PERSEUS, MEDUSA & THE GORGONS

From Medusa's dead body the giant Chrysaor and the winged horse Pegasus, her son by Poseidon, sprang forth.  Chrysaor was often depicted as a young man

The hero Perseus flees from the scene of the decapitated Gorgon Medousa. He is depicted as a hero armed with two hunting spears, wearing winged boots, a cap, and the kibisis bag containing the head of Medousa. A second almost identical figure (with chlamys cloak) is the god Hermes. Behind the pair follows Athene with her aigis cloak outstretched. The scene shows all three Gorgones, winged maidens with a pair of serpents sprouting from their waists. The middle sister is the decapitated Medousa, from whom is born the boy Chrysaor and the winged foal Pegasus. 

The Gorgon Sisters' Sisters

The Graeae were two, or some say three, ancient sea-daimones (spirits) who personified the white foam of the sea. They were grey from birth, and shared among themselves a single detatchable eye and tooth.

Perseus & Graea, Athenian red-figure krater
C5th B.C., Archaeological Museum of Delos

The graeae guarded the passage that led to where their sisters were. When Perseus was searching for Medusa, he stole their one eye and one tooth which they shared, forcing them to help him find and kill Medusa. 

Their names suggest rather dire monsters--Deino "the terrible." Enyo "the warlike" and Persis "the destoyer."

The Graiai were usually depicted as old crones. However according to Aeschylus they were Seiren-shaped monsters with the head and arms of old women and the bodies of swans.

Perseus Returning the Eye of the Graiai, Henry Fuseli.

Euryale

Euryale was the second eldest one of the Gorgons, three vicious sisters with brass hands, sharp fangs, and hair of living, venomous snakes.

Euryale's name is translated to mean "far-roaming." She was known for her bellowing cries. Her cries were projected from her due to her mourning for her sister. It is said that Athena invented the flute to try and copy the cries of Euryale.

She and her sister Stheno, were immortal, where as Medusa was mortal. In some versions of mythology, Euryale also had the ability to turn anyone to stone with her gaze. They were daughters of primordial sea god and goddess Phorcys and Ceto, who personified the dangers of the sea. In many stories, Euryale is noted for her bellowing cries, particularly in the tale of Medusa's death at Perseus' hands.

Museum of Nabeul Athena tossing away the flutes she had just invented. She did so after she realized (by seeing her image in a river) that playing them disfigured her face (from Kelibia)

Stheno

Stheno in Greek mythology, was the eldest of the Gorgons, vicious female monsters with brass hands, sharp fangs and "hair" made of living venomous snakes. Her name can be translated as “forceful” or “mighty.” She and her sister Euryale were both immortal, and the third sister, Medusa, was mortal until she was immortalized in her hideousness by Athena.

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 Greek mythology, she was transformed into a Gorgon because of standing with her sister Medusa, who was raped by the sea god Poseidon in the Temple of Athena.

Athena wears the ancient form of the Gorgon head on her aegis, as the huge serpent who guards the golden fleece regurgitates Jason; cup by Douris, Classical Greece, early fifth century BC – Vatican Museum