# 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:** 4
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2011, 2:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-you-read-the-word-gorgon-what-image-comes-to-mind/593343/61 "2011-08-20T02:06:17Z")
I think of the big green monster in the sea in the original _Clash Of The Titans_ [promo images](http://www.ultimatereef.net/uploader/2010Q3/kraken-clash-of-the-titans.jpg). But I see that was actually the Kraken. But immediately afterward I think of Medusa. Which makes me wonder why I get it confused. ---
**Author:** ![Chef\_Troy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/85f322/32.png) [@Chef\_Troy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chef_Troy)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2011, 2:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-you-read-the-word-gorgon-what-image-comes-to-mind/593343/62 "2011-08-20T02:41:07Z")
The first thing I thought of was Magician Humfrey’s wife. Then I thought of Gorgonzola cheese. Now I’m hungry. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2011, 2:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-you-read-the-word-gorgon-what-image-comes-to-mind/593343/63 "2011-08-20T02:52:48Z")
> [@devilsknew](#): > > So, **Cal** … what’s the coinage, the money connection? Is there some antipodean reasoning here, that isn’t so obvious to our current mythology? I know we generally put historical leaders and signs of deities of fortune or good fortune on our modern coins.. Some other mythological figures and symbols like lady liberty. Is the Gorgon a signifier of some sort of fortuitousness or deity (Apollonian/Nike) myth on greek money. Is it a good or bad omen? I don’t knoqw. Gorgons show up on a _lot_ of coinage from the Greek world (much of it in Greek-controlled areas like southern Italy and Asia Minor). You can buy them in coin shops or see them on sale online. The Boston Museum of Fine Arts has a big collection of them. Many of the faces on these don’t look much like what we’d call “gorgons” at all – they look like somewhat insane peoople with wild eyes and their tongues sticking out. One reason is that _Gorgoneia_ (that’s the technical name for Gorgon Head depictions) have been accused of being used to fill in “any round space”, and they do show up on shields, doorknobs, and round _antefixes_ (ceramic tiles along the edges of roofs), so it’s not that surprising that they show up on coins. I dount if there’s anything much deeper than that – I don’t think they’re performing some protective or apotropaic function on the money. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2011, 2:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-you-read-the-word-gorgon-what-image-comes-to-mind/593343/64 "2011-08-20T02:54:19Z")
> [@njtt](#): > > In his time, the great 19th century French novelist Émile Zola was so famous, and so celebrated for his sharp wit, that many people became petrified with nerves upon being introduced him. He was the Big Cheese of French literature. Cute. I have one of Craig Swanson’s Perspicuity shirts with _Gorgon Zola_ on it: [http://www.zazzle.com/gorgon\_zola\_shirt-235431545973410624](http://www.zazzle.com/gorgon_zola_shirt-235431545973410624) Better image of drawing: [http://www.zazzle.com/gorgon\_zola\_poster\_or\_print-228481622824999826](http://www.zazzle.com/gorgon_zola_poster_or_print-228481622824999826) ---
**Author:** ![Kozmik](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/8dc957/32.png) [@Kozmik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kozmik)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2011, 3:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-you-read-the-word-gorgon-what-image-comes-to-mind/593343/65 "2011-08-20T03:06:07Z")
[Small Soldiers](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Small_Soldiers). ---
**Author:** ![Grumman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/43a26b/32.png) [@Grumman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grumman)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2011, 3:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-you-read-the-word-gorgon-what-image-comes-to-mind/593343/66 "2011-08-20T03:12:03Z")
[“We’re not sure what one looks like, so to be safe, nobody look at anything until we’re out of here.”](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?multiverseid=135215) (yes, it was written about a basilisk and not a gorgon, but it still fits) I think of a gorgon as a woman with snakes for hair with a petrifying gaze, who may or may not be hot, and may or may not have scaly skin. ---
**Author:** ![Suburban\_Plankton](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/suburban_plankton/32/219_2.png) [@Suburban\_Plankton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Suburban_Plankton)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2011, 4:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-you-read-the-word-gorgon-what-image-comes-to-mind/593343/67 "2011-08-20T04:45:44Z")
Sorry Skald, but I gotta put in another vote for Melvin Belli Here’s a picture, since you seem to have forgotten [http://www.70disco.com/startrek/frienang.htm](http://www.70disco.com/startrek/frienang.htm) 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Chef\_Troy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/85f322/32.png) [@Chef\_Troy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chef_Troy)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2011, 4:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-you-read-the-word-gorgon-what-image-comes-to-mind/593343/68 "2011-08-20T04:46:38Z")
I just wanted to chime in with the obligatory Oglaf cartoon, “Snakeskin.” (NSFW – spoilered to satisfy the two-click rule.) [http://www.oglaf.com/snakeskin/](http://www.oglaf.com/snakeskin/) ---
**Author:** ![Balance](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ccd318/32.png) [@Balance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Balance)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2011, 4:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-you-read-the-word-gorgon-what-image-comes-to-mind/593343/69 "2011-08-20T04:52:41Z")
[QUOTE=CalMeacham] 5.) Apollodorus, who got the information from a fragment called _The Shield of Herakles_ (supposed by many to be by Hesiod, but almost certainly not), described them as having wings, boar’s tusks, and bristly hair. But gorgon images are a grab-bag. Besides the riound-faces-with-big-eyes-and gritted teeth I describe above, there are gorgons with the bodies of horses, like centaurs, and gorgons with the bodies of birds. [/QUOTE] Would the chronology of the images support the idea that “gorgon” started off as a sort of generic term for “monster” (having its roots in “dreadful” and all), and later came to be strongly associated with a specific Gorgon? Like “dread beasts” -\> “the dread beast, Medusa” -\> “the Dread Beast”?\* Or did the mix of images persist after the Medusa story was well established? (This thread finally reminded me to buy your book…now I just need to read it.) > [@](#): > > Greek mythology really needed a Crisis on Earth Greek, even before Apollodorus. I just want to let you know, I’m yoinking this turn of phrase and keeping it in reserve on the off-chance I get an opportunity to use it. I promise to give you credit, should the occasion arise. 😃 \*The number of times I misplaced the letter “r” while typing this sentence is somewhat worrisome. ---
**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 20, 2011, 4:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-you-read-the-word-gorgon-what-image-comes-to-mind/593343/70 "2011-08-20T04:55:11Z")
Quoth **CalMeacham** : > [@](#): > > In one vase painting of the Birth of Athena, Ares is carrying a shield with a Gorgon’s head on it, suggesting that neither Perseus nor Athena slew a Gorgon. It’s my understanding that classical art wasn’t meant to represent a chronology. Athena’s shield has a gorgon-head on it because she or one of her favored mortals slew a gorgon. At her birth, she has her shield. You know it’s her shield because it has the gorgon-head on it, and that’s how her shield is recognized. The fact that the gorgon-slaying didn’t occur until after the depicted scene is irrelevant. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2011, 4:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-you-read-the-word-gorgon-what-image-comes-to-mind/593343/71 "2011-08-20T16:13:04Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > Quoth **CalMeacham** :It’s my understanding that classical art wasn’t meant to represent a chronology. Athena’s shield has a gorgon-head on it because she or one of her favored mortals slew a gorgon. At her birth, she has her shield. You know it’s her shield because it has the gorgon-head on it, and that’s how her shield is recognized. The fact that the gorgon-slaying didn’t occur until after the depicted scene is irrelevant. But it’s not Athena’s shield, sitting around waiting for her to use – it’s Ares’ shield, and he’s holding it as his own. as for "not reprresenting a chronology, you’re quite right that this is often the case. There’s a black-figure pot here at the Boston MFA that has Perseus, rushing over to Athena, having just beheaded Medusa, and with her head in his _kibisis_ (bag). But Athena clearly is wearing her _aegis_, with a gorgon head already on it. Sometimes the apparent contradictions in Greek vase-paintings is enough to drive you nuts. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2011, 4:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-you-read-the-word-gorgon-what-image-comes-to-mind/593343/72 "2011-08-20T16:17:01Z")
> [@](#): > > Would the chronology of the images support the idea that “gorgon” started off as a sort of generic term for “monster” (having its roots in “dreadful” and all), and later came to be strongly associated with a specific Gorgon? Like “dread beasts” -\> “the dread beast, Medusa” -\> “the Dread Beast”?\* Or did the mix of images persist after the Medusa story was well established? (This thread finally reminded me to buy your book…now I just need to read it.) I hadn’t heard of any etymology that derived “Gorgon” from “Dreadful”. Thalia Howe/Feldman supported the derivation from Sanskrit _garj_, meanimng “throat” or “swallow”, and suggests that it’s the roaring monster. I’m not so sure. The Gorgon isn’t noted, in art or myth, as a sound-making monster. If anything, it’s the Staring Monster, and there are lots of associations with eyes. > [@](#): > > I just want to let you know, I’m yoinking this turn of phrase and keeping it in reserve on the off-chance I get an opportunity to use it. I promise to give you credit, should the occasion arise. 😃 Thanks ---
**Author:** ![Maserschmidt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/maserschmidt/32/18829_2.png) [@Maserschmidt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maserschmidt)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2011, 5:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-you-read-the-word-gorgon-what-image-comes-to-mind/593343/73 "2011-08-20T17:26:19Z")
[This.](http://cf.geekdo-images.com/images/pic64241_md.jpg) I’m thinking I’m in a minority here. ---
**Author:** ![foolsguinea](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foolsguinea/32/14751_2.png) [@foolsguinea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/foolsguinea)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2011, 5:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-you-read-the-word-gorgon-what-image-comes-to-mind/593343/74 "2011-08-20T17:33:04Z")
Isn’t there a hooved quadruped called a gorgon in Gygax’s work? Something like that, weirdly enough. But then I think of proper gorgons: modern hot gorgons, & an ancient carven-stone gorgon face with tusks in odd directions & her tongue sticking out. Fair bit of variation in gorgon myths though. ---
**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 20, 2011, 5:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-you-read-the-word-gorgon-what-image-comes-to-mind/593343/75 "2011-08-20T17:36:41Z")
> [@outlierrn](#): > > Well, please yourself, it’s still the first thing I thought of, but you shouldn’t skew your data set if you want results that you can use. > Oh, and BTW, Bonobo’s don’t intimidate me. I was merely highlighting my willingness to abuse innocents. ---
**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 20, 2011, 5:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-you-read-the-word-gorgon-what-image-comes-to-mind/593343/76 "2011-08-20T17:38:08Z")
> [@Maserschmidt](#): > > [This.](http://cf.geekdo-images.com/images/pic64241_md.jpg) I’m thinking I’m in a minority here. > [@foolsguinea](#): > > Isn’t there a hooved quadruped called a gorgon in Gygax’s work? Something like that, weirdly enough. **Oak** and a few others have brought that up already. Assuming those are D & D cards. ---
**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 20, 2011, 6:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-you-read-the-word-gorgon-what-image-comes-to-mind/593343/77 "2011-08-20T18:37:43Z")
I see no way those cards could have any significance to a D&D game-- D&D monsters are a lot more complicated than just two numbers (they’re a _whole bunch_ of numbers). I’ve no clue what **Maserschmidt** ’s cards are from. ---
**Author:** ![Silver\_Tyger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/fbc32d/32.png) [@Silver\_Tyger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Silver_Tyger)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2011, 7:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-you-read-the-word-gorgon-what-image-comes-to-mind/593343/78 "2011-08-20T19:15:57Z")
> [@Tapioca\_Dextrin](#): > > Wasn’t Gorgon Batman’s police buddy 😕 I’m hoping this is a whoosh, but that’s Jim _Gordon._ ---
**Author:** ![foolsguinea](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foolsguinea/32/14751_2.png) [@foolsguinea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/foolsguinea)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2011, 7:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-you-read-the-word-gorgon-what-image-comes-to-mind/593343/79 "2011-08-20T19:19:57Z")
What? I don’t read the threads before posting on, “What do you think of first,” questions, & this was similar to one. > [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](#): > > When you criticize Borish Vallejo you are supposed to do so much more vehemently, using the phrase _talentless semi-pornographic Etruscan hack_ at least twice. There’s a rule somewheres. He’s Peruvian, you schmendrik. > [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](#): > > :: chops head off captive bonobo :: **Stop abusing the bonobos.** ---
**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 20, 2011, 7:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-you-read-the-word-gorgon-what-image-comes-to-mind/593343/80 "2011-08-20T19:42:40Z")
> [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](#): > > I was merely highlighting my willingness to abuse innocents. Considering their sexual habits, the last thing I’d call bonobos is “innocent”. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-you-read-the-word-gorgon-what-image-comes-to-mind/593343.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-you-read-the-word-gorgon-what-image-comes-to-mind/593343.md?page=5)