Gorgon

Titles:

Hideous Sister, Glaring Beast

Culture:

Greek

Appearance:

Gorgons were once human females. Having been transformed into hideous monsters, they still retain their female humanoid physique, but with additional wings, living venomous snakes in place of hair, and visages so foul that they turn anyone who catches sight of them into stone.

Purpose/Role:

• The most famous gorgon is Medusa, but there are also her two gorgon sisters, Stheno and Euryale
  • Strangely, Stheno and Euryale are immortal, but Medusa was not
  • Now dead, Medusa was slain by the demigod Perseus as per the request of Polydectes
  • Medusa's head was attached to a shield—the combined product referred to as a gorgoneion—as a talisman for warding off evil
• Many have intepreted the transformation of these beautiful women into horrid creatures as punishment for excessive vanity
• The snakes are punishment for flauting one's hair luridly
• Making their appearance turn people to stone deprives the girls of admirers who would otherwise fuel their narcissism
• Gorgons are mentioned more plentifully in pre-Hellenic literature
  • Nowadays the term is almost always made in reference to one of the three sisters mentioned above

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