Stheno
| Stheno (Gorgon) | |
|---|---|
| Personal information | |
| Parents | Phorcys and Ceto or Typhon and Echidna |
| Siblings | The Hesperides, Euryale, Medusa, Graeae, Thoosa, Scylla, and Ladon or Cerberus, Hydra, Chimera, and many more monsters |
In Greek mythology, Stheno (/ˈsθiːnoʊ/ or /ˈsθɛnoʊ/; Greek: Σθενώ, 'forceful') was the eldest of the Gorgons, vicious female monsters with brass hands, sharp fangs and "hair" made of living venomous snakes.
Mythology[edit]
The daughter of Phorcys and Ceto, Stheno was born in the caverns beneath Mount Olympus. She and her sister Euryale were both immortal, and the third sister, Medusa, was mortal.[1]
Of the three Gorgons, she was known to be the most independent and ferocious, having killed more men than both of her sisters combined. In Roman mythology, she was transformed into a Gorgon for her relationship to her sister Medusa, a priestess of Minerva, who had a sexual encounter with the sea god Neptune (mythology) in her goddess's temple. Furious with Medusa for this act of desecration, Minerva changed her into a terrible monster, along with her sisters Stheno and Euryale. Stheno tends to be depicted as a thin gorgon monster with red snakes curling around her head instead of hair. Earlier accounts, however, describe her as having a scaly head, a boar's tusks, bronzed hands, a protruding tongue, glaring eyes and a snake around the waist as a belt.[2]
When the Gorgon Medusa was beheaded by Perseus, Stheno and Euryale tried to kill him, but failed due to his use of Hades' cap, which made him invisible.[2]
See also[edit]
Notes[edit]
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