Source Verification: Typhon

Every claim below is either what a named ancient source attests, in its own line or section, or a point where the sources themselves disagree.

What the Sources Attest

Did Zeus actually kill Typhon?

No. Both major ancient versions of the story end with Typhon overpowered and imprisoned rather than killed outright. Hesiod has Zeus cast him into wide Tartarus after scorching him with thunderbolts; Apollodorus instead has Zeus bury him permanently under Mount Etna in Sicily. Either way, Typhon survives in a defeated, trapped state rather than dying.

Source: Hesiod, Theogony 820-868

Why was Typhon born to challenge Zeus?

Hesiod does not give Gaia an explicit motive for producing him. He simply states that Typhoeus was born with strength capable of surpassing every other creature, and that he would have become ruler of mortals and immortals alike had Zeus not perceived the danger in time and acted first.

Source: Hesiod, Theogony 820-838

How did Zeus and Typhon's battle nearly go the other way?

In Apollodorus's account, Typhon briefly gets the upper hand during their fight, wrestling away Zeus's own sickle and cutting the sinews from his hands and feet, which leaves Zeus helpless until Hermes and the god Pan manage to steal the hidden sinews back and restore him to full strength for the rematch.

Source: Apollodorus, Library 1.6.3

Where is Typhon imprisoned?

Sources disagree. Hesiod places him in Tartarus, the deep pit beneath the underworld. Apollodorus and Pindar instead locate him under Mount Etna in Sicily, with the volcano's fire explained as the heat of Zeus's thunderbolts still trapped beneath the mountain along with him.

Source: Pindar, Pythian Ode 1

Are storms and winds connected to Typhon?

Yes, according to Hesiod. He states that the damaging, gusting winds that trouble sailors at sea blow directly from the defeated Typhoeus, distinguishing them from the steady, beneficial winds - Notos, Boreas, and Zephyr - that the gods kept for their own use.

Source: Hesiod, Theogony 869-880

Is Typhon related to any other monsters in Greek mythology?

Yes. With Echidna, Typhon fathers several of the most famous monsters in the tradition, including Cerberus, the guardian of the underworld, the many-headed Lernaean Hydra, and the fire-breathing Chimera, all named together in the same passage of Hesiod's Theogony.

Source: Hesiod, Theogony 306-325

Where Accounts Differ

where Typhon ends up imprisoned
whether Zeus was ever actually disabled

Typhon's fate varies: Hesiod has Zeus cast him into Tartarus, while Apollodorus and Pindar instead have Zeus bury him beneath Mount Etna in Sicily; neither version describes him as killed outright.
Apollodorus's account, in which Typhon briefly disables Zeus by stealing the sinews from his hands and feet, has no equivalent in Hesiod's much shorter version of the fight.

Sources

Primary sources

Hesiod, Theogony 820-880
Apollodorus, Library 1.6.3
Pindar, Pythian Ode 1