Stheno and Euryale

The Gorgons Stheno and Euryale chasing Perseus; Attic black-figure lekythos, Cabinet des Medailles 277 (550–500 BC)

In Greek mythology, Stheno (/ˈsθiːnoʊ, ˈsθɛnoʊ/; Ancient Greek: Σθενώ, romanized: Sthenṓ, lit. 'forceful') and Euryale (/jʊəˈraɪəli/ yuu-RY-ə-lee; Ancient Greek: Εὐρυάλη, romanized: Euryálē, lit. 'far-roaming') were two of the three Gorgons, along with Medusa, sisters who were able to turn anyone who looked at them to stone. When Perseus beheaded Medusa, the two Gorgons pursued him but were unable to catch him.

Family

According to Hesiod, and Apollodorus, Stheno and Euryale, along with Medusa, were daughters of the primordial sea-god Phorcys and the sea-monster Ceto, while, according to Hyginus, they were daughters of "the Gorgon", an offspring of Typhon and Echidna, and Ceto.

Mythology

Two views of the same vase. Above: a headless Medusa on the left, with Stheno and Euryale running right. Below: the continuation of the scene showing Perseus running right. Dinos of the Gorgon Painter Louvre E874 (early sixth century BC)

The Gorgons Stheno and Euryale were immortal, whereas their Gorgon sister Medusa was mortal. The only story involving them is their pursuit of Perseus after he has beheaded Medusa. The Hesiodic Shield of Heracles (c. late seventh–mid sixth century BC) describes the two Gorgons' pursuit of Perseus, as depicted on Heracle's shield:

Perseus himself, Danae’s son, was outstretched, and he looked as though he were hastening and shuddering. The Gorgons, dreadful and unspeakable, were rushing after him, eager to catch him; as they ran on the pallid adamant, the shield resounded sharply and piercingly with a loud noise. At their girdles, two serpents hung down, their heads arching forward; both of them were licking with their tongues, and they ground their teeth with strength, glaring savagely. Upon the terrible heads of the Gorgons rioted great Fear.

While the "great Fear" rioting upon the heads of the Gorgon, in the passage from the Shield quoted above, might possibly be a vague reference to hair made of snakes, the poet Pindar makes such a physical feature explicit, describing the two Gorgons, just like their sister Medusa, as having "horrible snakey hair" (ἀπλάτοις ὀφίων κεφαλαῖς).

According to Apollodorus' version of their story, all three Gorgons had the ability to turn to stone anyone who looked upon them. And when Perseus managed to behead Medusa by looking at her reflection in his bronze shield, Stheno and Euryale chased after him, but were unable to see him because he was wearing Hades' cap, which made him invisible.

Euryale's lamenting cry, while chasing Perseus, is noted in two sources. Pindar has Athena create the "many-voiced songs of flutes" to imitate the "shrill cry" of the "fast-moving jaws of Euryale". While Nonnus, in his Dionysiaca, has the fleeing Perseus "listening for no trumpet but Euryale's bellowing".

Iconography

Main article: Gorgons § Iconography

The typical archaic (c. 8th–5th century BC) depictions of Stheno and Euryale, show their head turned to face the viewer, sitting (seemingly without a neck) atop a running body in profile, with wings on its back and curl-topped boots. In later depictions the heads shrink in size with respect to their bodies, possess necks, and become less wild looking.

See also

• Cultural depictions of Medusa and Gorgons

References

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• Apollodorus, Apollodorus, The Library, with an English Translation by Sir James George Frazer, F.B.A., F.R.S. in 2 Volumes, Cambridge, Massachusetts, Harvard University Press, London, William Heinemann Ltd. 1921. ISBN 0-674-99135-4. ISBN 9780786471119. Online version at the Perseus Digital Library.
• Bane, Theresa, Encyclopedia of Fairies in World Folklore and Mythology, McFarland, 2013.
• Bremmer, Jan N., s.v. Gorgo/Medusa, published online 22 December 2015, in the Oxford Classical Dictionary, edited by Tim Whitmarsh, digital ed, New York, Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-938113-5.
• Daly, Kathleen N., Marion Rangel, Greek and Roman mythology, A to Z, third edition, Chelsea House Publishers, New York, 2009. ISBN 978-1-60413-412-4.
• Euripides, Ion, translated by Robert Potter in The Complete Greek Drama, edited by Whitney J. Oates and Eugene O'Neill Jr. Volume 1. New York. Random House. 1938. Online version at the Perseus Digital Library.
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• Gaius Julius Hyginus, Fabulae from The Myths of Hyginus translated and edited by Mary Grant. University of Kansas Publications in Humanistic Studies. Online version at the Topos Text Project.
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• Krauskopf, Ingrid, Stefan-Christian Dahlinger ("literarische Quellen"), s.v. Gorgo, Gorgones in Lexicon Iconographicum Mythologiae Classicae (LIMC) IV.1. Artemis Verlag, Zürich and Munich. 1988. ISBN 3-7608-8751-1. Internet Archive.
• Mack, Rainer, "Facing Down Medusa (An aetiology of the gaze)", Art History vol. 25, 2002, pp. 571–604.
• Mayor, Adrienne, The Amazons: Lives and Legends of Warrior Women across the Ancient World, Princeton University Press, Feb 9, 2016.
• Most, G.W. (2018b), Hesiod: The Shield, Catalogue of Women, Other Fragments, Loeb Classical Library, No. 503, Cambridge, Massachusetts, Harvard University Press, 2007, 2018. ISBN 978-0-674-99721-9. Online version at Harvard University Press.
• Nonnus, Dionysiaca, Volume I: Books 1–15, translated by W. H. D. Rouse, Loeb Classical Library No. 344, Cambridge, Massachusetts, Harvard University Press, 1940 (revised 1984). ISBN 978-0-674-99379-2. Online version at Harvard University Press. Internet Archive (1940).
• Nonnus, Dionysiaca, Volume II: Books 16–35, translated by W. H. D. Rouse, Loeb Classical Library No. 345, Cambridge, Massachusetts, Harvard University Press, 1940. ISBN 978-0-674-99391-4. Online version at Harvard University Press. Internet Archive (1940).
• Nonnus, Dionysiaca, Volume III: Books 36–48, translated by W. H. D. Rouse, Loeb Classical Library No. 346, Cambridge, Massachusetts, Harvard University Press; London, William Heinemann Ltd. 1940. ISBN 978-0-674-99393-8. Online version at Harvard University Press. Internet Archive (1940, reprinted 1942).
• Pindar, Odes, Diane Arnson Svarlien. 1990. Online version at the Perseus Digital Library.
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