# When you read the word "gorgon," what image comes to mind? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [August 19, 2011, 6:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-you-read-the-word-gorgon-what-image-comes-to-mind/593343 "2011-08-19T18:04:38Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Swords\_to\_Plowshares](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b38774/32.png) [@Swords\_to\_Plowshares](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Swords_to_Plowshares)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2011, 7:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-you-read-the-word-gorgon-what-image-comes-to-mind/593343/21 "2011-08-19T19:42:45Z")
kills with gaze, snakes for hair, could be hot or not. ---
**Author:** ![Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skald_the_Rhymer)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2011, 7:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-you-read-the-word-gorgon-what-image-comes-to-mind/593343/22 "2011-08-19T19:44:16Z")
> [@outlierrn](#): > > **Skald** , you forgot an option for **ST:TOS** , ep #59 > > [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gorgan\_(Star\_Trek](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gorgan_%28Star_Trek)) No I didn’t. I IGNORED that episode. I’m sure we can all agree :: pulls out battle axe, starts casually honing its edge :: that it was a mistake from start to finish and should never be spoken of again. :: chops head off captive bonobo :: Right? ---
**Author:** ![vislor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/vislor/32/5933_2.png) [@vislor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vislor)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2011, 8:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-you-read-the-word-gorgon-what-image-comes-to-mind/593343/23 "2011-08-19T20:01:31Z")
> [@Oakminster](#): > > I’d expect a large, bull-like creature, possibly metallic, with a petrification special attack, either by gaze or breath. Dunno where my _Monster Manual_ is, but it is definitely not at the office, so I can’t check quicky. > > Also think it can only be hit by magic weapons. If you kill one in its lair, it might have pretty good loot from previous victims… This. I didn’t realize it was synonymous with Medusa for years and so still think of the DND monster first. ---
**Author:** ![Tanbarkie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/a698b9/32.png) [@Tanbarkie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tanbarkie)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2011, 8:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-you-read-the-word-gorgon-what-image-comes-to-mind/593343/24 "2011-08-19T20:16:29Z")
Cheese. ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2011, 8:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-you-read-the-word-gorgon-what-image-comes-to-mind/593343/25 "2011-08-19T20:22:59Z")
Another for the D&D monster. (Petrfying breath, BTW. It’s from the Elemental Plane of Earth). ---
**Author:** ![Kamino\_Neko](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kamino_neko/32/34_2.png) [@Kamino\_Neko](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kamino_Neko)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2011, 8:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-you-read-the-word-gorgon-what-image-comes-to-mind/593343/26 "2011-08-19T20:27:34Z")
Barring other context, snake haired women who turn people to stone, they’re so ugly. Other details can be layered on that, or, in particular contexts I can accept other things (the love child of a bull and a disco ball in D&D, beautiful other than snakey features in SO many context, etc), but that’s the basic, immediate reaction to hearing the word. ---
**Author:** ![Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skald_the_Rhymer)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2011, 8:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-you-read-the-word-gorgon-what-image-comes-to-mind/593343/27 "2011-08-19T20:35:06Z")
> [@Alessan](#): > > Another for the D&D monster. > > (Petrfying breath, BTW. It’s from the Elemental Plane of Earth). I’ve never played D&D. **Oak’s** post is honestly the first time I’d ever heard of such a use of the word _gorgon_. ---
**Author:** ![Oredigger77](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/oredigger77/32/3181_2.png) [@Oredigger77](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oredigger77)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2011, 8:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-you-read-the-word-gorgon-what-image-comes-to-mind/593343/28 "2011-08-19T20:42:09Z")
I thought Medusa was a gorgon but necessarily representative of her breed so I just went with the petrifying looks since I figured the snake hair was optional. ---
**Author:** ![Kamino\_Neko](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kamino_neko/32/34_2.png) [@Kamino\_Neko](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kamino_Neko)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2011, 8:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-you-read-the-word-gorgon-what-image-comes-to-mind/593343/29 "2011-08-19T20:42:34Z")
The more typical Gorgon-type (in the ‘pretty except for being snakey’ mode) is called a Medusa in D&D. (And the males of the species are a different monster who look a bit more human and have slightly different powers.) ---
**Author:** ![aruvqan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aruvqan/32/2891_2.png) [@aruvqan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aruvqan)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2011, 8:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-you-read-the-word-gorgon-what-image-comes-to-mind/593343/30 "2011-08-19T20:51:56Z")
I grew up reading Bullfinches Mythology, so the classic Medusa springs to mind first. ---
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2011, 8:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-you-read-the-word-gorgon-what-image-comes-to-mind/593343/31 "2011-08-19T20:56:13Z")
Woman with snakes for hair. But she might be [shaped like a boat](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Characters_in_the_Gemma_Doyle_Trilogy#Gorgon). ---
**Author:** ![Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skald_the_Rhymer)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2011, 9:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-you-read-the-word-gorgon-what-image-comes-to-mind/593343/32 "2011-08-19T21:00:56Z")
> [@aruvqan](#): > > I grew up reading Bullfinches Mythology, so the classic Medusa springs to mind first. [grammar fascist] I’m sure you meant _Bulfinch’s_, so I’m going to pretend that’s what you typed. [/grammar fascist] Also, I’m not sure I remember Professor Bulfinch including the bit about the wings & the taloned hands, but those attributes date from antiquity. ---
**Author:** ![Der\_Trihs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/der_trihs/32/233_2.png) [@Der\_Trihs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Der_Trihs)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2011, 9:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-you-read-the-word-gorgon-what-image-comes-to-mind/593343/33 "2011-08-19T21:05:39Z")
> [@bump](#): > > The stop-motion animated Gorgon from the old-school “Clash of the Titans” movie. This for me too. Snakes for hair, serpentine lower body. Second choice would be a woman with snake hair, although that version I tend to picture as being beautiful except for the snakes. ---
**Author:** ![Bill\_Door](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/50afbb/32.png) [@Bill\_Door](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bill_Door)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2011, 9:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-you-read-the-word-gorgon-what-image-comes-to-mind/593343/34 "2011-08-19T21:28:20Z")
Normal woman, snakes for hair, her gaze turns people to stone. ---
**Author:** ![gatorslap](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/bb73d2/32.png) [@gatorslap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gatorslap)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2011, 9:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-you-read-the-word-gorgon-what-image-comes-to-mind/593343/35 "2011-08-19T21:36:33Z")
I think of that movie _Small Soldiers_. They’re actually called gorgonites, but that was the first thing I thought of. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2011, 9:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-you-read-the-word-gorgon-what-image-comes-to-mind/593343/36 "2011-08-19T21:50:40Z")
Man, we really need to get **CalMeacham** in this thread-- He’s one of the foremost experts on the gorgon in mythology. And I’m not sure he’d have checked off any of the options in the poll (his answer would be more like “it’s a death’s-head”). As for me, I’m aware of the D&D version of the gorgon (which IIRC comes from some medieval bestiary), but the first image that comes to mind is a snake-headed woman. And you missed an opportunity for the snarky none-of-the-above option: “How should I know? If I’d ever seen one I obviously wouldn’t be typing this”. ---
**Author:** ![DocCathode](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/doccathode/32/18773_2.png) [@DocCathode](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DocCathode)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2011, 9:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-you-read-the-word-gorgon-what-image-comes-to-mind/593343/37 "2011-08-19T21:58:29Z")
Another vote for the stone scaled bovine monster from D&D. ---
**Author:** ![Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skald_the_Rhymer)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2011, 10:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-you-read-the-word-gorgon-what-image-comes-to-mind/593343/38 "2011-08-19T22:01:07Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > And you missed an opportunity for the snarky none-of-the-above option: “How should I know? If I’d ever seen one I obviously wouldn’t be typing this”. :mad: Leave the jackassery to me, perfesser. Do you see me propounding on Maxwell’s equations in GQ? > [@Der\_Trihs](#): > > This for me too. Snakes for hair, serpentine lower body. Second choice would be a woman with snake hair, although that version I tend to picture as being beautiful except for the snakes. A woman with a serpentine lower body sounds more like a lamia to me. ---
**Author:** ![DocCathode](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/doccathode/32/18773_2.png) [@DocCathode](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DocCathode)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2011, 10:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-you-read-the-word-gorgon-what-image-comes-to-mind/593343/39 "2011-08-19T22:07:13Z")
> [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](#): > > A woman with a serpentine lower body sounds more like a lamia to me. Well, maybe she’ll post here too. ---
**Author:** ![Tapioca\_Dextrin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Tapioca\_Dextrin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tapioca_Dextrin)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2011, 10:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-you-read-the-word-gorgon-what-image-comes-to-mind/593343/40 "2011-08-19T22:11:16Z")
Wasn’t Gorgon Batman’s police buddy 😕 [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-you-read-the-word-gorgon-what-image-comes-to-mind/593343.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-you-read-the-word-gorgon-what-image-comes-to-mind/593343.md?page=3)