Essay about Monsters - 1570 Words

In mythology, monsters provide a challenge that humans must overcome. Heroes try to gain fame by defeating them and townspeople are afraid of them. Monsters spread fear for men to conquer. They give the opportunity for heroes to prove themselves. According to Mr. Thomas Bullfinch, â€Å"monsters are unnatural in proportions and parts and are employed for the injury and annoyance of men (Bullfinch 1).† Monsters do have strange parts and a common purpose. In Greek mythology, monsters have striking similarities. They fall into distinct categories based on form and duty. Monsters may be part snake, lion, or human. Some have multiple heads. Most monsters’ duties include guarding something for another being. Other monsters have no responsibilities†¦show more content†¦A prime example is the Nemean lion, which Heracles defeated as his first labor. It was fierce and could not be hurt by bronze or stone. It shows its power with violence and physical superiority. The Gri ffin is another ferocious monster that has the body of a lion but the head and wings of an eagle. It is mostly known to guard treasure. It is a mix of the lion, the king of beast, and the eagle, king of birds, so it was extremely dominant. Finally, the Sphinx was a lion with a human head. It guarded the gates to the Greek city of Thebes. When a visitor wanted into the city, the Sphinx would ask them to solve his riddle. Thus, the Sphinx never used violence to guard the entrance. People wishing to enter the city knew of his power and physical capabilities. So even though the Sphinx never used violence, people knew of its strength and power anyway because he was partially lion. All in all, monsters with lion characteristics are very powerful and feared. Several monsters such as the Minotaur, Medusa, and centaurs appear to be partially human. These monsters have human characteristics because the gods decided to create them that way. The Minotaur has the head of a bull with the body of a man. He was born as the offspring of Minos’ wife and a beautiful white bull sent by Poseidon (Hamilton 157). Poseidon forced Minos’ wife to love the bull. Their offspring was theShow MoreRelated The Monsters Essay710 Words   |  3 Pages INVISIBLE MONSTERS nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;To sacrifice oneself and save others is what weve known as human love, and we have also learned that we should respect those who could perform that in any situation, but in reality, the numbers of those people who dont care about what others do seems much greater than the number of those who do. In Stephen Cranes story, quot;The Monstersquot;, Henry Johnson who sacrifices himself into the fire in order to save a little boy gets treated likeRead MoreDescriptive Essay : The Monster 1281 Words   |  6 PagesThe monster giggles while I silently cry. It has curly short brown hair and blue eyes. Its nose is oval with giant, hairy NOSTRILS! 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