Talos

Greek mythology · Crete · magic · guardian

Made of bronze. Talos was a man completely forged from bronze, which made him super strong and nearly impossible to defeat. He was built by the gods to be the perfect protector of the island of Crete.

Island guardian. Talos patrolled the coastline of Crete and kept pirates and invaders away by throwing huge rocks at their ships. He made sure no enemies could sneak onto the island.

Not actually giant. While many people think of Talos as a giant monster, ancient Greek stories don't actually say he was huge. The confusion comes from how powerful and legendary he was, not from his size.

Powered by magic. Talos wasn't just a regular statue. He had a magical liquid called ichor running through his bronze body instead of blood, which kept him alive and moving.

Defeated by heat. According to the myths, the only way to stop Talos was to pull out a special bronze nail or pin that held him together, or to trick him into walking into fire to overheat.