Greek Mythology
Nemean Lion
The Nemean Lion was a lion that lived at a place called Nemea. It could not be killed by a weapon because its golden fur was immune to attack. Its claws could cut through any armor and were sharper than swords. King Eurystheus told Heracles to kill the Nemean Lion. He came to a town called Cleonae. A boy told him that if he killed the Nemean Lion and came back within 30 days, the town would sacrifice a lion to Zeus. If he didn't come back within 30 days, the boy would be sacrificed to Zeus. When he got to the lion's cave, Heracles stunned the monster with his club, then strangled it to death. Other versions of the story say that he shot arrows at it until he hit it in the mouth. He came back on the 30th day. King Eurystheus was amazed and terrified. Heracles was banned from the city.
Minotaur
The Minotaur was (and is) one of the most known creatures in Greek mythology. Its parents were the Cretan Bull (a bull owned by King Minos), and Pasiphaë, the wife of King Minos. It had the body of a man and the head of a bull. It lived in the middle of the Labyrinth, which was an enormous underground maze created by Daedalus. As it grew up, it started eating people, so Minos told Daedalus to build the Labyrinth to contain it. Androgeus, the son of Minos, was killed by the Cretan Bull, which was sent by King Aegeus of Athens. Minos had a war to avenge his son and won. Minos then required, that for the king's terrible crime, seven boys and seven girls from Athens would be sent into the Labyrinth to be eaten by the Minotaur. Theseus, who was a hero and the son of Aegeus, volunteered to kill the monster. He promised to his father that if he was successful, he would put up white sails on his journey home and if he was killed his crew would put up black sails. He took the sword of Aegeus and a ball of thread. He unrolled the ball of thread as he went so he could retrace his path. Theseus killed the Minotaur and returned home. However, he forgot to put up the white sails. Aegeus committed suicide (by jumping into the ocean) out of sorrow because he thought his son was dead.
Humans/Heroes
Daedalus
Daedalus was a mortal man. His parents were Aclippe (mother) and Metion (father).He was an inventor and the creator of the Labyrinth. His name meant "clever worker". He was the father of Icarus. He and Icarus were locked in a tower by King Minos so they didn't tell anyone about the Labyrinth. So Daedalus made wings made of feathers that were held together by wax, a pair for each person. Daedalus warned Icarus that if he flew too high, the sun would melt the wax and if he flew too low, the sea would get the feathers wet and he wouldn't be able to fly. They had gone very far before Icarus accidentally flew too high. The wax melted, the wings fell apart, and Icarus fell into the sea and drowned. In memory of his son, Daedalus called the land near where Icarus died Icaria. Later on, Daedalus arrived in Sicily, Italy, and built a temple to Apollo and left his wings there as a sacrifice to the god. Meanwhile, Minos went from city to city looking for Daedalus. He would ask the king to find a way to put a string through a seashell. King Cocalus, who was taking care of Daedalus, asked him to solve it. He did, tying the string to an ant and getting the ant to walk through the shell. Minos then knew that Daedalus was there. However, Cocalus convinced Minos to have a bath before killing Daedalus, and while he was in the bath, the daughters of Cocalus killed him.
*There are thousands of Greek monsters, heroes, and gods. Only a few are named on this site.
Theseus
Theseus was the king of Athens and the slayer of the Minotaur. He was the son of King Aegeus and Aethra. After he grew up, his mother told him
to go to his father in Athens. He could go by sea, which was the safe way, or he could go by land, which was the way he would encounter six enemies. He went the land way. Theseus first killed Periphetes, who would pound travelers into the ground. Theseus hammered him into the ground using his own staff. Next was Sinis, who would capture travelers, tie them to two bent trees, and let the trees go, ripping the person apart. Theseus defeated him with his own method. Then he killed the Crommyonian Sow, an enormous pig. Next was Sciron, who lived on a cliff. He would rob people, then force them to wash his feet. While they were kneeling, he would kick them off the cliff and into the mouth of a giant turtle. Theseus pushed him off the cliff. The fifth enemy was Cercyon, who would challenge travelers to a wrestling match, beat them and kill them. Theseus beat him in a wrestling match and killed him. The final enemy was Procrustes the Stretcher, who had two beds. He would offer the one that a person didn't fit in to them. He then made them fit into it, cutting off their feet or stretching them. Theseus cut his head and feet off with his own axe. When Theseus arrived at Athens, he did not reveal who he was right away. The wife of Aegeus, Medea, recognized him and became worried that after Aegeus died, Theseus would become king instead of her son Medus. So she sent him out on a quest to kill the Marathonian Bull, a huge bull which she thought would kill Theseus. But Theseus defeated the bull and returned. So Medea tried to poison him. At the last second, Aegeus recognized his son and knocked the poisoned drink rom Theseus' hand. Medea fled to Asia.