Talos, or Talus, was a giant creature made of bronze that some writers say was the last survivor fo the bronze age. Talos was given to Europa by Zeus. Talos guarded the island of Crete. According to others, Talos was designed by Hephaestus, who gave the robot to King Minos. Hephaestus' robot guarded Crete by walking around the perimeter of the island three times a day and throwing rocks and other debris at ships so that they would not land on the island.

Talos was a very strong creature who had but one weak spot on his body, the vein in his ankle. His bronze body was kept alive by an ichor contained in that single vein. The Argonauts encountered Talos on their way home from Libya. Medea convinced Talos that she would give him a secret potion that would make him immortal if he would let her stop on the island. Talos agreed and drank the potion and it made him fall asleep. Medea went to him in his sleep and pulled the plug in his ankle, whereupon Talos bled to death. Other stories say that when Medea tried to land on the island, Talos scraped his ankle on a rock while trying to fight her off and bled to death. According to an entirely different version, Talos was killed by an Argonaut Poeas, who shot him in the ankle with an arrow.

ACTIVITIES:
Talos activity

KEY TEST WORDS:
Talos, (Talus), was a bronze giant Jason and the Argonauts encountered.

Creatures and Monsters

Fables

Footnotes:
Watch the movie, "Jason and the Argonauts" for another version of Talos' death.

SOURCES:
Jane Smith
Edith Hamilton's Mythology
Bulfinch's Mythology
"Manual of Mythology" by Alexander S. Murray.