Classification: Mythical Beasts & Cryptids

Temporal Range: Unknown but certainly before 1st Century BCE

Geographic Range: Caves

Diet: Children and the blood of men

Horde: Greek

After an affair with Zeus, the beautiful Lamia was cursed by Zeus’ wife, Hera. Hera kidnapped and killed her children, driving Lamia mad with grief. In her madness, she began to devour children, and as she became more wicked, her physical appearance changed.

The Lamia we recognize today is no longer the beautiful woman spurned by the gods but a half-woman, half-serpent creature, doomed to live in a cave and never close her eyes. Some sources describe her as hermaphroditic, suggesting a more fluid and ambiguous nature than traditionally depicted. However, historical documents consistently refer to her with she/her pronouns, which is how we will address her.

In Athens in the 1st century BCE, Lamia was used to frighten children into behaving, with parents warning that if they were not good, Lamia would come for them. But it isn’t just children who should fear her; men are also at risk. Lamia has long been depicted as a seductress, luring men back to her cave to drink their blood.