They were born to sea creature demi-god parents Ceto and Phorcys, and Stheno and Euryale were born en caul, and thus, immortal, while Medusa was born without the protective sac and actually mistaken for dead upon birth, but rescued by an older sister, Echidna. The three were born quite normal and human looking, their distinguishing features being their eyes. Stheno's were coral colored, Euryale's were golden, and Medusa's were bright green. Much later, after they were cursed to become Gorgons, the snakes upon their heads would match their eyes.
Bored of their life at sea, the trio decides to venture onto land, much to the mockery of their family, but they traveled to Thebes where they are received as the descendants of gods that they were. While eldest sister Stheno faded into the background, which is where she preferred to be, middle sister Euryale longed for palace finery of her own, not just living amongst the wealth of King Cadmus and his family. Medusa, being the vivacious and beautiful baby of the group, effortlessly became best friends with Princess Semele, who threw uproarious, wine-soaked parties each night. Unfortunately (or fortunately, if you asked her), Semele becomes romantically entangled with a god she will not name, and finds herself pregnant, but thrilled at the fact. As these things go, the god's crafty wife tricks the foolish girl and tragedy strikes, leaving Medusa and her sisters feeling uncomfortable. They decide to head to Athens to leave the family to their grief.
There, upon recommendation from King Cadmus, they are taken in by famous musician Erastus and his wife, Ligeia, who is the actual composer of the wondrous repository of music for which she can never be recognized. Stheno and Ligeia form a tenuous friendship and Stheno learns music at Ligeia's feet, while Medusa begins to pal around with Erastus's nephew, Thales, a handsome athlete smitten with Medusa. He shows her around the city and she becomes enamored with visiting the temple of the goddess Athena, patron of the city, and is soon tasked with delivering offerings to the goddess, along with the other young girls of the temple. Meanwhile, Euryale, having fallen hard for Poseidon after meeting him at an event at the palace, has decided to learn the art of love by observation, and she spends each night watching prostitutes through a tapestry at Madam Charmion's house of ill repute. It is there that she meets an incredibly sad girl who is dressed as a young priestess of Athena, who seems to be popular with a certain type of customer. If only Euryale could have learned of the girl's past, it could have saved some future pain for the sisters.
When Euryale sees Medusa doing something she shouldn't be, she spills the info to Poseidon, who brutally uses it to his own advantage. The result is Athena cursing the trio to become the Gorgons, and they must live out their lives in solitary isolation on the outlying island of Sarpedon, but not before accidentally killing a number of men as they traveled to the island. As they attempt to build a life together, with lots of pain, sadness, betrayal and resentment between them, one sister finds herself pregnant, while the other seeks to become pregnant with a god who always took her for granted. While the inevitable happens and Perseus comes to claim Medusa's head, there is much more to the story, as Stheno and Euryale's tales don't end with their sister's death.
I really enjoyed this interesting tale of the Gorgons and how they came to be. There are some twists and turns along the way, so it's not your typical mythology retelling. I will say that this is a meaty story. It's not written as if it is a modern story and while I was reading it, I felt like it could have just as easily been translated from ancient Greek. I don't mean in an "it's all Greek to me" sort of way, but instead, I mean it just felt undeniably authentic. It took me a few chapters to really get into the groove of J.A. Bear's style of writing, but it was perfection for this story. While Perseus' backstory takes place in between chapters told by each sister, it's not by any means the focus. If you really want a treat, first read The Shadow of Perseus by Claire Heywood to get the full rundown on Perseus and a deep dive on his villainy, then read Medusa's Sisters to round things out. Highly recommended.
