Chrysaor

For the jellyfish genus, see Chrysaora

Edward Burne-Jones: The Birth of Pegasus and Chrysaor, approx. 1876-1885

In Greek mythology, Chrysaor (Χρυσάωρ / Khrusáōr: «golden sword», from «χρυσός / chrysos», «gold» and «ἄορ / aor», «sword») was the son of Poseidon and Medusa. He was conceived when Poseidon raped Medusa in a temple of Athena who, enraged by her desecration, transformed her into a Gorgon.

Chrysaor and his brother, the winged horse Pegasus, were not born until Perseus beheaded Medusa. Some versions tell that they were born from drops of blood, and others that they sprang from the neck of Medusa, a birth similar to that of Athena from the head of Zeus.

Chrysaor took the oceanid Callirroe as his wife, and by her he fathered Geryon, the gigantic warrior with three bodies, and, in some interpretations of the Theogony, Echidna.

According to Stephen of Byzantium, Chrysaor was the son of Glaucus and grandson of Sisyphus, making him a double of Bellerophon, and his son Milas was the founder of Milasa.

Fonts

• Apoldore, Mythological Library II, 5, 10
• Diodor Sculle, Historical Library IV, 17, 2
• Hesiod, Theogony v.281-288
• Pauses, Description of Greece