The Monster of Troy

In Greek myth, a terrible sea monster suddenly appears on the Trojan coast, where it causes great destruction. To appease the beast, the king of Troy, Laomedon, sends his daughter Hesione as a sacrifice. At the last moment the hero Hercules arrives to slay the monster and rescue the princess.

A menacing creature lurks on an ancient Greek vase in the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston. The scene is on a Corinthian krater dating to around 550 B.C. It is the oldest illustration of the ancient legend of the Monster of Troy. The vase shows Hesione and Hercules fighting the monster.

Hesione throws rocks from a pile at her feet while Hercules shoots arrows.

Some suggest that the Monster of Troy resembles a Plesiosaur, a Mesozoic marine reptile.

Plesiosaurs are amoung the largest marine apex predators in the fossil record.

Hercules and the Princess of Troy (1965)