Highlights
- The Percy Jackson series is a popular introduction to Greek mythology, bringing classic characters and stories to a new audience.
- Echidna, known as the “mother of all monsters,” plays a significant role as an enemy to Percy and his friends in the series.
- The Chimera, created by Echidna and Typhon, is a deadly creature with a lion’s head, goat’s body, snake tail, and the ability to breathe fire.
One of the charms of the Percy Jackson series that has been carried over to the new Disney Plus adaptation of the story is the way it introduces the audience to various figures in Greek mythology. Many people out there, particularly kids who are getting into the series for the first time, are unfamiliar with Greek myths, and the Percy Jackson series is their main introduction to these classic characters and stories. Rick Riordan, author of Percy Jackson, weaves these legends into the plot in an expert way and brings ancient figures into the modern day.
Every episode of the TV show so far has introduced a new character or element of Greek mythology as Percy begins to learn more and more about this world that he comes from. Episode 4 introduced a new baddie: Echidna, and her Chimera. While some of the mythological figures that Percy encounters are his allies, many of them (Echidna included) are enemies and pose a massive threat to the various quests that Percy, Annabeth, and Grover embark on. But who exactly is Echidna, and why is she referred to as the “mother of all monsters”?
Who Was Echidna?
In classical Greek mythology, Echidna was a female monster who spawned in a cave, and was the daughter of the titans Gaea (primordial goddess of the earth) and Tartarus (primordial god of the abyss). Echidna mated with Typhon – another child of Gaea and a monster of storms – and together created almost all of the monsters and creatures that feature in Greek mythology. Echidna was what was known as a “dracaenae”, who had the face and torso of a beautiful woman, but with the body of a snake.
Echidna and Typhon tried to attack Olympus at one point, but Zeus fought them off and punished Typhon by containing him within Mount Etna. He allowed Echidna to live and continue mothering monsters in order to challenge heroes in the future (the gods never wanted to make things too easy for the heroes they appointed). Eventually, she was killed by Argus, the giant with a hundred eyes (a future player in the Percy Jackson universe) as she slept.
What Role Does Echidna Play In The Percy Jackson Series?
Echidna is known as “the mother of all monsters” within the Percy Jackson universe as well. Percy, Annabeth, and Grover encounter Echidna at the top of the Gateway Arch in St. Louis (in the show, they meet her a little earlier, on the train). She has her Chimera with her and tries to attack the trio, specifically isolating Percy from the other two in an attempt to kill him. Percy just narrowly escapes the Chimera by jumping into the water below the arch, though he is wounded by the poison in its tail.
Echidna disappears after this, and the characters are unsure as to where she went. She doesn’t show up in the series again, though she is mentioned in The Last Olympian (the fifth Percy Jackson book) when Hermes explains that Typhon is her husband. Percy quips that he has met her before and that she “wasn’t nice”. Though Echidna herself is not present in the rest of the series, her children, the various monsters of Greek mythology, continue to provide an obstacle to Percy in all of his quests. She wears the title of “mother of monsters” proudly in the series, telling Percy:
Be honored, Percy Jackson. Lord Zeus rarely allows me to test a hero with one of my brood. For I am the Mother of Monsters, the terrible Echidna!
What Is The Chimera?
Obviously, the Chimera is the second part of the equation in regards to Echidna’s presence in the Percy Jackson series. The Chimera is a classic monster from Greek mythology that was believed to have crawled out of the pits of Tartarus after being created by Echidna and Typhon. In the series, it’s a strange mash-up of creatures, with the head of a lion, the body of a goat, and the tail of a snake, while also having six-foot horns on its head. In classic mythology, it’s described as having the head and front paws of a lion, dragon-like legs and a snake tail, and a goat’s head sticking up from its back like a periscope. The Chimera has a bite full of deadly venom and also breathes fire.
In Greek mythology, the Chimera is known for terrorizing kingdoms, unable to be controlled or stopped. Bellerophon, a famous hero and another son of Poseidon, was the only one who was able to finally defeat it. In the Percy Jackson series, the Mist – which is what disguises mythological creatures from normal civilian view – makes the Chimera appear in the form of a chihuahua, which makes it easier for Echidna (in her human disguise) to tote it around as a pet.