The meaning of the word typhon in the directory of characters and cult objects of Greek mythology. Myths and Legends * Dragons * Typhon or Tithon The monstrous Typhon in ancient Greek mythology won

Typhon was brought up by Python - a huge snake, born of the goddess of the earth Gaia. Some sources report that Typhon's heads are human-like, but he can reproduce the cries of animals. Typhon is represented in legends as a creature with a hundred dragon heads, a body similar to a human, covered with plumage, instead of legs the monster had snake rings.

The Iliad mentions the struggle of Typhon with Zeus and his stay in the underground bowels, in the country of the Arims or under Mount Arima (in Asia Minor); later, when the Greeks became aware of the volcanic properties of the Kuma coast in Italy, the Aeolian Islands and Sicily, the monstrous giant Typhon was transferred to these areas.

Typhon and Zeus, amphora painting, 550 BC

Typhon and Echidna gave birth to many terrible creatures: the Chimera, the Lernean hydra, the dogs of Orff and Cerberus. This creature, born of chaos, carried a huge destructive power. From his name came the word "typhoon". Typhon, crossing the Aegean, scattered the islands of the Cyclades, which had previously been closely spaced. 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 the shape of a crescent. Giant waves raised by Typhon reached the island of Crete and destroyed the kingdom of Minos.

The Olympic gods, frightened by the monster, fled from their abode. One Zeus, the bravest of the young gods, decided to fight Typhon. The fight went on for a long time, in the heat of battle, the opponents moved from Greece to Syria. Here Typhon shattered the earth with his giant body, subsequently these traces of the battle were 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 threw him into Tartarus.

According to another legend, Typhon first defeated Zeus. He entangled the god with his legs like snake rings, cut and pulled out all the tendons. Then Typhon threw Zeus into the Korikian cave in Cilicia and put the dragon Delphine to guard him. Zeus was imprisoned until Hermes and Aegipane stole the tendons of the god from Typhon and returned them to the Thunderer. Then the enraged god again attacked the monster, and the battle continued. Moira helped Zeus, advising Typhon to eat the fruits of a poisonous one-day plant in order to increase his strength. Following this advice, Typhon completely lost his strength, and Zeus filled up the monster with a huge block.

At the place where the monster was thrown, the volcano Etna was formed. Legends say that sometimes Typhon, remembering his defeat, spews smoke and flames from the mouth of a volcano.
Typhon was later identified with the Egyptian Set, the god of Sirocco, death, desolation, solar and lunar eclipse and other misfortunes.

Typhon (Tethon)- in ancient Greek mythology mighty giant, spawned by Gaia and Tartarus. Is the personification of fire sunlight and destructive forces. The name Typhon is usually taken from the verb " smoke". But according to another version of the myth, his name is translated as "noon"(world day), as well as " Beginning of the End(worldwide) days". According to legend, Hera gave Typhon to be raised Python who guarded the ancient sanctuary of the gods in Delphi, later killed by Apollo. Typhon is considered father mythical monsters Horta, Kerberos, dragon, Sphinx and Chimera, which also threatened the existence of the entire human race. In Egypt, Typhon was identified with set and the god of cruel winds Sirocco. As a result, it is assumed that from the English version of the name Typhon, the word "typhoon" was formed.

The Iliad of Homer mentions the struggle of Typhon with Zeus and the stay of Typhon under Mount Arima in Asia Minor. Typhon was depicted in the form of a man, and below the belt, in the form of writhing , intertwined with each other rings of snakes.

Battle of Zeus with Typhon

Above the waist, he had a human body, feathered. He has always been portrayed bearded and hairy because he was hairy star symbol» (comets). His eyes shot out an all-devouring fire. Typhon excelled everyone in height and strength, and had on the back of his head one hundred dragon heads. Typhon was higher than all the mountains, his head touched the stars, and when he stretched out his hands, he touched the east with one hand, and the west with the other. That's how it is in ancient mythology giant comets were depicted, upon their appearance, occupying the entire earthly sky.

His voice is the voice of the gods, a terrible roar that echoes fearfully in the mountains. Typhon was so powerful that became master over gods and mortals, and all the gods fled from him in fear. The legend says that while running through Egypt, the gods took the form of animals so that Typhon would not notice them. Apollo became a kite, Hermes became an ibis, Ares became a fish, Dionysus became a goat, Hephaestus became a bull. ... And only Zeus did not run away from him and dared to fight with him.

From the confrontation between Zeus and Typhon, the earth shook to its very foundations, land, sea and sky caught fire, and even the inhabitants of the underworld kingdom of the dead trembled. In the end, a terrible lightning strike stopped Typhon's rampage, and Typhon was overthrown by Zeus into Tartarus, but for a long time a violent flame beat from the clefts of the mountain Etna. So says the ancient Greek legend.

But Typhon also has a number of geographical interpretations. Habitat Tifo-na considered Aeolian Islands and island of sicily, as well as Mount Casius in Syria. In another geographical interpretation, Typhon was the leader of the giants. in Phrygia. Typhon struck by lightning formed the course of the Orontes River. According to another myth, Typhon was the son or husband Eos, and the father of Memnon and Phaethon. All this gives us the possibility of a rational understanding of the myth. Indeed, in this case, myths and legends give us geographical landmarks of the areas most affected by cosmic explosions.

Typhon is the scariest comet solar system. Later, among the Greek tribes, it became known as Phaeton, and the Sumerians and Babylonians called her Nemesis. AT Ancient Egypt they called her a comet Hyksos(lit. "king-shepherd"), in the Bible it is called Apollyon(lit. "death-beater"). But even in modern scientific world, scientific authors did not guess to link these concepts together, and still mislead readers, imposing on them the opinion that these are different cosmic bodies.

Typhon. Medieval engraving

And that is why, so as not to mislead their readers, I first introduced a single term for this comet - "comet - retribution". And about the rest, less well-known national names, I will tell in the course of the story, in relation to each case, naming more and more new names of this comet, the most terrible for human civilizations. After all, global cosmic cataclysms, the cause of which was a "revenge comet", more than once put humanity on the verge of complete destruction, as a result of which bible story and begins with Adam and Eve.

According to legend, during Noah's flood Typhon, crossing the Aegean Sea, scattered the Cyclades archipelago, the islands of which were previously located compactly.

The fiery breath of Typhon reached Fera Islands (aka Santorini) and destroyed the western part of the island , and the rest, most of Fera Island, literally burned down. As a result, the island took the form half month. And until now, the crescent is a symbol of the day "Pesach" (a symbol of the day of the cosmic catastrophe), but apart from that, crescent It also has an astral interpretation, which I will discuss in the appropriate place. Giant waves of water, raised by Typhon, reached the island of Crete and destroyed the richest kingdom of Minos. Zeus single-handedly tried to resist Typhon, and their terrible fight moved from Greece to Syria, where, with the fall of Typhon furrowed the whole earth with his gigantic body. According to legend, later, these giant ditches filled with water and became rivers. And for the umpteenth time (see Olyan-taitambo, Tunguska catastrophe, etc. in the article), I am forced to talk about “dry rivers” and giant “dry furrows” remaining at the site of cosmic catastrophes, as a trace of the impact of a powerful ballistic wave from a falling celestial body. The legend says that Zeus pushed Typhon to the north and threw to the Ionian Sea, near the Italian coast ...

And later, when telling about the events of the Cretan catastrophe that occurred in the middle of the second millennium BC, I will tell in detail about the numerous cosmic manifestations of this terrible cosmic catastrophe, the most significant geographical places of which have been recorded for us by numerous myths and legends. We will continue the mythological review of information related to the “retribution comet” with the story of Phaethon, because the ancient Greek legend about Phaethon most fully tells about the events of Noah's flood, which was caused by the “retribution comet”.

Typhon and Echidna are ancient Greek mythological entities. According to legend, they are relatives and gave birth to other terrible mythical entities.

In the article:

Typhon in mythology

Children of Echidna and Typhon

Brother and sister left behind offspring, and these creatures are frequent heroes of ancient Greek myths, terrifying on the ordinary people monsters. The lion's part was killed by the offspring of Zeus.

Orff

Huge monstrous dog with two heads. And the father of the Sphinx and the Nemean lion (or brother, according to the second version), is described in the myth of the tenth feat of Hercules. The owner of the dog is the giant Geryon.

Geryon had a herd of magical red bulls at his disposal, and they were guarded by a two-headed dog. Hercules stole the animals and clubbed them to death.

Cerberus

A three-headed dog spewing poison from its mouth, or Kerberos, is also familiar to many. It was believed that the monster guards the entrance to the kingdom of the dead - Hades. The task of the monster is not to let the dead into the world of the living. According to descriptions in myths, in addition to three heads, the dog has a snake tail and snake heads located on its back. But there are other descriptions as well.

According to one, he has 50 or 100 heads, in others he is depicted with the body of a man, huge hands and a large dog head. In one hand he compresses a bull's head, it destroys with breath, and in the other - a goat's head, which kills with a look.

Cerberus is a strong monster spawned by Typhon and Echidna. However, he also fell at the hands of Hercules. The hero managed to defeat him with the help of Athena and Hermes.

lernaean hydra

Similar to huge snake monster with poisonous breath lived in groundwater. Described variously as a snake with seven, nine, five, ten or a hundred heads.

It was believed that if you cut off her head, then three will grow. One of the Hydra's heads is immortal. The myth says that the monster breathes fire like a real dragon.

Raised by the Hero, mercilessly killed people and devoured them. But this monster was killed by Hercules. He cut off the immortal head of the Hydra.

nemean lion

There are various myths about the Nemean lion. Some indicate that he is the son of Echidna, Orff, and fed by Selene. According to another source, a huge lion fell from the moon.

Leo has two features: giant size and thick skin. It is impossible to defeat a lion - the weapon could not cut the skin.

The beast lived near the city of Nimea and destroyed the surroundings. This continued until the Mycenaean king Eurystheus ordered Hercules to get rid of the beast. It was impossible to kill the monster with a weapon, so the strongest of the people strangled him.

Chimera

A monster with the head and neck of a lion, a goat's body, a snake's tail - a frightening Chimera. In the descriptions, it has three heads, one of a goat, the second - of a lion, the third - of a snake.

There is speculation that the creature breathed fire. Killed by the handsome Bellerophon, son of Glaucus. The young man struck him with an arrow from a bow.

Sphinx

zoomorphic mythical creature- sphinx- existed in ancient Greece and Egypt. Today there are disputes about who gave birth to the monster. According to one version, the parents are Typhon and Echidna, according to another, Orf and Chimera.

Creation has human head and chest, paws and body of a lion, eagle wings, ox tail. In Greek myths, this creature is female, has the wings of a griffin. The monster committed suicide when Oedipus solved its riddles.

Efon

According to myths, this is an eagle that was ordered to devour the liver of Prometheus.

In others, it is a personification of hunger. Was destroyed by Demeter's settlement in

Gaia-Earth was angry with the Olympian Zeus because he acted so harshly with her defeated children-titans. She married the gloomy Tartarus and gave birth to the terrible hundred-headed monster Typhon.

Huge, with a hundred dragon heads, Typhon rose from the bowels of the earth. With a wild howl he shook the air. The barking of dogs, human voices, the roar of an angry bull, the roar of a lion were heard in this howl. Stormy flames swirled around Typhon, and the earth shook under his heavy steps. The gods shuddered in horror, but Zeus the Thunderer boldly rushed at him, and the battle caught fire. Again, lightning flashed in the hands of Zeus, thunder rumbled. The earth and the vault of heaven shook to their foundations. The earth flared up again with a bright flame, as it had during the struggle with the titans. The seas boiled at the mere approach of Typhon. Hundreds of fiery arrows-lightnings of the Thunderer Zeus rained down; it seemed that from their fire the very air was burning and dark thunderclouds were burning. Zeus burned all of Typhon's hundred heads to ashes. Typhon collapsed to the ground; such heat emanated from his body that everything around him melted. Zeus raised the body of Typhon and cast it into the gloomy Tartarus, which gave birth to him. But even in Tartarus, Typhon threatens the gods and all living things. He causes storms and eruptions; he begat with Echidna, half-woman, half-snake, the terrible two-headed dog Orff, hell hound Cerberus, Lernaean Hydra and Chimera; Typhon often shakes the earth.

N. Kuhn "Legends and myths Ancient Greece»

According to Pindar (c. 518-442 or 438 BC), Hyginus and other ancient Greek authors, Typhon surpassed all living beings in size and strength. It had a human torso, writhing coils of snakes below the hips instead of legs, and 100 dragon heads, with black tongues and fiery eyes. Typhon's body was covered with feathers, and he himself was bearded and hairy. Typhon possessed incredible strength of arms and legs, fire spewed out of 100 of his mouths and heard either the voice of the gods, or the roar of bulls, or the roar of lions, or the howl of dogs, or a sharp whistle that echoed in the mountains.

How did this monster come into being? In a rather strange way. It is known that the majestic wife of Zeus, the goddess Hera, the keeper of the family hearth, had a vengeful and, frankly, absurd character. Power-hungry, she did not want to yield to her formidable husband in anything and quarreled with him for any reason. And Zeus did not miss the opportunity to tease Hera.

After the birth of the goddess of wisdom, Athena (she, as you remember, was born without the help of a woman, straight from the head of Zeus in battle attire and with a war cry), Hera fell into an indescribable rage. She, having decided to do without male help (in defiance of her husband), hit her hand on the ground and in thunder and roar the monstrous Typhon was born.

The practical goddess did not leave her offspring to the mercy of fate after all, to have her own hand dragon very comfortably. Typhon was given to the education of the wise snake Python. Python faithfully served Hera: he guarded her ancient soothsayer in Delphi and took care of food himself, devouring goats and chickens from the surrounding peasants. The venerable serpent could be proud of the capable student Typhon: the little dragon quickly surpassed serpent science, he grew by leaps and bounds and soon began to terrify the entire district. What's in the area! One hundred of his throats could growl, bark, howl and hiss at the same time. The immortal Olympian gods themselves turned pale when they heard the roar of Typhon.

Even the lord of Olympus was afraid of the dragon, and not without reason. Typhon was proud of his great power and soon began to dream of conquering the whole world. And such dreams usually do not end well.

And one day Typhon rose up with a menacing howl, he threw his huge body into the sky, enveloped Zeus with snake rings, cut his tendons and carried him to Cilicia, to the Korikian cave, where the dragon Dolphin guarded the helpless ruler of Olympus day and night.

It seemed that nothing would help Zeus. The shadow of Typhon hung over the world. And here a way out of the situation, as always, was found by the cunning Hermes god secret knowledge, patron of thieves and merchants. Outwitting the dim-witted Delphine, he stole Zeus' tendons hidden in the cave and inserted them back into him. Jumping to his feet, Zeus rushed to Typhon. Typhon was ready to accept a new fight: he knew that in a fair duel no one could cope with him.

And then the goddess Moira came to the aid of Zeus. They offered Typhon to taste the fruits of a terribly poisonous plant "ephemeral" supposedly to increase strength. Not suspecting deceit, Typhon chewed one grain and collapsed to the ground with a groan. Zeus threw Typhon into Tartarus and heaped the huge rock Etna on the dragon's carcass. The world breathed a sigh of relief.

So sadly ended for the ill-fated dragon of his dreams of world domination.

If you happen to visit Italy on the island of Sicily beware of getting too close to Mount Etna. Typhon is immortal. Pressed down by a rock, the dragon in impotent anger scrapes the ground with its claws and spews fire. And it's best to stay away from him.

"Mythological bestiary from Alkonost to Yagil",
Kaliningrad: "Amber Tale", 1999

TYPHON

In Greek mythology, the monstrous son of the land of Gaia and Tartarus (Hes. Theog. 820-822; Apollod. I 6, 3). According to another version, Typhon was born by a Hera who hit her hand on the ground when she decided, in revenge to Zeus, who gave birth to Athena, to also produce offspring on her own. Hera gave Typhon to be raised by Python, who was then killed by Apollo (Hymn. Nom. II 12T-177). Typhon is a wild, chthonic teratomorphic creature: he has a hundred dragon heads, part of the body up to the hips is human. Below the hips, instead of legs, Typhon has writhing rings of snakes. The body is covered with feathers. He is bearded and hairy (Apollod. I 6, 3). Each of the throats of Typhon emits the wild voices of bulls, lions, dogs (Hes. Theog. 829-835). Typhon could have become the ruler of the world if Zeus had not entered into a fight with him: he incinerated Typhon with lightning, hit him with thunderbolts and threw him into tartar (837-868). According to another version of the myth, the victory was given to Zeus with great difficulty: Typhon embraced Zeus with rings of snakes, cut his tendons, and locked him in the Korikian cave in Cilicia, where Zeus was guarded by the dragon Delphine. But Hermes and Aegilan stole the tendons of Zeus hidden in the cave, inserted them into him, and he, gaining strength again, began to pursue Typhon. Moira deceived Typhon, convincing him to taste the so-called. one-day fruits poisonous plant"one-day"), supposedly to increase strength (Apollod. I 6, 3). Zeus piled on Typhon the huge Mount Etna in Sicily, and from there Typhon spews fire (Aeshyl. Prom. 365-372). Typhon and Echidna gave birth to many monsters (the dog Orff, the dog Cerberus, the Lernean hydra, the chimera, Hes. Theog. 306-325). Typhon refers to the offensive forces of the earth, his fate, like other monsters, is a foregone conclusion in the struggle of the Olympians with chthonicism.

Characters and cult objects of Greek mythology. 2012