Echidna (mythology)

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 known primarily for being the mother of monsters, including many of the most famous monsters of Greek myth.

Genealogy

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 naiad Callirhoe, which would make Medusa's offspring Chrysaor the father of Echidna. The mythographer Pherecydes of Leros (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).

Echidna

Echidnas /ᵻˈkɪdnə/, sometimes known as spiny anteaters, belong to the family Tachyglossidae in the monotreme order of egg-laying mammals. The four extant species, together with the platypus, are the only surviving members of the Monotremata order and are the only living mammals that lay eggs. Their diet consists of ants and termites, but they are not closely related to the true anteaters of the Americas. Echidnas live in Australia and New Guinea.

Echidnas evidently evolved between 20 and 50 million years ago, descending from a platypus-like monotreme. This ancestor was aquatic, but echidnas adapted to being terrestrial so they could live life on land.

Etymology

The echidnas are named after Echidna, a creature from Greek mythology who was half-woman, half-snake, as the animal was perceived to have qualities of both mammals and reptiles.

Description

Echidnas are medium-sized, solitary mammals covered with coarse hair and spines.

Bitis

Bitis is a genus of venomous vipers found in Africa and the southern Arabian Peninsula. It includes the largest and the smallest vipers in the world. Members are known for their characteristic threat displays that involve inflating and deflating their bodies while hissing and puffing loudly. The type species for this genus is B. arietans, which is also the most widely distributed viper in Africa. Currently, 14 species are recognized.

Members of the genus are commonly known as African adders,African vipers, or puff adders.

Description

Size variation within this genus is extreme, ranging from the very small B. schneideri, which grows to a maximum of 28 centimetres (11 in) and is perhaps the world's smallest viperid, to the very large B. gabonica, which can attain a length of over 2 metres (6.6 ft) and is the heaviest viper in the world.

All have a wide, triangular head with a rounded snout, distinct from the neck, and covered in small, keeled, imbricate scales. The canthus is also distinct. A number of species have enlarged rostral or supraorbital scales that resemble horns. Their eyes are relatively small. They have large nostrils that are directed outwards and/or upwards. Up to six rows of small scales separate the rostral and nasal scales. All species have a well-developed supranasal sac. The fronts of the maxillary bones are very short, supporting only one pair of recurved fangs.

Echidna (disambiguation)

Echidna is the common name for a family of Australian mammals.

Other

Echidna may also refer to:

Taxonomic genera

See also

Mythology

Mythology is a collection of myths, especially one belonging to a particular sacred, religious or cultural tradition of a group of people. Myths are a collection of stories told to explain nature, history, and customs–or the study of such myths.

As a collection of such stories, mythology is a vital feature of every culture. Various origins for myths have been proposed, ranging from personification of nature, personification of natural phenomena to truthful or hyperbolic accounts of historical events, to explanations of existing ritual. Although the term is complicated by its implicit condescension, mythologizing is not just an ancient or primitive practice, as shown by contemporary mythopoeia such as urban legends and the expansive fictional mythoi created by fantasy novels and comics. A culture's collective mythology helps convey belonging, shared and religious experience, behavioural models, and moral and practical lessons.

The study of myth dates back to antiquity. Rival classifications of the Greek myths by Euhemerus, Plato's Phaedrus, and Sallustius were developed by the Neoplatonists and revived by Renaissance mythographers. Nineteenth-century comparative mythology reinterpreted myth as a primitive and failed counterpart of science (E. B. Tylor), a "disease of language" (Max Müller), or a misinterpretation of magical ritual (James Frazer).

Mythology (Derek Sherinian album)

Mythology is the fourth solo album by keyboard player Derek Sherinian. Sherinian again draws upon some of the greatest talent from the worlds of rock and jazz music. Among the artists appearing on Mythology are jazz fusion player Allan Holdsworth (U.K., Soft Machine, Level 42), Steve Lukather (Toto), Simon Phillips (Toto, Jeff Beck, The Who), Zakk Wylde (Ozzy Osbourne, Black Label Society), Grammy award winner Steve Stevens (Billy Idol), Jerry Goodman (Mahavishnu Orchestra, Dixie Dregs), and a very rare guest appearance from guitarist John Sykes (Whitesnake, Thin Lizzy, Blue Murder).

Track listing

Mythology (Eloy Fritsch album)

Mythology is an album by new age artist Eloy Fritsch. It is generally viewed as one of his stronger solo works. As with Apocalypse, Fritsch plays a variety of keyboard instruments on the album. Featured in the inside photograph are a Modular Synthesizer System-700, Minimoog Synthesizer and electronic keyboards. Mythology deals with diverse myths of the world. So several cultures were visited, including those of Brazil, the Aztecs, the Incas, Assyria, Greek, Hindu, Egyptian, Nordic, Atlantis, the Romans, the Chinese, and so on. All electronic compositions on the album were based in his own interpretation of the characteristics of each mythological element chosen for this work.

Track listing

External links