Crones and hags

mythological figure, fantasy character, witch

In ancient Greek religion and mythology, the Moirai ()often known in English as the Fateswere the personifications of destiny. In certain accounts, they were considered as three sisters: Clotho (the spinner), Lachesis (the allotter), and Atropos (the inevitable, a metaphor for death), though their number and names varied over time according to the author. Their Roman equivalent is the Parcae.

thumb|Perseus and the Graeae by [[Edward Burne-Jones (1892)|255x255px]] The Graeae (alternatively spelled Graiai; ; Graiai, ,), also called the Grey Sisters and the Phorcides (), were three sisters of Greek mythology who had gray hair from their birth and shared one eye and one tooth among them. They were the daughters of the primordial sea gods Phorcys and Ceto and sisters of, among others, the Gorgons. Their names were Deino (), Pemphredo (), and Enyo (; not to be confused with the war goddess, Enyo). They are best known from their encounter with Perseus, who, after capturing their eye, forc

thumb|A wooden puppet depicting the Befana In Italian folklore and folk customs, the Befana () is a witch-like old woman who delivers gifts to children throughout Italy on Epiphany Eve (the night of January 5) in a similar way to Santa Claus or the Three Magi. The Befana is a widespread tradition among Italians and thus has many names. She is a part of both popular national culture and traditional folk culture and is akin to other figures who roam about sometime during the Twelve Days and reward the good, punish the bad, and receive offerings. The Befana is a mysterious, contradictory figure o

deity

thumb|279px|Vertumnus and Pomona (c. 1618) by Peter Paul Rubens

thumb|"Yamauba" (山うば) from the Hyakkai Zukan by Sawaki Suushi thumb|Yamamuba (山むば) from Bakemono no e (化物之繪, c. 1700), Harry F. Bruning Collection of Japanese Books and Manuscripts, L. Tom Perry Special Collections, [[Harold B. Lee Library, Brigham Young University.|alt=]] thumb|"Yamauba" (山姥) from the Gazu Hyakki Yagyō by [[Toriyama Sekien]] thumb|right|A depiction of Yama-uba by Totoya Hokkei (1780–1850), yamamba, and yamanba are variations on the name of a yōkai found in Japanese folklore. Mostly said to resemble women, yamauba may be depicted as predatory monsters or benevolent beings.

In Gaelic (Irish, Scottish and Manx) myth, the Cailleach (, ) is a divine hag, associated with the creation of the landscape and with the weather, especially storms and winter. The word literally means 'old woman, hag', and is found with this meaning in modern Irish and Scottish Gaelic, and has been applied to numerous mythological and folkloric figures in Ireland, Scotland, and the Isle of Man. In modern Irish folklore studies, she is sometimes known as The Hag of Beara, while in Scotland she is known as Beira, Queen of Winter.

concept in Neopaganism

thumb | Mascot costumes of Grýla (left) and Leppaluði (right) In Icelandic folklore, Grýla is a monstrous entity who lives in the wilderness of Iceland. The name Grýla is first attested in medieval sources. The earliest unambiguous references to Grýla's gender and her association with Christmas, though, date only from the 17th century. In 17th-century poems about Grýla, she is generally represented as a hideous and greedy troll-like crone, who wanders between human settlements and demands charity from those she encounters, often asking for naughty children. Modern depictions of Grýla tend to f

painting by Francisco de Goya, 1798

fictional character and the most significant antagonist in L. Frank Baum's children's book The Wonderful Wizard of Oz

demon of childbirth in certain Asian folk traditions

thumb|1920 Arthur Rackham illustration for the Irish fairytale The Hag of the Mill. "Now the Hag of the Mill was a bony, thin pole of a hag with odd feet."

English folklore bogeyman

creature from english folklore

Gello (), in Greek mythology, is a female demon or revenant who threatens the reproductive cycle by causing infertility, miscarriage, and infant mortality. By the Byzantine era, the () were considered a class of beings. Women believed to be under demonic possession by gelloudes might stand trial or be subjected to exorcism.

A soucouyant, among other names, is a kind of shape-shifting, blood-sucking hag present in Caribbean folklore.

thumb|Archetypical appearance of a crone.Old Woman Seen from Behind,by Vincent van Gogh. In folklore, a crone is an old woman who may be characterized as disagreeable, malicious, or sinister in manner, often with magical or supernatural associations that can make her either helpful or obsolete. As a concept, 'The Crone' is also often associated with the Jungian archetype of the Wise Woman or, if accompanied by 'The Maiden' and 'The Mother', as a member of the Triple Goddess deity archetype. As a character type, the crone shares characteristics with the hag.

fictional character from L. Frank Baum's The Wonderful Wizard of Oz

cliffs of Moher, Ireland

mythological figure

Sycorax is an unseen character in William Shakespeare's play The Tempest (1611). She is a vicious and powerful witch and the mother of Caliban, one of the few native inhabitants of the island on which Prospero, the hero of the play, is stranded.

Mallt-y-Nos (Matilda of the Night) is a crone in Welsh mythology who rides with Arawn and the hounds (Cŵn Annwn) of the Wild Hunt, chasing sorrowful, lost souls to Annwn. The Mallt-y-Nos drives the hounds onward with shrieks and wails, which some say are evil and malicious in nature.

witch doll

hag and water spirit in English folklore

name given to a supernatural creature, used to explain the phenomenon of sleep paralysis

fictional character in Popeye franchise