# 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:** 6
**Author:** ![Pasta](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ecccb3/32.png) [@Pasta](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pasta)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2011, 9:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-you-read-the-word-gorgon-what-image-comes-to-mind/593343/101 "2011-08-22T21:11:00Z")
Another for “bovine”. My mental image comes from the Heroes of Might and Magic series, in particular the Gorgon creature [shown here](http://www.heroesofmightandmagic.com/heroes3/creaturesfortress.shtml) (down the page). I always wondered where this creature came from, and I guess D&D is the proximate source. I have a fuzzy memory of Medusa being one of three Gorgons, but only at the level where I could get it right if given multiple choices but not where I could come up with that fact out of nowhere. I’ve never heard of Bulfinch and Hamilton. ---
**Author:** ![thelurkinghorror](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7c8e57/32.png) [@thelurkinghorror](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thelurkinghorror)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2011, 9:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-you-read-the-word-gorgon-what-image-comes-to-mind/593343/102 "2011-08-22T21:19:04Z")
**Pasta** , that’s likely based on the [catoblepas](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catoblepas), another mythological creature who turns people to stone. [D&D version](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catoblepas_%28Dungeons_%26_Dragons%29). ---
**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 22, 2011, 9:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-you-read-the-word-gorgon-what-image-comes-to-mind/593343/103 "2011-08-22T21:19:53Z")
> [@Pasta](#): > > I have a fuzzy memory of Medusa being one of three Gorgons, but only at the level where I could get it right if given multiple choices but not where I could come up with that fact out of nowhere. I’ve never heard of Bulfinch and Hamilton. :eek: I blame the schools. And George Bush. And, ultimately, the filthy Etruscans and their spiritual descendants, the accursed Welsh. But rather than my usual rants against Cardiff I will offer the following: [Thomas](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Bulfinch) [Bulfinch](http://www.amazon.com/Bulfinchs-Mythology-ebook/dp/B002RKT4NA/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1314047828&sr=1-1). [Edith](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edith_Hamilton) [Hamilton](http://www.amazon.com/Edith-Hamiltons-Mythology-Annotated-ebook/dp/B0051PQTTA/ref=sr_1_3?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1314047892&sr=1-3). There’s two links in each person’s name. The first name links to the person’s Wikipedia biography; the second to the [Amazon.com](http://Amazon.com) Kindle bookstore. ---
**Author:** ![Clockwork\_Jackal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/b5e925/32.png) [@Clockwork\_Jackal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Clockwork_Jackal)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2011, 11:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-you-read-the-word-gorgon-what-image-comes-to-mind/593343/104 "2011-08-22T23:41:42Z")
I always thought the traditional (i.e. very old) pictures of Medusa with the large eyes and huge grin were supposed to represent a corpse’s face. I’m not sure where I heard that from though, maybe one of those Discovery channel programs? ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2011, 11:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-you-read-the-word-gorgon-what-image-comes-to-mind/593343/105 "2011-08-22T23:51:26Z")
> [@Tapioca\_Dextrin](#): > > Wasn’t Gorgon Batman’s police buddy 😕 > [@Silver Tyger Girl](#): > > I’m hoping this is a whoosh, but that’s Jim _Gordon._ Not in MY continuity. In MY continuity, his first name was Commissioner. And I get my idea of gorgons from reading Edith Hamilton. Hot in the looks department, with the only drawback being snake-haired Medusa and the whole turning-to-stone thing. ETA: I don’t know from Boris Vallejo. ---
**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 22, 2011, 11:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-you-read-the-word-gorgon-what-image-comes-to-mind/593343/106 "2011-08-22T23:55:43Z")
> [@kaylasdad99](#): > > Not in MY continuity. In MY continuity, his first name was Commissioner. So were his parents precognitive or abusive, in YOUR continuity? > [@](#): > > And I get my idea of gorgons from reading Edith Hamilton. Hot in the looks department, with the only drawback being snake-haired Medusa and the whole turning-to-stone thing. A wise man. > [@](#): > > ETA: I don’t know from Boris Vallejo. Happy Christmas. [This link is probably not safe for work, though it’s all just pictures.](http://www.google.com/search?q=boris%20vallejo&oe=utf-8&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&client=firefox-a&um=1&ie=UTF-8&tbm=isch&source=og&sa=N&hl=en&tab=wi&biw=1280&bih=612) ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2011, 12:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-you-read-the-word-gorgon-what-image-comes-to-mind/593343/107 "2011-08-23T00:07:05Z")
> [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](#): > > So were his parents precognitive or abusive, in YOUR continuity? In my continuity, he had no parents, but sprang fully-formed from the heads of Greenway Productions. 😃 ---
**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 23, 2011, 12:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-you-read-the-word-gorgon-what-image-comes-to-mind/593343/108 "2011-08-23T00:22:25Z")
> [@thelurkinghorror](#): > > **Pasta** , that’s likely based on the [catoblepas](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catoblepas), another mythological creature who turns people to stone. > > [D&D version](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catoblepas_%28Dungeons_%26_Dragons%29). Have a look up at my earliest post. Some bestiaries (anmd Edward Topsell() identifioed the Catoblepas with the Gorgon, actually labelling the picture of the catoblepas the _gorgon_. To make things worse, the identification lead the illustrator to use elements of Apollodorus’ descrioption of the gorgon in reconstructing the creature, further muddying the waters. ---
**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 23, 2011, 12:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-you-read-the-word-gorgon-what-image-comes-to-mind/593343/109 "2011-08-23T00:23:03Z")
> [@kaylasdad99](#): > > In my continuity, he had no parents, but sprang fully-formed from the heads of Greenway Productions. > > 😃 That does nothing to explain his presence in _Tarzan & His Mate_ (otherwise known as “the Johnny Weismueller Tarzan movie with naked Margaret O’Hara! Or is it Margaret O’Sullivan? Or just Sullivan! Oh, I can ever keep it straight. Frankly I should just use the official title, it’s shorter”) by those in the know. ---
**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 23, 2011, 12:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-you-read-the-word-gorgon-what-image-comes-to-mind/593343/110 "2011-08-23T00:24:19Z")
> [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](#): > > So you honestly didn’t know that Medusa was the name of a particular Gorgon (one of three)? > > I’m quite surprised to hear of people who lacked that knowledge. I guess I foolishly assumed that everyone read Bulfinch’s & Hamilton’s mythologies during their formative years. I have been, too. In _The Circus of Dr. Lao_, Finney calls his gorgons “medusas”, so it’s not a receny development, or that rare. ---
**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 23, 2011, 12:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-you-read-the-word-gorgon-what-image-comes-to-mind/593343/111 "2011-08-23T00:34:08Z")
> [@CalMeacham](#): > > I have been, too. In _The Circus of Dr. Lao_, Finney calls his gorgons “medusas”, so it’s not a receny development, or that rare. :: checks wikipedia :: At least the unicorn on the cover doesn’t have wings. ---
**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 23, 2011, 12:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-you-read-the-word-gorgon-what-image-comes-to-mind/593343/112 "2011-08-23T00:56:52Z")
> [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](#): > > :: checks wikipedia :: > > At least the unicorn on the cover doesn’t have wings. There are lotsa different editions. Here’s the cover of the first one I bought: [![](https://isfdb.org/wiki/images/d/d6/THCRCSFDRL1974.jpg) ](https://isfdb.org/wiki/images/d/d6/THCRCSFDRL1974.jpg) No wings on that unicorn, either. ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2011, 1:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-you-read-the-word-gorgon-what-image-comes-to-mind/593343/113 "2011-08-23T01:01:18Z")
> [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](#): > > That does nothing to explain his presence in _Tarzan & His Mate_ (otherwise known as “the Johnny Weismueller Tarzan movie with naked Margaret O’Hara! Or is it Margaret O’Sullivan? Or just Sullivan! Oh, I can ever keep it straight. Frankly I should just use the official title, it’s shorter”) by those in the know. Maureen. Maureen O’Sullivan. ETA: Rawrr. ---
**Author:** ![Pasta](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ecccb3/32.png) [@Pasta](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pasta)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2011, 1:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-you-read-the-word-gorgon-what-image-comes-to-mind/593343/114 "2011-08-23T01:01:54Z")
> [@CalMeacham](#): > > Have a look up at my earliest post. Some bestiaries (anmd Edward Topsell() identifioed the Catoblepas with the Gorgon, actually labelling the picture of the catoblepas the _gorgon_. To make things worse, the identification lead the illustrator to use elements of Apollodorus’ descrioption of the gorgon in reconstructing the creature, further muddying the waters. Fascinating. Thanks for pointing out the up-thread post. ---
**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 23, 2011, 1:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-you-read-the-word-gorgon-what-image-comes-to-mind/593343/115 "2011-08-23T01:02:17Z")
> [@kaylasdad99](#): > > Maureen. Maureen O’Sullivan. :: glares :: ---
**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 23, 2011, 3:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-you-read-the-word-gorgon-what-image-comes-to-mind/593343/116 "2011-08-23T03:09:36Z")
Why the glares? **kaylasdad** just made it easier for you to do a Google Image Search. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2011, 3:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-you-read-the-word-gorgon-what-image-comes-to-mind/593343/117 "2011-08-23T03:11:54Z")
Without having read or searched the thread… _Friggin’ In The Riggin’_. _The Captain’s name was Morgan By Christ, he was a **gorgon** Ten times a day Sweet tunes he’d play On his reproductive organ_ ---
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2011, 3:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-you-read-the-word-gorgon-what-image-comes-to-mind/593343/118 "2011-08-23T03:13:40Z")
The first time I ever encountered the word was in some book about Perseus I read as a kid, so I’ve basically only ever had the classical image in my mind. Say, don’t we have an expert on Medusa on the board? Somebody that was featured in a History Channel show? ---
**Author:** ![Crown\_Prince\_of\_Irony](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ed655f/32.png) [@Crown\_Prince\_of\_Irony](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crown_Prince_of_Irony)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2011, 5:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-you-read-the-word-gorgon-what-image-comes-to-mind/593343/119 "2011-08-23T05:19:52Z")
I voted 1-4. Gorgons should always turn men into stone by merely making eye contact, should always have snakes for hair, and should be both hideous and hot (how else to turn men into stone?). I’m thinking like a circa-1993 Fran Drescher, or Courtney Love. With slightly more snakes. ---
**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 23, 2011, 5:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-you-read-the-word-gorgon-what-image-comes-to-mind/593343/120 "2011-08-23T05:49:18Z")
> [@kaylasdad99](#): > > Maureen. Maureen O’Sullivan. > ETA: Rawrr. Damn you, Hayes Code. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-you-read-the-word-gorgon-what-image-comes-to-mind/593343.md?page=5) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-you-read-the-word-gorgon-what-image-comes-to-mind/593343.md?page=7)