Stheno and Euryale
sisters of the Gorgon Medusa
In Greek mythology, Stheno (; Ancient Greek: Σθενώ, romanized: Sthenṓ, lit. 'forceful') and Euryale ( yuu-RY-ə-lee; Ancient Greek: Εὐρυάλη, romanized: Euryálē, lit. 'far-roaming') were two of the three sister Gorgons, the third being Medusa, who were able to turn anyone who looked at them to stone. Unlike the mortal Medusa, both Stheno and Euryale were immortal. 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
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 had beheaded Medusa. The Hesiodic Shield of Heracles (c. late seventh – mid sixth century BC) describes the two Gorgons' pursuit of Perseus, as depicted on Heracles' 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.
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Vocabulary and entity names are the principal evidence signals here, because they determine the precision of every later search. The source revision retrieved here is dated Sep 9, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q124149507. None of the 0 selected statements returned an explicit reference.
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This entry incorporates text from “Stheno and Euryale” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.