in Grecian Mythology, three sisters of terrible aspect and fierce disposition, but who do not seem to have had any special function. Homer makes mention of only one, who is described as dwelling in Hades. Hesiod, however, extends the list to three, calling them daughters of Phorcys and Ceto, and naming them Stheno, Euryale, and Medusa. Of these the last alone was mortal. They dwelt in the Western Ocean, according to Hesiod, but most writers place them in Libya. They are described as monsters with immense claws and teeth, sometimes with wings, and coiled round with snakes, hissing and quivering their forked tongues. Medusa is generally represented as a woman with snakes wreathed round her temples instead of hair, and presenting so fearful an appearance, that the sight of her turned into stone every living being that looked upon her. After Perseus had slain her, he cut off her head, which Minerva fastened in the centre of heregis. The origin of the idea of the Gorgons has never been satisfactorily explained.