Philip Womack's Mythical Bytes: No 2: Orthrus

You know what it's like having an older sibling who takes all the glory? Well that's exactly how Orthrus felt. His brother was Cerberus, the famed three-headed dog who guards the entrance to Hades. You can imagine what it was like for Orthrus - not only did he only have two heads, but he was slain by Hercules when guarding the cattle of Geryon. Still, at least he had a snake's tail, which is more than can be said for Cerberus.

Read The Double Axe by Philip Womack for more monsters and mythical excitement.

Philip Womack's Mythical Bytes No 1: The Ichthyocentaur

Beginning a new series of weird and savoury snippets from Greek and Roman myth.

We've all heard of centaurs, the half-man, half-horse. Never invite a centaur to a party is one of my best tips. (Although, if you do, you'd better not give them any wine - they might start a war.) But how about the ichthyocentaur?

This  beast is half-man, part-horse, and part-fish. Complicated? Still further, they often are shown with lobster claws, which they must have found very helpful in lifting Aphrodite's cockle shell out of the waves when the goddess was born from sea-foam. 

Read The Double Axe by Philip Womack for more monsters and mythical excitement.