Ἔχιδνα

Wikipedia EN

In Greek mythology, Echidna (/ɪˈkɪdnə/; Greek: Ἔχιδνα, "She-Viper") was a monster, half-woman and half-snake, who lived alone in a cave. She was the mate of the fearsome monster Typhon and was the mother of many of the most famous monsters of Greek myth.

Echidna's family tree varies by author. The oldest genealogy relating to Echidna, Hesiod's Theogony (c. 8th – 7th century BC), is unclear on several points. According to Hesiod, Echidna was born to a "she" who was probably meant by Hesiod to be the sea goddess Ceto, making Echidna's likely father the sea god Phorcys; however the "she" might instead refer to the Oceanid Callirhoe, which would make Medusa's offspring Chrysaor the father of Echidna. The mythographer Pherecydes of Athens (5th century BC) has Echidna as the daughter of Phorcys, without naming a mother.

Other authors give Echidna other parents. According to the geographer Pausanias (2nd century AD), Epimenides (7th or 6th century BC) had Echidna as the daughter of the Oceanid Styx (goddess of the river Styx) and one Peiras (otherwise unknown to Pausanias), while according to the mythographer Apollodorus (1st or 2nd century AD), Echidna was the daughter of Tartarus and Gaia. In one account, from the Orphic tradition, Echidna was the daughter of Phanes (the Orphic father of all gods).

Hesiod's Echidna was half beautiful maiden and half fearsome snake. Hesiod described "the goddess fierce Echidna" as a flesh eating "monster, irresistible", who was like neither "mortal men" nor "the undying gods", but was "half a nymph with glancing eyes and fair cheeks, and half again a huge snake, great and awful, with speckled skin", who "dies not nor grows old all her days." Hesiod's apparent association of the eating of raw flesh with Echidna's snake half suggests that he may have supposed that Echidna's snake half ended in a snake-head. Aristophanes (late 5th century BC), who makes her a denizen of the underworld, gives Echidna a hundred heads (presumably snake heads), matching the hundred snake heads Hesiod says her mate Typhon had.

In the Orphic account (mentioned above) Echidna is described as having the head of a beautiful woman with long hair, and a serpent's body from the neck down. Nonnus, in his Dionysiaca, describes Echidna as being "hideous", with "horrible poison".

Wikipedia EL

Στην Ελληνική μυθολογία η Έχιδνα ήταν το τέρας που υπήρξε η μητέρα των σημαντικότερων τεράτων της μυθολογίας. Ήταν κόρη του Ουρανού και της Γαίας (ή της Κητούς ή ακόμη, σύμφωνα με μια άλλη παράδοση που διέσωσε ο Παυσανίας, της Στύγας και του Πείραντα). Είχε το πρόσωπο όμορφης γυναίκας και το σώμα ερπετού. Με τον σύντροφό της Τυφώνα επιτέθηκαν στους Θεούς και ηττήθηκαν. Ο Τυφών τιμωρήθηκε με το να κλειστεί κάτω από το όρος Αίτνα. Παρόλα αυτά η Έχιδνα και οι απόγονοί της έζησαν, ώστε να υπάρχει πρόκληση για τους μελλοντικούς Ήρωες.

Russian (Dvoretsky)

Ἔχιδνα: ἡ Эхидна (дочь Тартара и Геи, кровожадное чудовище, полудева-полузмея, родившая от Тифона Химеру, многоглавого пса Ортра, стоглавого дракона, стерегшего сады Гесперид, Сфинкса, Кербера, Скиллу, Горгону, лернейскую гидру, немейского льва и коршуна, терзавшего печень Прометея; убита Аргусом) Hes., Soph., Eur., Her.

Translations

als: Echidna; ast: Equidna; be: Яхідна; bg: Ехидна; bn: একিদ্‌না; br: Ec'hidna; ca: Equidna; cs: Echidna; da: Echidna; de: Echidna; el: Έχιδνα; en: Echidna; eo: Eĥidno; es: Equidna; et: Echidna; eu: Ekidna; fa: اکیدنا; fi: Ekhidna; fr: Échidna; gl: Equidna; he: אכידנה; hr: Ehidna; hu: Ekhidna; id: Ekhidna; it: Echidna; ja: エキドナ; ka: ექიდნე; ko: 에키드나; la: Echidna; lb: Echidna; lt: Echidna; mk: Ехидна; nl: Echidna; no: Ekhidna; pl: Echidna; pt: Equidna; ro: Echidna; ru: Ехидна; sco: Echidna; sh: Ehidna; simple: Echidna; sr: Ехидна; sv: Echidna; th: อีคิดนา; tr: Ehidna; uk: Єхидна; vi: Echidna; wuu: 厄客德娜; zh_yue: 厄客德娜; zh: 厄客德娜