Stheno
Eldest and most ferocious of the three Gorgon sisters, immortal unlike Medusa, who pursued Perseus after he beheaded her sister.
The Myth of Stheno
She was more dangerous than Medusa — but Perseus only needed the mortal one. Stheno and her sister Euryale were immortal Gorgons, unkillable even by the gods. Only Medusa, the youngest, was mortal. After Perseus beheaded Medusa while Stheno and Euryale slept, they woke and chased him. Perseus escaped using the cap of invisibility given by the nymphs. Stheno was said to have killed more men than both her sisters combined. Her name means "the strong one." Ancient sources say that the blood from the right side of any Gorgon could restore life, while blood from the left was instantly fatal. Asclepius used Gorgon blood in his medicine.
Parents
Phorcys, Ceto
Symbols
Fun Fact
Gorgon blood from the right side could heal any wound — Asclepius used it to raise the dead.
Words We Inherited
English words and phrases that trace back to this myth. See our full guide to English words from Greek mythology.
Explore Further
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🐉 creatureSpeed, immortality
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goddessdeath, the cutting of the life-thread, inevitability
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Gorgons
🐉 creaturemonsters,petrification
Three winged sisters — Stheno, Euryale, and Medusa — whose faces could turn any living creature to stone. Of the three, only Medusa was mortal.
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🐉 creaturedeath,underworld
Female spirits of violent death — especially death in battle — depicted as dark, winged creatures that hovered over battlefields and dragged away the dying.
Meliboea
🌿 nymphnature, grief
A nymph (or mortal woman) who survived the massacre of Niobe's children and was preserved by her extreme pallor of terror.
Perseus and Medusa
💭 conceptNarrative
The hero's quest to slay the mortal Gorgon and his ingenious use of divine gifts to accomplish the impossible
Sybaris
🐉 creaturemonsters
A monstrous serpent-dragon that terrorised the region around Delphi until slain by a young hero
Echidna
🐉 creatureMother of all monsters
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Tisiphone
⚡ godUnderworld
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🐉 creatureFather of all monsters
The most fearsome monster in Greek mythology, who challenged Zeus for supremacy of the cosmos. Typhon was the father of many of mythology's most dangerous creatures.
Tydeus
🗡 herowar
One of the Seven against Thebes who was denied immortality by Athena after she caught him eating his enemy's brain.
Alecto
⚡ godUnderworld
One of the three Erinyes whose name means "Unceasing" and who embodies relentless anger