G is for Gorgons

Jacek Malczewski [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons
There are three Gorgons in Greek Mythology; Medusa, Sthenno and Euryale. They were described as winged women with broad heads, serpents for hair, large staring eyes, wide mouths, tusks, lolling tongues, flared nostrils and sometimes coarse beards.
Medusa was the only mortal Gorgon, and therefore it was her head that King Polydektes commanded Perseus to cut off. He managed to decapitate Medusa with some help from the gods, and from her neck sprang the winged horse Pegasus and the giant Khrysaor.
It is said that they were so ugly, any man who saw their faces was turned to stone.

There are a couple of myths explaining why Medusa was the only mortal Gorgon, my favourite suggesting that she used to be a beautiful maiden who lived in the north where there was no sun. She prayed to Athena, asking for permission to visit the south to see the sun. When Athena refused, Medusa got angry and said that Athena was jealous of her beauty, so Athena punished her by giving her snakes for hair and cursing her so that anyone who saw her turned to stone.

Comments

  1. Dani8 April 2013 at 11:52

    I like the Gorgon sisters. Such wretched creatures but had such great storied in my opinion.
    Dani @ Entertaining Interests
    #warriorminion

    ReplyDelete
  2. Cathrina Constantine8 April 2013 at 12:46

    Very interesting post. Will always like Greek Mythology

    ReplyDelete
  3. Unknown8 April 2013 at 12:55

    When I've seen this story portrayed in the past, the authors who have adapted it have always made the woman beautiful. I wonder why they left the ugliness element out?

    ReplyDelete
  4. Nick Wilford8 April 2013 at 16:06

    Nice to hear about those lesser known Gorgons as well as Medusa.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Rob Z Tobor8 April 2013 at 18:39

    I did not know the bit about Pegasus, but I think it shows again those gods are a fickle bunch. Well done, see you late tomorrow I think, for the next letter.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Mark Means8 April 2013 at 18:46

    I never knew there was more than one Gorgon. I thought Madusa was unique :)

    Left and Write

    ReplyDelete
  7. Deanie Humphrys-Dunne8 April 2013 at 19:11

    It's intriguing to visit your site because I knew so little about Greek Mythology before. Thank you for giving us these interesting facts on the Gorgons.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Heidi Mannan8 April 2013 at 20:51

    I've heard of Medusa, but not the others. Very informative post. :)

    ReplyDelete
  9. Jennifer9 April 2013 at 00:26

    I thought Medusa was the only gorgon, and I never knew she was mortal. Guess I learned something today.

    ReplyDelete
  10. Outcast9 April 2013 at 00:27

    I always found the Gorgons interesting, especially Medusa, mainly because of the Medusa in the old Marvel comics who rocked, great post Laura.

    ReplyDelete
  11. Bevimus9 April 2013 at 21:29

    Pegasus came from Medusa's headless neck? I have never heard that before. That just blew my mind!

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

WEP August - Change of Heart

Image
So I actually wrote this piece for April's WEP, but I was ill so didn't get to post it in the end. I'm quite glad, as it suits this month's theme so much more. Change of Heart ‘Are you ready for this?’ Paul asked. Brian nodded, trying to steady his shaking hands. ‘You’re the only one who can defeat him,’ Molly said. ‘We believe in you.’ She stepped back to join Paul. Brian balled his fists as he looked at the huge stone doors before him. He took a deep breath and pushed them open. Before the doors closed, Brian glimpsed Paul and Molly turn and begin to walk away. It took a moment for his eyes to adjust to the darkness inside. With a whispered word he created light in the palm of his hand, raising it so it would light up the room. It was empty apart from another doorway, much smaller than the first, hidden away in the corner. Brian marched through it and found himself in a large chamber, lit by many flickering candles mounted along the walls. Someone stoo
Read more

IWSG

Image
The Insecure Writer's Support Group was created by Alex J. Cavanaugh as a place where writers can talk about their insecurities once a month, and receive encouragement and support from other writers. It's such an amazing group, it even has its own website now, which you can visit here . This week I'm a co-host! Be sure to go to Alex's page and visit the other people who are co-hosting.  I had such great plans for my writing this month, but not one of them came through. There were three short stories I wanted to get written, and I also wanted to get back to my NaNo edits, but none of that happened. I still have a little time for one of the short stories, though; it's for Kyra Lennon's cat anthology , and it's due Friday! Not much time to do it, but I made a commitment and I will follow through with it!  Even though I haven't got much writing done in the last month (or the couple before that!) I'm not going to let it get me down. I'
Read more

A is for Arachne and Arlee!

Before I get to my Greek Mythology part of this post, at the request of Alex J. Cavanaugh  (great idea by the way, Alex!), I'd first like to thank Arlee Bird for coming up with the challenge in the first place. If it wasn't for him, we wouldn't be taking part in this amazing experience every year. Thanks, Arlee! This is one of my favourite tales from Greek mythology, so naturally I chose it for my first letter. Arachne was the daughter of a shepherd, and was famous for the beautiful tapestries she weaved. Nymphs would travel from all over to see her work, and to watch her weave. One day, a nymph asked her if her talent was a gift from the goddess Athena. Arachne protested, saying her skill was all her own, and that her weaving was better than Athena's. Athena heard of this, and challenged the girl to a weaving contest. Both sat at their looms and began to weave, nymphs gathering round to watch. Athena weaved a tapestry based on the glories of the gods, showing the
Read more