Graeae
Three sisters in Greek myth
The Graeae (alternatively spelled Graiai; /ˈɡriːiː/; Ancient Greek: Γραῖαι Graiai, lit. 'old women',), also called the Grey Sisters and the Phorcides ('daughters of Phorcys'), were three sisters of Greek mythology who had gray hair from their birth and shared one eye and one tooth among them. They were the daughters of the primordial sea gods Phorcys and Ceto and sisters of, among others, the Gorgons. Their names were Deino (Δεινώ), Pemphredo (Πεμφρηδώ), and Enyo (Ἐνυώ; not to be confused with the war goddess, Enyo). They are best known from their encounter with Perseus, who, after capturing their eye, forced them to reveal information about the Gorgons.
01Etymology
The Greek Graiai is derived from the Proto-Indo-European root *ǵerh₂- *ǵreh2-, "to grow old" via Proto-Greek: *gera-/grau-iu.
02Mythology
The Graeae were daughters of the sea-deities Ceto and Phorcys (from which their name the Phorcydes derived) and sisters to the Gorgons. The Graeae took the form of old, grey-haired women. Their age was so great that a human childhood for them was hardly conceivable. In Theogony, however, Hesiod describes the Graeae as being "fair-cheeked". In Prometheus Bound, the Graeae are described as being "ancient maidens of swan-like aspect" (κυκνόμορφοι; perhaps here meaning "white-haired").
Hesiod names only two Graeae, the "well-clad" "Pemphredo" (Πεμφρηδώ "alarm") and the "saffron-robed" Enyo (Ἐνυώ), while Apollodorus lists Deino (Δεινώ "dread", the dreadful anticipation of horror) as a third. Calling them "Phorcides", Hyginus, in addition to Pemphredo and Enyo, adds Persis, noting that "for this last others say Dino".
They shared one eye and one tooth, which they took turns using. By stealing their eye while they were passing it among themselves, the hero Perseus forced them to tell the whereabouts of the three objects needed to kill Medusa (in other versions, the whereabouts of Medusa) by ransoming their shared eye for the information.
03Genealogy
Sources and credits
This article is adapted from the Wikipedia article “Graeae”, written by its contributors and licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Fathomly has changed the layout, removed citation markers, navigation and maintenance notices, and adjusted punctuation. This adapted version is shared under the same license. For references, see the original article.
Images, from Wikimedia Commons:
- Edward Burne-Jones - Perseus and the Graiae, 1892.jpg by Edward Burne-Jones, Public domain
- Fuseli perseus.jpg by Unknown author, CC BY-SA 3.0
Fathomly is not affiliated with or endorsed by the Wikimedia Foundation. Spotted a problem? Tell us.