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Orthrus

Dioskilos, the two-headed wolf

Dioskilos was a two-headed wolf that attacked Perseus, the son of Zeus, in the Underworld. He was featured in Harryhausen's final film, Clash of the Titans.

Description[]

Dioskilos was Medusa's guardian who watched over the ancient ruins that rest in the center of the Isle of the Dead. He was knee-high in height and the size of abnormally large wolf. He was originally supposed to have three heads like the guard dog of the Underworld, Cerberus, but due to complications with animation he was only given the creature two Size: 1,30 m 1,80 c 170 Kg

History[]

In the 1981 film, Dioskilos was woken up to the sound of footsteps in his domain. The hellhound found a hiding place in a dark ruin and watched as Perseus and three soldiers, Solon, Ixas, and Eusarios entered Medusa's ruin. When they came close enough, Dioskilos jumped out of the shadows and attacked, killing Solon by stabbing the soldier in the back with the former's claws. Then Dioskilos jumped on Perseus, trying to kill him. Ixas and Eusarios distracted Dioskilos long enough for Perseus to try and grab his sword from a snake that was coiled around it. Just as Dioskilos was about to kill Eusarios, Perseus attacked. He stabbed Dioskilos in both necks, then, as he continued the assault with a flurry of sword slashes, forced Dioskilos off a small ledge. Perseus then drove his sword into the beast's stomach, killing him.

In True Mythology[]

In the true mythological story, Dioskilos was actually named Orthrus, a two-headed hound who was the son of Typhon and Echidna; the brother to Cerberus, the Nemean Lion (a huge lion invulnerable to wounds), Hydra (a nine-headed serpent), Ladon (a dragon with 100 heads), Chimaera (a fire-breathing lion with goat legs and a tail made of a snake), and the Sphinx (a half-woman, half-lion creature); and the pet of King Geryon, a giant with three bodies supported on one pair of legs.

At the time, Hercules had murdered his wife, Megara, and his two kids when Hera drove him temporarily insane. When his sanity returned, he sought penance for his crime. So he decided to serve his cousin, King Eurytheses of Mycenae, who made him do twelve labors. The tenth labor was to kill Geryon; his herdsman, Eurytion; and Orthrus. Then Hercules had to steal Geryon's red cattle, which Eurytheses wanted.

When Hercules came to steal Geryon's cattle, Orthrus, perceiving what he was doing, attacked Hercules, but Hercules killed Orthrus with a swing of his club to the beast's two heads. Geryon's herdsman, Eurytion, was killed shortly afterwards, and, after a prolonged battle, Geryon himself was slain, allowing Hercules to take the cattle to Mycenae.

Behavior[]

Similar to Taro, the Dragon, Dioskilos was fearlessly protective, willing to fight to the death against multiple foes, no matter how well armed they were. He was more than capable of overpowering Perseus' men, killing Solon in the ensuing melee.

Gallery[]





Video[]

Clash_of_the_Titans_(1981)_--_Dioskilos

Clash of the Titans (1981) -- Dioskilos

A video on Dioskilos and how it was created

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