MYTHOLOGY MOODBOARD: The Gorgon Sisters
According to Greek mythology, the three Gorgons were sisters named Stheno, Euryale, and Medusa. Daughters of the sea god Phorcys and his sister-wife, Ceto, Medusa was the only sister who was mortal. While descriptions of Gorgons vary across Greek literature and occur in the earliest examples of Greek literature, the term commonly refers to any of the three sisters who had hair made of living, venomous snakes, as well as a horrifying visage that turned those who beheld her to stone.
Stheno /ˈsθiːnəʊ/ or /ˈsθɛnəʊ/ (Greek: Σθεννώ) was the eldest of the Gorgons -- vicious female monsters with brass hands, sharp fangs and "hair" made of living venomous snakes. Stheno was born in the caverns beneath Mount Olympus. Of the three Gorgons, she was known to be the most independent and ferocious, having killed more men than both of her sisters combined.
Euryale (/jʊˈraɪəliː/; Greek: Εὐρυάλη) was the second eldest one of the Gorgons. In some versions of mythology, Euryale also had the ability to turn anyone to stone with her gaze. In many stories, Euryale is noted for her bellowing cries, particularly in the tale of Medusa's death at Perseus' hands.
Medusa (/məˈdjuːzə, məˈdʒuː-, -sə/, US /məˈduː-/; Μέδουσα) was a monster, a Gorgon generally described as a winged human female with living venomous snakes in place of hair. In a late version of the Medusa myth, related by the Roman poet Ovid (Metamorphoses 4.770), Medusa was originally a ravishingly beautiful maiden, "the jealous aspiration of many suitors," but because Poseidon had raped her in Athena's temple, the enraged Athena transformed Medusa's beautiful hair to serpents and made her face so terrible to behold that the mere sight of it would turn onlookers to stone. When she is beheaded by Perseus, Stheno and Euryale tried to kill him but failed due to his use of the Helm of Darkness.
