strong women with their weird animal bodies, from the snake tail to the awkward little lion body of the Sphinx ... creepy-crawly, fanged, winged and otherwise-terrifying creatures

1. women who waited by the side of the road to catch travelers and eat them,
women who could kill a guy with a single, icy look …
ruthless, cunning, scandalous man-eating women,
temptresses with their sexual charms
strong women with their weird animal bodies, from the snake tail to the awkward little lion body of the Sphinx ...
creepy-crawly, fanged, winged and otherwise-terrifying creatures

4. While the Greeks merely invented these stories to cope with strong, unfriendly ladies, nowadays,
these women are better known than some of the heroes who killed or outsmarted them.
These are the dangerous women of Greek Mythology …

5. Greek Mythology’s dangerous women

6. Siren, the Sirens,
these ladies from Greek mythology are fabulously beautiful even if they are half bird.
Their favorite pastime is hanging out on jagged rocks in the ocean and luring sailors to their deaths
with their amazingly beautiful songs.
Odysseus becomes the first mortal to live to tell the tale, because he has his men tie him to the mast while
they plug their ears and sail on by.

7. an unusual approach ...
an approaching vessel (could be Odysseus)
and
two sirens very human down to the waist, below which they resemble birds,
one very attractive, the other, obese, almost comical
and
at their feet three human skulls and others bones to indicate their graver
intentions
Arnold Böcklin
Sirens
Sirènes
1875
Alte Nationalgalerie, Berlin

10. Odysseus sailing past,
three sirens half-woman, half-fish ... and zero bird
Gustave Moreau
The Sirens
Les Sirènes
1885
Musée National Gustave-Moreau, Paris

14. seven Sirens, very appropriately shown
as a large eagle-like bird of prey
with the head and neck of a beautiful young woman …
John William Waterhouse
Ulysses and the Sirens
Ulysse et les Sirènes
1891
National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne

19. mermaids and his sexualization ...
Ulysses tied to the mast
and
beautiful Sirens who invade the ship ... are nude
and their tails disappear as they board the ship
Herbert James Draper
Ulysses and the Sirens
Ulysse et les sirènes
1909
Ferens Art Gallery, Kingston upon Hull

22. The Sphinx,
a treacherous and merciless monster with the head of a woman, the haunches of a lion, wings of an eagle,
and a tail with a serpent’s head.
She was a symbol of destruction and guarded the entrance to the Greek city of Thebes, confronting
passers-by with riddles they couldn’t solve. Every traveler who failed her test would be eaten.
Oedipus, the future king of Thebes, was the first traveler to answer one of the Sphinx’s riddles correctly.
Furious about her defeat, the Sphinx committed suicide by jumping off the cliff ...

23. Oedipus staring at the fearsome sphinx …
a monster defeated by human intelligence
Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres
Oedipus and the Sphinx
Œdipe explique l'énigme du sphinx
1808
Musée du Louvre, Paris

26. The Sphinx as a femme fatale ...
unlike Ingres' version, Moreau's Sphinx is on the offensive,
throwing himself at Oedipus, whose victory in the
encounter does not yet seem assured
Gustave Moreau
Oedipus and the Sphinx
Œdipe et le Sphinx
1864
The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York

30. the lethal embrace of the femme fatale ...
Franz Stuck
The Kiss of the Sphinx
Le Baiser du Sphinx
1895
Szépművészeti Múzeum, Budapest

33. temptation, seduction, as well as submission … that of man to
woman
confrontation of the androgynous being with the female sphinx
in an imaginary setting, filled with blue columns and cabbalist
inscriptions
is it a symbolization of power, domination, and seduction ?
or, perhaps, it is the eternal vision of Oedipus and the Sphinx?
the mystery will remain ...
Fernand Khnopff
The Sphinx, or, The Caresses
Le Sphinx, ou Des Caresses
1896
Koninklijke Musea voor Schone Kunsten van België,
Musées Royaux des Beaux Arts de Belgique, Brussels

36. Scylla,
a big sea monster.
She has the body of a woman from the waist up, but from the waist down there's a whole lot of crazy:
Sometimes she has a long fishy tail and six hungry heads set on long snake-like necks (perfect for
snapping up passing sailors). Other times she's shown with a pack of hungry, drooling dogs sprouting from
her waist (also great for sailor-munching).
In mythology, it's said that she was once a beautiful sea nymph and was turned into the hideous man-eating
monster by the sea witch, Circe.
She's famous for munching on some of Odysseus' crew when the hero cruised through the narrow strait
where she makes her home.
The giant whirlpool Charybdis is on the other side.

37. a beautiful young nymph named Scylla,
god of the sea Glaucos
and
a rock
Bartholomeus Spranger
Glaucus and Scylla
Glaucus et Scylla
1580-1582
Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna

40. an vengeful deed …
Circe she casts her potion from a flaming silver salver
in the water, Scylla has already been transformed
into a gorgonesque figure, with snakes for hair,
and the grotesque Glaucus watches from behind
Eglon van der Neer
Circe Punishes Glaucus by Turning Scylla into a Monster
Circé punit Glaucus en transformant Scylla en monstre
1695
Rijksmuseum Amsterdam, Amsterdam

44. Charybdis,
a whirlpool that swallows the sea and vomits it back up again.
Charybdis was once a nymph, the daughter of Poseidon and Gaia. And she flooded lands for her father's
underwater kingdom until Zeus turned her into a monster.
She lived in a cave on the Sicilian side of the Strait of Messina, opposite the monster Scylla, the two of
them forming a dangerous threat to passing ships.
(... Scylla: “ah yes, my friend Charybdis, the whirlpool demon who lives across the strait from me. I really
just don't have anybody else to talk to.")

45. Odysseus on the foc'sle of his ship, holding his shield up
in defense as the oarsmen down below him struggle to
propel the craft through the Straits of Messina …
Henry Fuseli
Odysseus in front of Scylla and Charybdis
Ulysse entre Scylla et Charybde
1794-96
Aargauer Kunsthaus, Aarau

47. Scylla, a man-eating monster
or
Charybdis, a personified and deified whirlpool ...
Odysseus was able to successfully keep his ship intact
as he sailed precariously between the two threats.
Yet, like Alessandro Allori illustrated in his painting,
the crew did not pass by Scylla unscathed …
Alessandro Allori
Scylla and Charybdis
Charybde et Scylla
c 1575
Florence, Banca toscana

50. Circe,
a lady with a wand surrounded by animals ...
an intoxicatingly beautiful woman, an immortal sea witch, an evil,
or just cruelly quirky sorceress
Circe is most famous for her appearance in Homer's Odyssey where she transforms Odysseus' men into swine.
In the end, though, Odysseus gets friendly with Circe, and the sea witch transforms his men back,
gives them directions to the Underworld, and sends them on their way.
(Hey, maybe she's not so bad after all …)

51. a marvelous insight into the character of Circe,
as she pours her brilliant emerald green potion
into the water, ready for Scylla to come and bathe ...
John William Waterhouse
Circe Invidiosa, Jealous Circe
Circe Invidiosa, Circé jalouse
1892
Art Gallery of South Australia, North Terrace, Adelaide

55. arguably the greatest Circe portrayal ...
a beautiful and cunning woman, which coherently fits
with her representation in the Odyssey
she is ready to serve the enchanted wine to Odysseus
without knowing that he just got help from Hermes
along the way
John William Waterhouse
Circe Offering the Cup to Ulysses
Circé offrant la coupe à Ulysse
1891
Gallery Oldham, Oldham

58. Harpies,
awful creatures, with the heads of women and bodies of birds,
have a nasty habit of swooping down from the sky, snatching whatever food they see …
these ugly bird-ladies are sometimes called "the hounds of Zeus," because the king of the gods often sent
them to punish mortals

59. that's kind of what Harpies do ...
when were trying to eat on the Strophades,
these ugly bird ladies punished Aeneas
and his buddies by snatching away the beef
and pooping on the scraps
the Harpies also cursed their unwelcome guests,
saying that Aeneas and his men will not return home
until they become hungry enough to eat their tables
François Perrier
Aeneas and his Companions Fighting the Harpies
Enee et ses compagnons combattant les Harpies
1646-1647
Musée du Louvre, Paris

63. fast as the wind, having wings either on their feet or backs ...
the sons of Boreas died chasing the harpies,
as it was fated that they would perish if they failed
to catch those they pursued
In some versions, the harpies drop into the sea
from exhaustion and so their pursuers fall as well
Erasmus Quellinus II
The Persecution of the Harpies
La persécution des harpies
1630
Museo Nacional del Prado, Madrid

66. The Erinnyes, the Furies,
furious, snaky-haired, bloody-eyed ladies flap their wings and rise up from the black pit of Tartarus to put
the smack down.
Their purpose was to torment sinners, the sight of one could cause insanity, and they often drove offenders
to suicide.
Originally they punished only offenders of patricide, matricide, or breakers of oaths, but after a while they
punished any sins.
They lived in Erebus (Darkness) but traveled the Earth constantly in search of transgressors.

67. ... three Gorgonic Furies are wailing and screaming at Orestes,
and carry the murdered corpse of Clytemnestra,
with Orestes’ dagger still buried deep into her chest
William-Adolphe Bouguereau
Orestes Pursued by the Furies (The Remorse of Orestes)
Les Remords d’Oreste ou Oreste poursuivi par les Furies
1862
Chrysler Museum of Art, Norfolk

72. an ornate temple ...
Orestes clutching his bloody sword from the murder of Clytemnestra,
and
three figures: not the fearsome Furies, but the dead themselves,
haunting him
... although there are snakes uncoiling themselves from the feet
Gustave Moreau
Orestes and the Erinyes
Oreste et les Erinyes
1891
Private collection

74. Böcklin did not balk at horrific subjects.
Reports of a murder committed in Alsace
prompted him to paint this picture …
Arnold Böcklin
Murderer Pursued by the Furies
Assassin poursuivi par les Furies
1870
Sammlung Schack, Munich

76. olga_oes
Greek Mythology’s dangerous women (1)
Les femmes dangereuses de la mythologie grecque (1)
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Music ThePianoGuys Michael Meets Mozart
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