In Greek mythology, Echidna was a half-woman, half-snake. She is known as the mother of all monsters because many famous mythological creatures were born from and mothered by her. Echidna was described as a nymph with glancing eyes, fair cheeks, the lower half of her bod appearing as a huge snake, great and awful, and having speckled skin. She had a cave deep under a hollow rock, where she ate raw flesh beneath secret parts of the earth, far from both gods and mortal men. Sources vary widely on Echidna's genealogy, claiming her to be the daughter of several possibilities: