Graeae

Three grey haired female watchers for the gorgons, with one movable eye and one tooth between the three.

-Tomhas Bulfinch's description of the Graeae.

Original Mythology

The Graeae, also known as the stygian witches or the grey sisters, were three grey haired hag-like sisters in greek mythology. They were the children of the elemental gods Phorcys and Ceto, but they had no godly power. Instead, they had grey hair, empty eye sockets, and toothless mouths from birth. They were the sisters of the gorgons. Because of their lack of godlyness, the Graeae were given jurisdiction over a swamp. They were also given an eye to share among themselves. This eye gave them great knowledge and wisdom. Their names were Deino, Enyo, and Pemphredo.

When the Gorgons were cursed by Athena, they entrusted their lokations to the Graeae, who kept quite for them until the day they met Perseus. Perseus was on a quest to destroy Medusa. He went to the lair of the Graeae for information of her whereabouts. He took their eye, and threatened to throw it in the swamp unless they told him where the gorgons were. Reluctantly, the Graeae told Perseus where Medusa was.

Second Version

In later versions of mythology, the Graeae were described as beutiful, apart from the fact that they had only on eye (they all had teeth in this version). This incarnation of the Graeae was not at all malevelant and evil like the original version. They willinglly told Perseus the whereabouts of Medusa. Since good looks and personalities don't fit the characters, this version of the Graeae has been generally ignored by modern day media.

Clash of the Titans

A different version of the Graeae appeared in the original Clash of the Titans. Instead of a swamp, they lived in the Stygian Wrelm. In the movie they were reffered to as the Stygian Witches. It is important to note that they were not of godly descent. They were not immortal, and had no relationship with the gorgons.

The Stygian Wrelm, killing and eating any lost travelers who stumbled upon their cave. They all had teeth, and shared a magical eye which not only gave them sight, but also magical knowlege and power. When Perseus came to their lair, they had a human cooking in their pot. They tried to trick Perseus into coming closer to them. When he didn't, they moved toward him. But then Perseus' stupid owl, Bubo, snatched their eye and gave it to Perseus. Perseus forced them to tell him how to defeat the Kraken. They told him that the only way a human could kill the the Kraken was with the head of Medusa.

Disney's Hercules

The Fates in Disney's mvie Hercules had features reminisent of the Graeae. The were rotten and hag-like, and they all shared one eye. Because of the this, the Graeae and the Fates are often confused with eachother.

Percy Jackson and the Olymians: Sea of Monsters

In the second Percy Jackson book, the Graeae were taxi drivers in the Tri State Area. They were hags, with grey hair, one eye, and one tooth. They could only be summoned by throwing a magical coin into a certain place in the pavment. It took all three of them to drive because of the one eye feature, and they spent most of the time bitching about who got the eye and the tooth.

New Clash of the Titans

A version similar to the Stygian Witches of the original Clash of the Titans appeared in the remake. In the new movie they looked undead, and and had no eye sockets. They saw through the eye by holding it in their hand. Like the Stygians of the first movie, they were not of godly Descent, but they were immortal. They are the most witch-like version of the Graeae. Their sentences are half comprised of strange words and tongues. They often say "The eye!" out of the blue.

Io said that seeing the future had twisted the three witches, and that they were unpredictable. She also said that she and the witches were sisters in the way that they had been touch by the gods. When Perseus and his men arrived at the Stygian's lair, and said that they needed their counsel, the witches said that the knowlege demanded payment. They then attempted to grab the youngest soldier. But Perseus took the eye and threatened to drop off the cliff.

The witches told Perseus, with much jibberish and "The eye!" between their sentences. As Perseus left, the Graeae told Perseus that he would die.