I'm looking for other "Mother of Monsters" examples to supplement a post I wrote involving Lilith and Angrboda and their status as "Mother of Monsters." Over time, I'd like to add more examples to the post, do more analysis, and rework it.

Any help is much appreciated!

  • Possibly Gaia en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gaia_%28mythology%29 if you count the Cyclopes and Hundred-Handed Ones, but I don't know if the timeline works. – Lauren-Reinstate-Monica-Ipsum Oct 28 '15 at 10:09
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    I think it's a suggestion worth tracking, thanks (I added it to the original post). Gaia had other children, and the circumstances don't exactly match, but two crucial elements do: monstrous children, and that the children were taken from her, causing her pain. Also, now that I think of it, that she's famous AS a mother. Thanks again! – Steven M. Long Oct 29 '15 at 11:56

A prime example of a mother of monsters from Greek mythology is Echidna:


Source: The Theogony of Hesiod, translated by Hugh G. Evelyn-White

You may find a list of her offspring on Wikipedia.



In mesopotamian mythology, Tiamat was at first the mother of the younger gods. When they had killed their father, Apsu, she made war on them, giving birth to monsters. After the younger gods killed her, they created the world from her body.


No, really. Not only did he mother Sleipnir, a horse with eight feet, after having mated with Svaðilfari, which we can reasonably characterise as a monster, we also have a short verse in Hyndluljóð, according to which he gave birth to "all the monsters" after eating the heart of a which (the verse is further discussed here).

For a more general discussion about the view of motherhood and monsters in Norse mythology, I would recommend Margaret Clunies Ross Prolonged Echoes, which devotes significant time to the theme.


Additional creatures to consider are Grendal's mother from the story of Beowulf. Another one harder to track is Coarnach, a mother of demons and possibly the devil. Banished to the bottom of a lake and possibly straight to hell by Saint Patrick.

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