Tradition: Greek mythology
Alternative Names: Sybaris, Lamia
Category: Dragon
The Myth
Sybaris, also called Lamia, was a gigantic and monstrous beast that lived in a vast cave on Mount Cirphis near Krisa in Greece. Although the surviving myth gives no precise description of her body, later interpretations have imagined the creature as a dragon or an anguiped, a monstrous being combining human and serpent-like features.
Every day Sybaris emerged from her mountain cave and descended upon the surrounding country, devouring both livestock and human beings. Her constant attacks became such a terror that the people of the region eventually sought help from the Oracle of Delphi, asking how they might put an end to the monster’s depredations.
Apollo’s oracle gave them a terrible answer: a young man had to be offered to the beast. The sacrifice chosen was Alcyoneus, a handsome young man, the son of Diomos and Meganeira.
As Alcyoneus was being prepared for the sacrifice, the young hero Eurybatus happened to pass through the region. Eurybatus was the son of Euphemos and a descendant of the river god Axios. Through divine inspiration he was overcome with love for Alcyoneus and could not allow the young man to be given to the monster.
Eurybatus therefore took Alcyoneus’ place as the victim and confronted Sybaris himself. Instead of allowing the beast to devour him, he seized the monster and hurled her from the mountainside. Sybaris crashed against the rocks below and was killed.
Where the monster struck the earth, a spring suddenly burst forth from the ground. The people of the region named the spring Sybaris in memory of the slain beast, and the name was eventually connected with the city of Sybaris in southern Italy, which was founded by the Locrians.
Thus the monstrous Sybaris, whose daily hunger had terrorized the people of Mount Cirphis, ultimately gave her name to a spring and, through it, to a distant city.
Sources
“Sybaris (mythology).” Wikipedia: The Free Encyclopedia. Wikimedia Foundation. Accessed October 3, 2026. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sybaris_(mythology)