Have you heard about the Gorgons? Perhaps you will locate them more easily if we mention the myth of Medusa, that frightening and legendary creature with snakes as hair. But, It turns out that there were three in total the female figures that were identified as gorgons. Join us in Supercurious to discover the story of Medusa and her sisters.
Greek mythology is perhaps one of the richest and most influential. Their stories and characters seem endless. Through Greek myths we meet the powerful gods that inhabit Olympus and creatures as fascinating as mermaids. But also with others, capable of generating a real horror.
The physical appearance in the story of Medusa and her sisters was not always the same, at least for one of them. In general terms, they are described with a belt in which two confronting snakes appear. Instead of hair, hundreds of snakes sprout from their heads. They could also have boar teeth, bronze claws and wings so heavy that they could not fly with them.
Although they were figures that generated immediate terror, it is believed that the Greeks used his image as protection against the evil eye, placing them at the entrances of houses and temples. The reason for this was simple: the gorgons could turn anyone who looked into their eyes to stone.
The story of Medusa and her sisters
The story of Medusa and her sisters has important variations. Generally, we only know Medusa, represented with her ugly head flooded with snakes. But it was not always like this.
Of the three sisters, she was the only one born with beauty in abundance. She was a beautiful young woman, but unlike Esteno and Euríale, she was not immortal.
Everything changed for her when the ruthless Poseidon was attracted to her figure and her golden hair. So, he prepared to rape her, in the middle of the sacred temple of the goddess Athena. She, offended by the desecration, he turned his wrath on Medusa. Her beauty turned to ugliness and every strand of her beautiful hair turned into a hideous snake.
But when talking about who the gorgons were, we find ourselves with these two other beings, of a radically different nature. Stheno was a wild and ruthless gorgon. She was the owner of great mental power with which she concentrated her energy in her gaze and hypnotized her enemies to finish them off. She was, of all, the one that most materialized human deaths.
Instead, the older sister Euryale, is reviewed as a beneficent deity, even with maternal feelings and that he was in charge of the protection and control of the various oracles and sanctuaries.
The story of Medusa and her sisters seems to begin in some underground caves far below Mount Olympus., where it is believed the creatures would have been born. Now, the rationalization of the existence of these female monsters is due to an ancient myth: when talking about who the gorgons were, the legend appears that they were personifications of hidden reefs where thousands of incautious and inexperienced sailors had ended up for shipwrecked over the centuries.
Its main myths
Going deeper into who the gorgons were, we find a multitude of myths and legends that are associated with them. Perhaps the best known is the rape of Medusa at the hands of Poseidon and her subsequent cruel punishment. But also, we come across others that very well illustrate fragments of the story of Medusa and her sisters. Let’s look at the most popular.
1. The gorgons and the hero Perseus
One of the most popular myths about who the gorgons were is the one in which the hero Perseus appears. He was deceived by his mother’s suitor, King Polydectes, who asked him for the head of Medusa to keep him away from his kingdom. His intention was for the young man to die at the hands of the gorgon, but the plans went wrong. Perseus, armed with a mirror-shield, was able to approach Medusa and cut off her head.
According to the classical myth, the horse Pegasus and the giant Chrysaor were born from the cut with which Perseus sliced off his head, since Medusa had become pregnant after the rape of Poseidon.
Medusa’s sisters ran after Perseus with the intention of catching him and taking revenge, but they could not do anything, since he had an invisibility helmet and some winged slippers. Esteno and Euríale, the gorgons that remained alive, mourned the death of her sister and her bad luck. Medusa’s head was given to Athena, who placed it on her shield for her protection.
2. The myth of the blood of the Gorgons
Some of the myths about who the gorgons were and how far their powers reached refer to their blood. If blood was drawn from the right side of one of the gorgons, it had, among other healing powers, the ability to raise the dead. If it was removed from his left side, it acted like a poison, causing instant death. Athena gave two vials of gorgon blood to Asclepius, the god of medicine, who wisely used it to resurrect some mythological heroes and characters.
Were there other gorgons?
The story of Medusa and her sisters is the best known when it comes to the gorgons in Greek mythology, but apparently these three beings were not the only ones. There is also talk of Toosa, another of the daughters of the sea god Forcis and his companion, Ceto. Toosa was a sea nymph who had the build of what we know today as a mermaid, her torso was that of a woman, but instead of legs she had a tail similar to that of a fish. Poseidon took her as her lover and from her relationship the giant Polyphemus was born who was blinded by the protagonist of The odyssey, Ulises.
It has also come to mention, when talking about who the gorgons were, the fearsome Aix. Daughter of the sun god Helios, Aix was a monstrous and truly terrifying goat, unable to be identified as male or female. It is believed that she sided with the Titans against Zeus, during the Titanomachy, and ended up killed under the power of the supreme god of Olympus.
And you, had you ever heard about who the gorgons were? Did you know that the fearsome Medusa, with her snakes for hair and her gaze that turned to stone, had had two other sisters, even more horrible? Without a doubt, Greek mythology is full of fascinating characters and legends. If you are, like us, passionate about this subject, do not miss this selection of best greek mythology books.
Other creatures from Greek mythology
Did you already know the story of Medusa and her sisters in Greek mythology? What other myths do you know about other fantastic beings? Here we leave you a list of mythological creatures that you should know.