Mušmaḫḫū Mušmaḫḫū Mušmaḫḫū, inscribed in Sumerian as MUŠ.MAḪ, Akkadian as "muš-ma-ḫu", meaning "Exalted/distinguished Serpent", was an ancient Mesopotamian mythological hybrid of serpent, lion and bird, sometimes identified with the seven-headed serpent slain by Ninurta in the mythology of the Sumerian period. He is one of the three horned snakes, with his companions, Bašmu and Ušumgallu, with whom he may have shared a common mythological origin. In "Angim" or "Ninurta's return to Nippur", the storm god describes one of his weapons as "the seven-mouthed muš-mah serpent" (line 138), reminiscent of the Greek myth of Heracles and the seven headed Lernaean Hydra he
Orthrus overcome by Heracles in one of his labours. Orthrus In Greek mythology, Orthrus (, "Orthros") or Orthus (, "Orthos") was, according to the mythographer Apollodorus, a two-headed dog who guarded Geryon's cattle and was killed by Heracles. He was the offspring of the monsters Echidna and Typhon, and the brother of Cerberus, who was also a multi-headed guard dog. His name is given as either "Orthrus" ("Ὄρθρος") or "Orthus" ("Ὄρθος"). For example, Hesiod, the oldest source, calls the hound "Orthus", while Apollodorus calls him "Orthrus". According to Hesiod, Orthrus was the father of the Sphinx and the Nemean Lion, though