Echidna (mythology) eyes" and she bore "fierce offspring". First there was Orthrus, the two-headed dog who guarded the Cattle of Geryon, second Cerberus, the multiheaded dog who guarded the gates of Hades, and third the Lernaean Hydra, the many-headed serpent who, when one of its heads was cut off, grew two more. The "Theogony" mentions a second ambiguous “she” as the mother of the Chimera (a fire-breathing beast that was part lion, part goat, and had a snake-headed tail) which may refer to Echidna, though possibly the Hydra or even Ceto was meant instead. Hesiod next names two more descendants of Echidna,
Ghidorah, the Three-Headed Monster Yoshio Tsuchiya was originally attached to play Malmess but scheduling conflicts prevented him from participating. After the success of previous films where monsters were partnered up such as "King Kong vs. Godzilla" and "Mothra vs. Godzilla", producer Tomoyuki Tanaka decided to develop a film which would feature Godzilla, Rodan and Mothra. The film also includes a new monster, King Ghidorah. Ghidorah's design owes much to Japanese mythology. In 1959, producer Tanaka developed a film that retold the legendary stories of Japan. These included the tale of "Yamata no Orochi", an eight-headed dragon. King Ghidorah is based on Tsuburaya's design for