Monsters: Did you mean...?

We know a lot about our past but some things, despite research, archaeology and endless debate, still remain largely unknown. This collection looks at some of the great unsolved mysteries from the ancient world to try and discover the facts...

Hydria (ceramic water container) depicting Heracles killing the Lernaean Hydra (an ancient serpent-like water monster), from Etruria, attributed to the Painter of Aquila, 530-500 BCE. (photo taken at the Monsters. Fantastic Creatures of Fear...

Statue of Ashurnasirpal II from Nimrud (ancient Kalhu), modern-day northern Iraq, Neo-Assyrian Empire, 883-859 BCE. This statue of King Ashurnasirpal II (883-859 BCE) was placed in the Temple of Ishtar Sharrat-niphi. It was designed to...

Black-figure Chalcidian hydria, depicting Zeus, the king of the gods on the left, aiming his lightning bolt at Typhon, the father of monsters on the right, dated between 540-530 BCE. State Collections of Antiquities in Munich.

The Qasr al-Bint necropolis in Hegra (Mada'in Salih) in modern-day Saudi Arabia is one of the four necropolis areas to have survived. Qasr al-Bint consists of 31 Nabatean tombs dating from 1 to 58 CE. The tombs include fine inscriptions concerning...

Bronze Hairpin Depicting 'Master of Animals', found in Luristan (central Zagros), c. 950 to c. 650 BCE. National Museum of Iran, Tehran, acc. no. 1459. Photo by Neda Tehrani (Baloot Noghrei) Long bronze hairpins crowned with a large disk...

A marble statue of emperor titus (79-81 CE), Olympia Archaeological Museum. The corselet depicts two Nereids riding on sea monsters.

This bronze helmet has a crest with detachable horns shaped like horse-headed sea-monsters. The origin is unclear, it is perhaps a Messapian helmet from southern Italy. Circa 325-275 BCE. Castellani Collection, Bronze 2824, British Museum...

Okanagan Lake, Okanagan Valley, British Columbia, Canada. Okanagan Lake is said to be inhabited by the water serpent Ogopogo. Bodies of water are often associated with elemental water spirits or monsters in Native American lore, as in the...

Did you know that there was not just one deity for the night sky, but numerous gods, titans and nymphs all responsible for different aspects of the night sky, the winds and the seasons? When you think of the Greek god of the sky, or the...