Hercules' nephew, during the hero's battle with the Hydra, burned her necks with fire, from which Hercules knocked off the heads with his club. Hydra stopped growing new heads, and soon she had only one immortal head left. In the end, she too was demolished with a club and buried by Hercules under a huge rock. Then the hero cut the Hydra’s body and plunged his arrows into its poisonous blood. Since then, the wounds from his arrows have become incurable. However, this heroic feat was not recognized by Eurystheus, since Hercules was helped by his nephew. The name Hydra is borne by the satellite of Pluto and the constellation of the southern hemisphere of the sky, the longest of all. The unusual properties of Hydra also gave their name to the genus of freshwater sessile coelenterates. Hydra is a person with an aggressive character and predatory behavior.

15) Stymphalian birds

Birds of prey with sharp bronze feathers, copper claws and beaks. Named after Lake Stymphala near the city of the same name in the mountains of Arcadia. Having multiplied with extraordinary speed, they turned into a huge flock and soon turned all the surroundings of the city almost into a desert: they destroyed the entire crop of the fields, exterminated the animals grazing on the rich shores of the lake, and killed many shepherds and farmers. As they took off, the Stymphalian birds dropped their feathers like arrows and struck with them everyone who was in the open area, or tore them apart with their copper claws and beaks. Having learned about this misfortune of the Arcadians, Eurystheus sent Hercules to them, hoping that this time he would not be able to escape. Athena helped the hero by giving him copper rattles or kettledrums forged by Hephaestus. Having alarmed the birds with the noise, Hercules began to shoot his arrows poisoned with the poison of the Lernaean Hydra at them. The frightened birds left the shores of the lake, flying to the islands of the Black Sea. There the Stymphalidae were met by the Argonauts. They probably heard about the feat of Hercules and followed his example - they drove away the birds with noise, hitting their shields with swords.

Forest deities who formed the retinue of the god Dionysus. Satyrs are shaggy and bearded, their legs end in goat (sometimes horse) hooves. Other characteristic features of the appearance of satyrs are horns on the head, a goat or ox tail and a human torso. Satyrs were endowed with the qualities of wild creatures, possessing animal qualities, thinking little about human prohibitions and moral norms. In addition, they were distinguished by fantastic endurance, both in battle and at the festive table. A great passion was dancing and music; the flute is one of the main attributes of satyrs. Also considered attributes of satyrs were a thyrsus, a pipe, leather wineskins or vessels with wine. Satyrs were often depicted in the paintings of great artists. Often the satyrs were accompanied by girls, for whom the satyrs had a certain weakness. According to a rationalist interpretation, the image of a satyr could reflect a tribe of shepherds who lived in forests and mountains. A satyr is sometimes called a lover of alcohol, humor and female company. The image of a satyr resembles a European devil.

17) Phoenix

Magic bird with golden and red feathers. In it you can see a collective image of many birds - an eagle, a crane, a peacock and many others. The most amazing qualities of the Phoenix were its extraordinary lifespan and the ability to be reborn from the ashes after self-immolation. There are several versions of the Phoenix myth. In the classical version, once every five hundred years the Phoenix, bearing the sorrows of people, flies from India to the Temple of the Sun in Heliopolis, in Libya. The chief priest lights a fire from the sacred vine, and Phoenix throws himself into the fire. His incense-soaked wings flare and he quickly burns. With this feat, Phoenix, with her life and beauty, returns happiness and harmony to the world of people. Having experienced torment and pain, three days later a new Phoenix rises from the ashes, which, thanking the priest for the work done, returns to India, even more beautiful and shining with new colors. Experiencing cycles of birth, progress, death and renewal, Phoenix strives to become more and more perfect over and over again. The Phoenix was the personification of the ancient human desire for immortality. Even in the ancient world, the Phoenix began to be depicted on coins and seals, in heraldry and sculpture. The phoenix has become a favorite symbol of light, rebirth and truth in poetry and prose. A constellation in the southern hemisphere and a date palm were named after Phoenix.

18) Scylla and Charybdis

Scylla, the daughter of Echidna or Hecate, a once beautiful nymph, rejected everyone, including the sea god Glaucus, who asked for help from the sorceress Circe. But Circe, who was in love with Glaucus, out of revenge on him, turned Scylla into a monster, which began to lie in wait for sailors in a cave, on a steep cliff of the narrow Strait of Sicily, on the other side of which lived another monster - Charybdis. Scylla has six dog heads on six necks, three rows of teeth and twelve legs. Translated, her name means “barking.” Charybdis was the daughter of the gods Poseidon and Gaia. Zeus himself turned her into a terrible monster, throwing her into the sea. Charybdis has a gigantic mouth into which water pours without stopping. She personifies a terrible whirlpool, the gaping depths of the sea, which appears three times in one day and absorbs and then spews out water. No one saw her, since she was hidden by the thickness of the water. This is exactly how she ruined many sailors. Only Odysseus and the Argonauts managed to sail past Scylla and Charybdis. In the Adriatic Sea you can find the Skyllei Rock. As local legends say, this is where Scylla lived. There is also a shrimp of the same name. The expression “being between Scylla and Charybdis” means being exposed to danger from different sides at the same time.

19) Hippocampus

A sea animal that has the appearance of a horse and ends in a fish tail, also called hydrippus - a water horse. According to other versions of myths, the hippocampus is a sea creature in the form of a seahorse with the legs of a horse and a body ending with a snake or fish tail and webbed paws instead of hooves on the front legs. The front of the body is covered with thin scales, in contrast to the large scales on the back of the body. According to some sources, the hippocampus uses lungs for breathing, while others use modified gills. Sea deities - Nereids and Tritons - were often depicted on chariots drawn by hippocampuses, or seated on hippocampuses cutting through the abyss of water. This amazing horse appears in the poems of Homer as a symbol of Poseidon, whose chariot was drawn by fast horses and glided along the surface of the sea. In mosaic art, hippocampi were often depicted as hybrid animals with a green, scaly mane and appendages. The ancients believed that these animals were the adult form of the seahorse. Other land animals with fish tails that appear in Greek myth include leocampus - a lion with a fish tail), taurocampus - a bull with a fish tail, pardalocampus - a leopard with a fish tail, and aegicampus - a goat with a fish tail. The latter became a symbol of the constellation Capricorn.

20) Cyclops (Cyclopes)

Cyclops in the 8th-7th centuries BC. e. were considered the creation of Uranus and Gaia, the titans. The Cyclopes included three immortal one-eyed giants with ball-shaped eyes: Arg (“flash”), Bront (“thunder”) and Steropus (“lightning”). Immediately after their birth, the Cyclopes were thrown by Uranus into Tartarus (the deepest abyss) together with their violent brothers with one hundred arms (Hecatoncheires), who were born shortly before them. The Cyclopes were freed by the remaining Titans after the overthrow of Uranus, and then thrown back into Tartarus by their leader Kronos. When the leader of the Olympians, Zeus, began to struggle with Kronos for power, he, on the advice of their mother Gaia, freed the Cyclops from Tartarus to help the Olympian gods in the war against the Titans, known as Gigantomachy. Zeus used lightning and thunder arrows made by the Cyclopes, which he threw at the Titans. In addition, the Cyclops, being skilled blacksmiths, forged a trident and a manger for Poseidon's horses, an invisibility helmet for Hades, a silver bow and arrows for Artemis, and also taught Athena and Hephaestus various crafts. After the end of the Gigantomachy, the Cyclops continued to serve Zeus and forge weapons for him. Like the henchmen of Hephaestus, forging iron in the depths of Etna, the Cyclops forged the chariot of Ares, the aegis of Pallas and the armor of Aeneas. Cyclopes were also the name given to the mythical people of one-eyed cannibal giants who inhabited the islands of the Mediterranean Sea. Among them, the most famous is the ferocious son of Poseidon, Polyphemus, whom Odysseus deprived of his only eye. Paleontologist Othenio Abel in 1914 suggested that the discovery of dwarf elephant skulls in ancient times gave rise to the myth of the Cyclops, since the central nasal opening in the elephant's skull could be mistaken for a giant eye socket. The remains of these elephants were found on the islands of Cyprus, Malta, Crete, Sicily, Sardinia, the Cyclades and the Dodecanese.

21) Minotaur

Half-bull, half-man, born as the fruit of the passion of Queen Pasiphae of Crete for the white bull, the love of which Aphrodite instilled in her as punishment. The real name of the Minotaur was Asterius (that is, “starry”), and the nickname Minotaur means “bull of Minos.” Subsequently, the inventor Daedalus, the creator of many devices, built a labyrinth in order to imprison her monster son in it. According to ancient Greek myths, the Minotaur ate human flesh, and in order to feed him, the king of Crete imposed a terrible tribute on the city of Athens - seven young men and seven girls were to be sent to Crete every nine years to be devoured by the Minotaur. When Theseus, the son of the Athenian king Aegeus, had the lot to become a victim of an insatiable monster, he decided to rid his homeland of such a duty. Ariadne, the daughter of King Minos and Pasiphae, in love with the young man, gave him a magic thread so that he could find his way back from the labyrinth, and the hero managed not only to kill the monster, but also to free the rest of the captives and put an end to the terrible tribute. The myth of the Minotaur was probably an echo of ancient pre-Hellenic bull cults with their characteristic sacred bull fights. Judging by the wall paintings, human figures with bull heads were common in Cretan demonology. In addition, the image of a bull appears on Minoan coins and seals. The Minotaur is considered a symbol of anger and bestial savagery. The phrase “Ariadne’s thread” means a way to get out of a difficult situation, to find the key to solving a difficult problem, to understand a difficult situation.

22) Hecatoncheires

The hundred-armed, fifty-headed giants named Briareus (Egeon), Kott and Gies (Gius) personify the underground forces, the sons of the supreme god Uranus, the symbol of Heaven, and Gaia-Earth. Immediately after birth, the brothers were imprisoned in the bowels of the earth by their father, who feared for his dominion. In the midst of the struggle with the Titans, the gods of Olympus called on the Hecatoncheires, and their help ensured victory for the Olympians. After their defeat, the Titans were cast into Tartarus, and the Hecatoncheires volunteered to guard them. The ruler of the seas, Poseidon, gave Briareus his daughter Kimopoleia as his wife. Hecatoncheires are present in the book by the Strugatsky brothers “Monday Begins on Saturday” as loaders at the Research Institute FAQ.

23) Giants

The sons of Gaia, who were born from the blood of castrated Uranus, absorbed into the Mother Earth. According to another version, Gaia gave birth to them from Uranus after the Titans were thrown into Tartarus by Zeus. The pre-Greek origin of the Giants is obvious. The story of the birth of the Giants and their death is told in detail by Apollodorus. The giants inspired horror with their appearance - thick hair and beards; their lower body was snake-like or octopus-like. They were born on the Phlegrean Fields in Chalkidiki, in northern Greece. It was there that the battle of the Olympian gods with the Giants took place - Gigantomachy. Giants, unlike titans, are mortal. As fate would have it, their death depended on the participation in the battle of mortal heroes who would come to the aid of the gods. Gaia was looking for a magic herb that would keep the Giants alive. But Zeus got ahead of Gaia and, sending darkness to the earth, cut off this grass himself. On the advice of Athena, Zeus called Hercules to participate in the battle. In the Gigantomachy, the Olympians destroyed the Giants. Apollodorus mentions the names of 13 Giants, who generally number up to 150. The Gigantomachy (as well as the Titanomachy) is based on the idea of ​​ordering the world, embodied in the victory of the Olympian generation of gods over the chthonic forces and the strengthening of the supreme power of Zeus.

This monstrous serpent, generated by Gaia and Tartarus, guarded the sanctuary of the goddesses Gaia and Themis in Delphi, at the same time devastating their surroundings. That's why he was also called Dolphinius. By order of the goddess Hera, Python raised an even more terrible monster - Typhon, and then began to pursue Latona, the mother of Apollo and Artemis. The grown-up Apollo, having received a bow and arrows forged by Hephaestus, went in search of the monster and overtook him in a deep cave. Apollo killed Python with his arrows and had to remain in exile for eight years to appease the angry Gaia. The huge dragon was periodically mentioned in Delphi during various sacred rites and processions. Apollo founded a temple on the site of the ancient oracle and established the Pythian Games; this myth reflected the replacement of chthonic archaism with a new, Olympian deity. The plot, where a luminous deity kills a snake, a symbol of evil and the enemy of humanity, has become a classic for religious teachings and folk tales. The Temple of Apollo at Delphi became famous throughout Hellas and even beyond its borders. From a crevice in the rock located in the middle of the temple, fumes rose, which had a strong effect on human consciousness and behavior. The priestesses of the Pythian temple often gave confusing and vague predictions. From Python comes the name of a whole family of non-venomous snakes - pythons, sometimes reaching up to 10 meters in length.

25) Centaur

These legendary creatures with a human torso and equine torso and legs are the embodiment of natural strength, endurance, and are distinguished by cruelty and unbridled temper. Centaurs (translated from Greek as “killers of bulls”) drove the chariot of Dionysus, the god of wine and winemaking; they were also ridden by the god of love Eros, which implied their penchant for libations and unbridled passions. There are several legends about the origin of centaurs. A descendant of Apollo named Centaur entered into a relationship with a Magnesian mare, which gave the appearance of a half-man, half-horse to all subsequent generations. According to another myth, in the pre-Olympic era, the smartest of the centaurs, Chiron, appeared. His parents were the oceanid Felira and the god Kron. Kron took the form of a horse, so the child from this marriage combined the features of a horse and a man. Chiron received an excellent education (medicine, hunting, gymnastics, music, divination) directly from Apollo and Artemis and was the mentor of many heroes of the Greek epics, as well as a personal friend of Hercules. His descendants, the centaurs, lived in the mountains of Thessaly next to the Lapiths. These wild tribes lived peacefully with each other until, at the wedding of the Lapithian king Pirithous, centaurs tried to kidnap the bride and several beautiful Lapithian women. In a violent battle called the centauromachy, the Lapiths won, and the centaurs were scattered across mainland Greece, driven into mountainous regions and remote caves. The appearance of the image of a centaur more than three thousand years ago suggests that even then the horse played an important role in human life. It is possible that the ancient farmers perceived horse riders as a whole being, but most likely the Mediterranean inhabitants, who were prone to inventing “composite” creatures, simply reflected the spread of the horse when they invented the centaur. The Greeks, who bred and loved horses, were well acquainted with their temperament. It is no coincidence that it was the nature of the horse that they associated with unpredictable manifestations of violence in this generally positive animal. One of the constellations and zodiac signs is dedicated to the centaur. To designate creatures that are not similar in appearance to a horse, but retain the features of a centaur, the term “centauroids” is used in the scientific literature. There are variations in the appearance of centaurs. Onocentaur - half-man, half-donkey - was associated with a demon, Satan or a hypocritical person. The image is close to satyrs and European devils, as well as the Egyptian god Set.

The son of Gaia, nicknamed Panoptes, that is, the all-seeing, who became the personification of the starry sky. The goddess Hera forced him to guard Io, the beloved of her husband Zeus, whom he turned into a cow in order to protect her from the wrath of her jealous wife. Hera begged Zeus for a cow and assigned her an ideal caretaker, the hundred-eyed Argus, who vigilantly guarded her: only two of his eyes were closed at the same time, the others were open and vigilantly watched Io. Only Hermes, the crafty and enterprising messenger of the gods, managed to kill him, freeing Io. Hermes put Argus to sleep with poppy seeds and cut off his head with one blow. The name Argus has become a household name for a vigilant, vigilant, all-seeing guard, from whom no one and nothing can hide. Sometimes this is what is called, following an ancient legend, the pattern on the feathers of a peacock, the so-called “peacock eye”. According to legend, when Argus died at the hands of Hermes, Hera, regretting his death, collected all his eyes and attached them to the tails of her favorite birds, peacocks, which were always supposed to remind her of her devoted servant. The myth of Argus was often depicted on vases and in Pompeian wall paintings.

27) Griffin

Monstrous birds with the body of a lion and an eagle's head and front legs. From their cry, flowers wither and grass withers, and all living creatures fall dead. The griffin's eyes have a golden tint. The head was the size of a wolf's head with a huge, terrifying-looking beak, and the wings had a strange second joint to make them easier to fold. The griffin in Greek mythology personified insightful and vigilant power. Closely associated with the god Apollo, he appears as the animal that the god harnesses to his chariot. Some of the myths say that these creatures were harnessed to the carriage of the goddess Nemesis, which symbolizes the speed of retribution for sins. In addition, griffins turned the wheel of fate, and were genetically linked to Nemesis. The image of a griffin personified dominance over the elements of earth (lion) and air (eagle). The symbolism of this mythical animal is associated with the image of the Sun, since both the lion and the eagle in myths are always inextricably linked with it. In addition, the lion and eagle are associated with mythological motifs of speed and courage. The functional purpose of the griffin is security, in this it is similar to the image of a dragon. As a rule, it protects treasures or some secret knowledge. The bird served as an intermediary between the heavenly and earthly worlds, gods and people. Even then, ambivalence was inherent in the image of the griffin. Their role in various myths is ambiguous. They can act both as defenders, patrons, and as evil, unrestrained animals. The Greeks believed that griffins guarded the gold of the Scythians in northern Asia. Modern attempts to localize griffins vary widely and place them from the northern Urals to the Altai Mountains. These mythological animals are widely represented in antiquity: Herodotus wrote about them, their images were found on monuments from the period of prehistoric Crete and in Sparta - on weapons, household items, coins and buildings.

28) Empusa

A female demon of the underworld from Hecate's retinue. Empusa was a vampire night ghost with donkey legs, one of which was copper. She took the form of cows, dogs or beautiful maidens, changing her appearance in a thousand ways. According to existing beliefs, the empousa often carried away small children, sucked the blood from beautiful young men, appearing to them in the form of a lovely woman, and, having had enough of the blood, often devoured their meat. At night, on deserted roads, the empousa would lie in wait for lonely travelers, either frightening them in the form of an animal or a ghost, or captivating them with the appearance of a beauty, or attacking them in her true terrible form. According to legend, an empusa could be driven away with abuse or a special amulet. In some sources, the empusa is described as being close to a lamia, onocentaur or female satyr.

29) Triton

The son of Poseidon and the mistress of the seas, Amphitrite, depicted as an old man or youth with a fish tail instead of legs. Triton became the ancestor of all newts - marine mixanthropic creatures frolicking in the waters, accompanying the chariot of Poseidon. This retinue of lower sea deities was depicted as half-fish and half-man, blowing a snail-shaped shell to excite or tame the sea. In their appearance they resembled classic mermaids. Tritons in the sea became, like satyrs and centaurs on land, minor deities serving the main gods. The following are named in honor of tritons: in astronomy - the satellite of the planet Neptune; in biology - the genus of tailed amphibians of the salamander family and the genus of prosobranch mollusks; in technology - a series of ultra-small submarines of the USSR Navy; in music, an interval formed by three tones.

Article snake and goat compatibility - a short practical guide, where the main contradictions in the communication of such persons will be outlined in detail, concisely and clearly, and the best aspects of positive communication between representatives of the eastern calendar will be revealed.

Thanks to it, you can not only learn to understand the people around you, but also learn to easily get around all the “sharp corners” without violating your psychological harmony.

Snakes are cold-blooded reptiles, endowed by nature with cunning and intelligence.

They have become a symbol of eternal wisdom, cruel cunning and have a number of characteristics related to two opposite poles:

  1. Positive: an innate sense of style, willpower, perseverance, own opinion, an unusually developed sense of intuition, hard work, determination.
  2. Negative: secrecy, resourcefulness, desire to manipulate other people, prudence in relationships, personal egoism.

Snake people hide their essence behind an outer shell, which they treat with extreme demands and always try to keep it at the highest level. Creatures with a snake essence inside are complex personalities that require a special approach and understanding.

The goat is a good-natured animal with a subtle soul. Individuals whose year of birth she patronizes are endowed with external elegance and a kind heart. Her inner world is rich in creative ideas.

Along with good qualities, the goat has a number of negative characteristics: immeasurable stubbornness, obsession, secrecy, whims, perception of the world in a gloomy light, lack of purpose in life.

Representatives of two signs- different people, but by combining their diametrically opposed character traits, they will be able to complement each other and compensate for the lack of certain traits.

The compatibility of a goat (sheep) with a snake is far from ideal; their relationship has quite a lot of difficulties, but if the couple is ready to overcome them, the union may well work out. These two will live measuredly, planning their every next step. The reason for this is mutual restraint.

Compatibility in love and marriage, if he was born in the year of the goat, she is the snake

A goat man and a female snake are an ambiguous union, which is characterized by extreme points: lovers can experience both a feeling of immense happiness and bitter disappointment, and former love degenerates into unbearable hatred.

In such a couple, the stronger half gives way to the woman - a strong-willed, calculating, stubborn snake. He is a connoisseur of beauty, a connoisseur of art, a lover of nature, a dreamer and visionary. Making responsible decisions is not for him.

The snake lady takes on this role. And if she likes such a life partner, then the relationship will develop further. But her chosen one is deprived of the rights to personal freedom, now she is his life and freedom. Family is her main priority in life, her strength, her protection. Giving herself completely, she demands the same in return.

The tandem of a manly goat and a feminine snake gives rise to some misunderstandings:

  • he-feels, she-thinks;
  • he-acts, she-makes a plan;
  • he generates ideas, she brings them to life.

If partners cannot perceive each other and deeply understand their character traits, they risk breaking up.

Compatibility in love, marriage, if: he was born in the year of the snake, she was born in the year of the goat

The snake man is a real male, self-confident, domineering. This person is always surrounded by ladies' attention, but not many can achieve his favor. Practical snakes look for partners similar to themselves in their perception of the world.

The goat will receive the attention of a cold-blooded man who carefully hides his emotions. An elegant coquette, a harmless whim, a true lady attracts him precisely because he can lead her and take care of her.

The main thing is that the goat does not play too much and does not cross the boundaries of what is permitted. Strong men are ready to forgive a lot, but not carelessness and wild life in family relationships. Both signs have the goal of creating a strong unit of society, which will be support and support for them.

The compatibility of this combination has a great chance of marriage. Their mutual understanding is a natural component, mutually beneficial cooperation, comfortable coexistence. Harmonious love and then marriage relationships, where everyone is maximally self-realized.


Disadvantages of the union

The main and undoubted disadvantage of the sheep-snake union is the fact that it is vector.

It is difficult to predict what the consequences of the force of the snake “bite” will be and how the weakness of the “poor lamb” will manifest itself:


Compatibility in bed

The intimate side of the snake-sheep relationship will vary depending on the gender of the eastern signs. Goat lady and serpent man – regular sex life. It is the sensual sheep who will be able to make marital duty a daily upsurge of emotions, the height of violent passions, and the satisfaction of erotic fantasies.

Getting a vibrant sex life, a man will also be affectionate with his chosen one, expressing his desire and love. The reverse combination is not so successful.

The goat man’s pride, which requires constant feeding from the snake woman’s partner, and unsatisfied can cause discord in intimate relationships. For a goat, love and sex are inseparable concepts, one follows from the other, nothing else.


Business compatibility

Business cooperation between the signs is unlikely to bring positive results. This is due to several factors:

  • egoistic focus of both personalities;
  • they are people of art.

The financial component of the snake-goat alliance is one of the causes of conflicts. Dreamy sheep tend to spend money on their hobbies, the serpentine nature of their partner does not allow her to do this, representatives of the sensible eastern horoscope part with money without pleasure, they do not want to spend it even on a life partner. It is not recommended to create common business signs.


Compatibility in friendship

A real strong friendship between a snake and a sheep will not work out. The difference in characters and interests will constantly interfere with their relationship, influencing them in a completely unfavorable manner.

Mutual grievances and reluctance to express dissatisfaction will reduce the initially warm relationship to nothing. These people are more likely to have friendly relations without mutual obligations.


Compatibility percentage

  • The love life of the partners will be 100% successful.
  • Family ties will be 90-100% strong.
  • The goat-snake friendship will be 70%.
  • The sexual desire of partners will be satisfied by 80-100%
  • Business relations of the snake-sheep union - 30%.

  1. Support a pessimistic sheep, offended by life, love it, appreciate talent.
  2. The snake should moderate its ardor and reduce the level of control over its relatives and learn to accept criticism without aggression.
  3. The sheep should develop “commander habits”, train willpower and take responsibility.
  4. The search for new unifying interests will be the starting point when reviving fading relationships.
  5. Conflict resolution through experience situations in the “skin” of the partner.

Astrological compatibility of celestial bodies explains many things, but not everything. The answers to them lie within you. Where there are sincere feelings, any quarrel always ends in reconciliation.