Reptile or the fantastic, as in the monster movies of the 1950s and 1960s. The snake or serpent has played a powerful symbolic role in different cultures. In Egyptian history, the Nile cobra adorned the crown of the pharaoh. It was worshipped as one of the gods and was also used for sinister purposes: murder of an adversary and ritual suicide (Cleopatra). In Greek mythology snakes are associated with deadly antagonists, as a chthonic symbol, roughly translated as "earthbound". The nine-headed Lernaean Hydra that Hercules defeated and the three Gorgon sisters are children of Gaia, the earth. Medusa was one of
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