Gorgons’s Family Tree

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Family

• Ceto(parent),Phorcys(parent),Echidna(sibling),Euryale(sibling),Graeae(sibling),Ladon(sibling),Medusa(sibling),Stheno(sibling)— Consort

  Phorcys and Ceto, ancient sea deities, produced a brood of monsters: the Gorgons (Medusa, Euryale, Stheno), the Graeae, Echidna, Scylla, and the dragon Ladon.

  ⚠ Hesiod Theogony 295-303 does not explicitly name Echidna's parents; the antecedent of 'she' is debated. Apollodorus (Bibliotheca 2.1.2) gives Tartarus and Gaia as Echidna's parents instead.

Contains

• Euryale,Medusa,Stheno

  The Gorgons are the three monstrous sisters Medusa, Euryale, and Stheno, daughters of Phorcys and Ceto. They dwelt at the edge of the world and could turn onlookers to stone with their gaze.

Associated with

• Aegis

  The Aegis bore the Gorgoneion, the petrifying head of the Gorgon Medusa, after Athena received it from Perseus. The Gorgons' terrifying visage became an apotropaic symbol on Athena's divine shield.

• Chrysaor

  Chrysaor, the golden-sworded warrior, sprang from the neck of the slain Gorgon Medusa alongside Pegasus. The Gorgons Euryale and Stheno witnessed the aftermath of their sister's beheading by Perseus.

• Graeae

  The Graeae and the Gorgons were sisters, both born to the sea deities Phorcys and Ceto. Perseus tricked the Graeae into revealing the path to the Gorgons' lair by stealing their shared eye.

• Phorcys

  The Gorgons — Stheno, Euryale, and Medusa — were daughters of Phorcys and Ceto. Their father's primordial sea-nature was reflected in the terrible power of their gaze that turned mortals to stone.

• Winged Sandals

  After Perseus beheaded Medusa, the Winged Sandals allowed him to outpace Stheno and Euryale, the immortal Gorgons who pursued him in fury over their sister's death.