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Enchidna
by lac (guest)
11/10/2009, 6:47 PM
Wikipedia says that Grendel's mother from the poem Beowulf has been called Enchidna in some texts. Does anyone know the meaning or origin of that name? TIA.
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- Chrisell   +2
11/11/2009, 4:13 AM
I did a spot of research, and the Wikipedia entry contains a vital typo. Grendel's mother is not Enchidna, but Echidna.My link to the Wikipedia article on Echidna is having linkfail, but if you copy this into your browser address bar, including the last bracket which keeps getting left out of the link, you will find it:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Echidna_(mythology)

This message was edited 11/11/2009, 4:15 AM

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- Anneza
11/11/2009, 9:46 PM
So Grendel's mum was Australian?! My dictionary says that the original Greek word, ekhidna, means a poisonous snake, which suits her very well.
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- lac
11/11/2009, 12:35 PM
Interesting. I was wondering whether "Enchidna" was somehow connected to Echidna. Now I see they're actually the same thing. :)
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