According to Greek mythology, Lamia was the mistress of the God Zeus. In retaliation, Zeus’s jealous wife, Hera, killed Lamia’s children and transformed her into a monster that hunts and devours the children of others.
It is said that she had the lower body of a serpent, though she could shapeshift into a flawlessly beautiful woman during the day in order to seduce men. She was also cursed to not be able to close her eyes so that she would forever obsess over her lost children. Zeus, however, took pity on her and enabled her to remove her eyes from their sockets. He did this so that she could rest, as she could not close her eyes.
It is said that Lamia had a voracious sexual appetite matched only by her hunger for hunting children. Scylla was one of Lamia’s only children who escaped, but she was also turned into a monster.