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,
Snakes in mythology in Nordic myth. Sea monsters lived in every ocean from the seven-headed crocodile-serpent Leviathan of Hebrew myth to the sea-god Koloowisi of the Zuni people of North America and the Greek monster Scylla with twelve snake-necks. In some cultures, eels (which spend their early lives in freshwater before returning to the sea as adults) were regarded as magical creatures. Rivers and lakes often had snake-gods or snake-guardians including Untekhi the fearsome water-spirit of the Missouri River. Until recently, some northern European communities held well dressing ceremonies to appease the snake-spirits which lived in village wells and told legends of saints