Gorgons- Greek GroupCollective"Daughters of Phorcys"
Also known as: Gorgones and Γοργόνες
Description
Stheno, Euryale, and Medusa: three sisters with serpents for hair and a gaze that turned flesh to stone. They dwelt at the western edge of the world, beyond Ocean. Only Medusa could die, and her severed head still petrified long after Perseus took it.
Mythology & Lore
At the Edge of the World
Hesiod names three daughters of Phorcys and Ceto: Stheno the mighty, Euryale the far-roaming, and Medusa the guardian. They lived beyond the stream of Ocean, near the borders of Night, where the Hesperides kept their garden. Serpents coiled where their hair should have been, and golden wings grew from their backs. Anyone who looked at their faces turned to stone. Of the three, only Medusa could die.
The Severed Head
King Polydectes of Seriphos sent Perseus to fetch a Gorgon's head, expecting the task to kill him. Athena and Hermes guided Perseus to the Graeae first, where he learned the path and claimed winged sandals and a cap of invisibility. He found the Gorgons asleep. Using Athena's polished bronze shield as a mirror, he approached Medusa without meeting her gaze and cut off her head with a curved sword.
From the severed neck sprang two children she had conceived by Poseidon: Pegasus, the winged horse, and Chrysaor, who carried a golden blade. Stheno and Euryale woke to find their sister's headless body between them. They pursued Perseus across the sky, screaming, but the cap hid him.
The Aegis
Perseus carried the head as a weapon. He turned Cetus to stone with it and did the same to Polydectes when he returned to Seriphos. He then gave it to Athena. Homer describes it fixed on her aegis, staring out at anyone who faced her in battle.
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