Stheno and Euryale explained

In Greek mythology, Stheno (; Greek, Ancient (to 1453);: Σθενώ|Sthenṓ|forceful)^[1] and Euryale (; Greek, Ancient (to 1453);: Εὐρυάλη|Euryálē|far-roaming)^[2] were two of the three Gorgons, along with Medusa, sisters who were able to turn anyone who looked at them to stone.^[3] 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,^[4] while, according to Hyginus, they were daughters of "the Gorgon", an offspring of Typhon and Echidna, and Ceto.^[5]

Mythology

The Gorgons Stheno and Euryale were immortal, whereas their Gorgon sister Medusa was mortal.^[6] 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:

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).^[7]

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.^[8]

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".^[9] While Nonnus, in his Dionysiaca, has the fleeing Perseus "listening for no trumpet but Euryale's bellowing".^[10]

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.^[11]

See also

• Cultural depictions of Medusa and Gorgons

References

• Aeschylus (?), Prometheus Bound in Aeschylus, with an English translation by Herbert Weir Smyth, Ph. D. in two volumes. Vol 2. Cambridge, Massachusetts, Harvard University Press. 1926. Online version at the Perseus Digital Library.
• 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. . . 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. .
• Daly, Kathleen N., Marion Rangel, Greek and Roman mythology, A to Z, third edition, Chelsea House Publishers, New York, 2009. .
• 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.
• Gantz, Timothy, Early Greek Myth: A Guide to Literary and Artistic Sources, Johns Hopkins University Press, 1996, Two volumes: (Vol. 1), (Vol. 2).
• 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.
• Grimal, Pierre, The Dictionary of Classical Mythology, Wiley-Blackwell, 1996. . Internet Archive.
• Hard, Robin (2004), The Routledge Handbook of Greek Mythology: Based on H.J. Rose's "Handbook of Greek Mythology", Psychology Press, 2004, . Google Books.
• Hesiod, Theogony from The Homeric Hymns and Homerica with an English Translation by Hugh G. Evelyn-White, Cambridge, MA.,Harvard University Press; London, William Heinemann Ltd. 1914. Online version at the Perseus Digital Library.
• 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. . 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. . 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). . 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. . 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. . Online version at Harvard University Press. Internet Archive (1940, reprinted 1942).
• Pindar, Odes, Diane Arnson Svarlien. 1990. Online version at the Perseus Digital Library.
• Tripp, Edward, Crowell's Handbook of Classical Mythology, Thomas Y. Crowell Co; First edition (June 1970). .
• Wilk, Stephen R., Medusa : Solving the Mystery of the Gorgon, Oxford University Press, New York, 2000. . Internet Archive. Google Books.

Notes and References

1. Bane, s.v. Stheno (or "mighty one").
2. Mayor, p. 433; Bane, s.v. Euryale (or "far-howling" and "wide-leaping"); Daly and Rangel, s.v. Euryale ("wide-stepping" or "Euryale may also mean 'the wide sea,' which would fit her role as a daughter of sea gods.").
3. Bremmer, s.v. Gorgo/Medusa; Gantz, p. 20; Grimal, s.v. Gorgons; Tripp, s.v. Gorgons; Daly and Rangel, s.v. Euryale.
4. [Hesiod]
5. Tripp, s.v. Gorgons; Hyginus, Fabulae Preface 9, 35. Euripides, Ion 986 - 991, has "the Gorgon" being the offspring of Gaia, spawned by Gaia as an ally for her children the Giants in their war against the Olympian gods.
6. [Hesiod]
7. Gantz, p. 20; Pindar, Pythian 12.9.
8. Bremmer, s.v. Gorgo/Medusa (which calls Apollodorus' version "canonical"); Apollodorus, 2.4.2 - 3. See also Aeschylus (?), Prometheus Bound 798 - 800.
9. Gantz, p. 20; Pindar, Pythian 12.20.
10. [Nonnus]
11. Wilke, pp. 31 - 35; Krauskopf and Dahlinger, pp. 313 - 315, no. 312 - 334. For images see: LIMC IV-2, pp. 184 - 187 (Gorgo, Gorgones 312 - 331).