In Greek mythology, the Graeae (Ancient Greek: Γραῖαι Graiai, lit. 'old women', sing. Graea), also called the Phorcides ('daughters of Phorcys')[1] and the Grey Sisters in English were a group of sisters, the offspring of Ceto and Phorcys. Their names are Pemphredo, Enyo, and Deino or Persis.
They are one of many trios of goddesses in Greek Mythology, much like the Gorgon sisters. They took the form of old, grey-haired women. Like many sets of old crones in mythology, they all shared one eye and one tooth.
They were the goddesses of old age, even though they were also classified as monsters. Because of this, they were given no power or regard by the other gods.
The Graeae are best known for Perseus seeking them out and forcing them to reveal the location of the Gorgon Medusa's lair by stealing their common eye.
Etymology[]
The word Graeae is probably derived from the adjective γραῖα graia "old woman", derived from the Proto-Indo-European root *ǵerh₂- *ǵreh2-, "to grow old" via Proto-Greek: *gera-/grau-iu.
Mythology[]
Perseus and the Graeae by Edward Burne-Jones (1892)
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".[2] In Prometheus Bound, the Graeae are described as being "ancient maidens of swan-like aspect" (κυκνόμορφοι; perhaps here meaning "white-haired").[3]
Hesiod names only two Graeae, the "well-clad" "Pemphredo" (Πεμφρηδώ "alarm")[4] and the "saffron-robed" Enyo (Ἐνυώ),[2] while Apollodorus lists Deino (Δεινώ "dread", the dreadful anticipation of horror) as a third.[5] Calling them "Phorcides", Hyginus, in addition to Pemphredo and Enyo, adds Persis, noting that "for this last others say Dino".[6]
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.
Gallery[]
References[]
- ↑ Aeschylus. Fragments; Aeschylus, Prometheus Bound 790–800 (pp. 530–531) with n. 94; Apollodorus, 1.2.6; Hyginus, Fabulae Preface.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Hesiod, Theogony 270-274
- ↑ Aeschylus, Prometheus Bound, 795 with n. 95.
- ↑ Sometimes also spelled Peuphredo (Πευφρηδώ) or Pephredo (Πεφρηδώ) (see M. Hofinger, Lexicon Hesiodeum cum Indice Inverso, p. 533). Alternatively, the name could be derived from πεμφρηδών, a kind of wasp living in hollow oaks or underground.
- ↑ Apollodorus, 2.4.2.
- ↑ Hyginus, Fabulae Preface.