00:12In the land far away from the deathless gods and mortal men, in the deepest caves of Arima,
00:19lived a half maiden, half snake creature who preyed on unaware travelers. Echidna,
00:25the mother of all monsters, the she-viper, the half-nymph half-serpent, the one who was neither,
00:31like mortal men, nor the undying gods. Some say, Echidna was the daughter of Tartarus and Gaia.
00:39Some say she was the daughter of the primordial sea god, Phocis, and his consort, Ceto, the goddess
00:45of the dangers of the deep. While others say, she was the daughter of the river goddess Styx.
00:52In appearance, Echidna was an irresistible, yet fearsome creature, with the beautiful
00:57upper body of a young maiden, and the lower body of a viper. She was half a nymph, with
01:03enchanting eyes, and fair cheeks, and half again, a huge snake, great, and awful. She
01:10was an ageless creature, who never grew old, all her days. Echidna consorted with a fellow
01:17monster, known as Typhon, the father of all monsters. And from the union of these two
01:22monsters, came nothing but monsters. The most famous of their children were, Cerberus, the
01:28three-headed hound, who guarded the gates of Hades. The Lernian Hydra, the many-headed serpent,
01:34that grew two heads if one was cut off. The Sphinx, a winged half-woman, half-lion creature,
01:40that guarded the road to Thebes. And the Chimera, a creature with the head of a lion, a goat's
01:46body, and a snake as its tail. Echidna would lie in wait, in her caves, for unwary passers-by,
01:54and animals. Whichever unfortunate victim, fell into her trap, she carried off, and fed upon.
02:01However, after the powerful Typhon was defeated, at the hands of Zeus, Echidna, soon met her
02:08own death. She was killed, while sleeping, by the hundred-eyed giant, Argus Panoptis, who
02:15was sent by Hera. In a different version though, Echidna remained alive, after the defeat of
02:21her husband, Typhon, and continued living in the caves of Arema, carrying off passers-by.
02:27Goodbye.
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