Chrysaor

In the primary classical account preserved in Hesiodic tradition and summarized in modern reference sources, Chrysaor is produced at the moment Perseus decapitates the Gorgon Medusa: from her severed body sprang Pegasus and 'great Chrysaor.' Hesiodic genealogy makes him a son of Poseidon and Medusa; in that line he marries Callirrhoe (daughter of Oceanus) and fathers Geryon, and in some accounts may be linked to Echidna. An alternative, later genealogy recorded by Stephanus of Byzantium names a different Chrysaor as son of Glaucus and grandson of Sisyphus, indicating variant or conflated traditions attached to the name.

Classical descriptions are sparse; modern summaries state he is 'often depicted as a young man.' The earliest attested iconographic appearance is on the early 6th-century BCE pediment of the Temple of Artemis at Corfu, where he is shown beside Medusa. Beyond the name-etymology association with a 'golden sword,' no standardized physical attributes, armor, or monstrous hybrid anatomy are consistently recorded in the supplied sources.

Surviving classical sources do not ascribe specific supernatural feats or recurring powers to Chrysaor. His principal mythic function is genealogical and etiological: as the miraculous offspring of Medusa and (in Hesiod) Poseidon, he links major figures and episodes in the mythic corpus — most notably as sibling to Pegasus and as father of Geryon (the three‑headed antagonist opposed by Heracles). Some sources also connect him to Echidna in genealogical schemes. Beyond these relationships, the provided materials do not record active roles, distinct powers, or a corpus of deeds for Chrysaor.