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The Gorgons ( ; ),Grimal, s.v. Gorgons. in , are three monstrous sisters, Stheno, Euryale, and , said to be the daughters of and . They lived near their sisters the , and were able to turn anyone who looked at them to stone. Euryale and Stheno were immortal, but Medusa was not and was slain by the hero .Bremmer 2006, s.v. Gorgo 1; Bremmer 2015, s.v. Gorgo/Medusa; Gantz, p. 20; Grimal, s.v. Gorgons; Tripp, s.v. Gorgons.

Gorgons were dread monsters with terrifying eyes. A Gorgon head was displayed on 's , giving it the power both to protect her from any weapon, and instill great fear in any enemy. Gorgon blood was said to have both the power to heal and harm.

Representations of full-bodied Gorgons and the Gorgon face, called a gorgoneion (pl. gorgoneia), were popular subjects in Ancient Greek, Etruscan and Roman iconography. While Archaic Gorgons and gorgoneia are universally depicted as hideously ugly, over time they came to be portrayed as beautiful young women.

Etymology
The name 'Gorgon' is associated with the Ancient Greek adjective (), which, of an eye or look, means 'grim, fierce, awesome, dazzling', The Cambridge Greek Lexicon svv. γοργός, Γοργώ; Beekes, s.v. γοργός. and is thought to derive from the stem garğ.Mack, p. 599 n. 5; Napier 1992, p. 102; Phinney, p. 447; Feldman, p. 487; Howe, p. 210. The stem has connotations of noise, and Germanic and Romance languages have many derivatives from this stem referring to the throat (e.g. 'gorge') or the guttural sounds produced in the throat (e.g. 'gargle', 'gurgle').Howe, p. 210, n. 10 with many more examples. It has been understood as meaning to growl, roar or howl,Mack, p. 599 n. 5; Napier 1992, p. 102; Phinney, p. 447. while Thalia Feldman suggests that the closest meaning for the stem might be the grrr of a growling beast.Feldman, p. 487.

Family
According to and Apollodorus, the Gorgons were daughters of the primordial sea-god and the sea-monster , and the sisters of three other daughters of Phorcys and Ceto, the .Gantz, p. 19; , 270–277; Apollodorus, 1.2.6, 2.4.2 (calling the Graeae the "Phorcides"). However, according to Hyginus, they were daughters of "the Gorgon", an offspring of and Echidna, and Ceto,Tripp, s.v. Gorgons; Hyginus, Fabulae Preface 9, 35. while , in his tragedy Ion, has "the Gorgon" being the offspring of , spawned by Gaia to be an ally for her children the Giants in their war against the .Gantz, p. 448; , Ion 986–991, 1055. Medusa had two offspring by , the winged-horse and the warrior .Grimal, s.v. Gorgons; Tripp, s.v. Medusa; , 278–281; Apollodorus, 2.4.2.

Mythology
Dwelling place
Where the Gorgons were supposed to live varies in the ancient sources.Fowler 2013, p. 252; Hard 2004, pp. 59–60; Gantz, p. 20. According to Hesiod, the Gorgons lived far to the west beyond (the Titan, and world-circling river) near its springs, at the edge of night where the (and the Graeae?) live.Fowler 2013, p. 254; Gantz, p. 20; , 274–282. As to whether Hesiod means to include the Graeae as also living there, Fowler reads Hesiod as including the Graeae, while Gantz does not. Compare with Apollodorus, 2.4.2, which has Perseus fly to "the ocean" i.e to find the Gorgons. The apparently had the Gorgons living in Oceanus on a rocky island named Sarpedon.Bremmer 2006, s.v. Gorgo 1; Hard 2004, p. 60; Ganz, p. 20; West 1966, p. 246 line 274 πέρην κλυτοῦ Ὠκεανοῖο; West 2003, Cypria fr. 30 West =. Pherecydes also has the Gorgons living somewhere in Oceanus, see Gantz, p. 20; Pherecydes fr. 11 Fowler (Fowler 2000, pp. 280–281) =. 's places them in the far east "across the surging sea" on the "Gorgonean plains of Cisthene", where the Graeae live, while his lost play Phorkides (another name for the Graeae) apparently placed them at "Lake Tritonis", a mythological lake set somewhere in westernmost North Africa.Fowler 2013, p. 254; Hard 2015, p. 176 16 Tritonis; Sommerstein, pp. 260–261; (?), 790–800; Aeschylus fr. 262 =)]. For lake Tritonis, and the Gorgons being located in North Africa, see also: , 2.91.6, 4.178, 4.186.1; Pausanias, 3.17.3. And the fifth-century BC poet has Perseus, apparently on his quest for the Gorgon head, visit the (usually considered to dwell in the far north). However, whether Pindar means to imply that the Gorgons lived near the Hyperboreans is unclear.Fowler 2013, p. 254; Bremmer (2006), s.v. Gorgo 1; Gantz, p. 20 ; , Phythian 10.30–48. Although Bremmer reads Pindar as having located the Gorgons "among the Hyperboreans", Fowler does not conclude that Pindar did this, while Gantz says that Pindar "may or may not" have done so.

Petrification
Pherecydes notes that Medusa's face turned men to stone, and Pindar describes Medusa's severed head as "stony death".Gantz, p. 20; Pherecydes fr. 11 Fowler (Fowler 2000, pp. 280–281) =; , Phythian 10.46–48. In Prometheus Bound, it says that no mortal can look at them and live.Gantz, p. 20; (?), 800. According to Apollodorus, all three of the Gorgons could turn to stone anyone who saw them.Apollodorus, 2.4.2.

Perseus
Stheno and Euryale were immortal, whereas Medusa was mortal., 270–277; Apollodorus, 2.4.2. According to Apollodorus' version of their story, was ordered by (his enemy) to bring back the head of Medusa. So guided by and , he sought out the sisters of the Gorgons, the who had only one eye and one tooth which they shared. Perseus managed to steal their eye and tooth, and refused to return them, unless they would show him the way to the nymphs, which they did. Perseus got from the nymphs, winged sandals, which allowed him to fly, and the cap of Hades, which made him invisible. He also received an adamantine sickle ( harpē) from Hermes. Perseus then flew to Oceanus, found the Gorgons asleep. And when managed to behead Medusa by looking at her reflection in his bronze shield, and sprang from Medusa's neck, and Stheno and Euryale chased after him, but were unable to see him because he was wearing Hades' cap of invisibility. When Perseus brought back the Gorgon head, as ordered, with averted eyes he showed the head to Polydectes who was turned to stone. Perseus returned the things he had acquired from the nymphs and Hermes, but gave the Gorgon head to Athena.Bremmer 2015, s.v. Gorgo/Medusa (which calls Apollodorus' version "canonical"); Apollodorus, 2.4.2–3. See also (?), 798–800.

Athena's Gorgon aegis
According to Apollodorus, after Perseus gave the Gorgon head to Athena, she "inserted the Gorgon's head in the middle of her shield",Apollodorus, 2.4.2–3. apparently a reference to Athena's . In the Iliad, the is a device, usually associated with , which was decorated with a Gorgon head.Gantz, pp. 84–85; , 5.738–742. For a detailed discussion of Athena's Gorgon aegis see Cook, pp. 837–867. Athena wore it in battle as a shield which neither 's spear, or even ' thunderbolt could pierce.Gantz, p. 84; 5.738–742, 21.400–402. According to the Iliad, made the aegis for Zeus, while according to a Hesiod fragment, Metis made it for Athena, before Athena was born.

However, , in his tragedy Ion, has a character say that Athena's aegis was made from the skin of the Gorgon, the offspring of , who Gaia had brought forth as an ally for her children the Giants and who Athena had killed during the .Gantz, p. 84; , 15.309–310; fr. 294 Most =; , Ion 987–997. Other accounts name other opponents whom Athena was supposed to have killed and flayed for her aegis, including the Giant Pallas (Apollodorus, 1.6.2), an invulnerable warrior Asterius, and others, see Robertson, p. 42. In the same play, Euripides has describe a weaving she made "like an aegis, bordered with serpents" with a "Gorgon in the middle"., Ion 1417–1423. He also mentions Athena's "Gorgon-faced shield" in his tragedy Electra., Electra 1254–1257.

In vase-painting, Athena is often shown wearing her aegis, fringed with snake-heads.Hard 2004, p. 74.

Gorgon blood
In some accounts, the blood of "the Gorgon" (any Gorgon?) was said to have both the power to heal and harm.Bremmer 2006, s.v. Gorgo 1. According to Euripides' Ion, Athena gave two drops of blood from the Gorgon she slew for her aegis to Erichthonius, one of which "wards off diseases and nourishes life", while the other "kills, as it is poison from the Gorgon serpents"., Ion, 1003–1015, 1055, 1265. While according to Apollodorus, Athena gave some of the blood the Gorgon, "and while he used the blood that flowed from the veins on the left side for the bane of mankind, he used the blood that flowed from the right side for salvation, and by that means he raised the dead."Apollodorus, 3.10.3. Compare with Apollodorus, 2.7.3, which says that Heracles, who had received a lock of Medusa's hair from Athena, gave it to for the city's protection from attack (according to Pausanias, 87.47.5, the lock of hair was given to Tegea by Athena herself), see Gantz, p. 428.

Gorgon cry
The loud cry that came from the Gorgons—perhaps related to 'Gorgon' being derived from the Sanskrit garğ, with its connotations of a growling beast—was also part of their mythology.According to Howe, p. 212, "It is clear that some terrible noise was the originating force behind the Gorgon: a guttural, animal-like howl". Mack, p. 599, n. 5 notes that sound, "though only indirectly a feature of the face, was central to the conceptualization of Medusa's terrifying power". See also Feldman, pp. 487–488.

The Hesiodic Shield of Heracles (c. late seventh–mid-sixth century BC), which describes Heracles' shield, has the Gorgons depicted on it chasing Perseus, with their shrill cry seemingly being heard emanating from the shield itself:

Pindar tells us that the cry of the Gorgons, lamenting the death of Medusa during their pursuit of Perseus, was the reason Athena invented the flute.Gantz, p 20; Howe, pp. 210–211; Vernant, pp. 117, 125. According to Pindar, the goddess:

, in his , also has the fleeing Perseus "listening for no trumpet but Euryale's bellowing"., 25.58; see also 13.77–78, 30.265–266. The desire to evoke this Gorgon cry may account for the typical distended mouth seen in Archaic Gorgon iconography.According to Howe, p. 211, the "reason that the Gorgon appears on monuments with a great distended mouth was to convey to the spectator the idea of a terrifying roar"; Vernant, p. 118, lists a "terrifying cry" and a "gaping grin" as one of several elements "linking the monstrous face of Gorgo to the warrior possessed by menos (murderous fury)".

Literary descriptions
The earliest literary accounts of Gorgons occur in works by and (c. 700–650 BC).Ogden 2008, pp. 34–35. Hesiod provides no physical description of the Gorgons, other than to say that the two Gorgons, Sthenno, and Euryale did not grow old.Gantz, p. 20; , 276–277. mentions only "the Gorgon" (otherwise unnamed) giving brief descriptions of her, and her head. In the she is called a "dread monster" and the image of her head, which appears—along with several other terrifying images—on 's , and 's shield, is described as "dread and awful", and "grim of aspect, glaring terribly".Gantz, pp. 85, 304; , 5.738–742 (Athena's aegis), 11.32–37 (Agamemnon's shield). Already in the Iliad, the Gorgon's "glaring" eyes were a notably fearsome feature. As pursues the fleeing Achaeans, "exulting in his might" ... ever slaying the hindmost", Homer describes the Trojan hero as having eyes like "the eyes of the Gorgon".Ogden 2008, p. 34; , 8.337–349. And in the , , although determined "steadfastly" to stay in the , so as to meet other great men among the dead, is seized by such fear at the mere thought that he might encounter there the "head of the Gorgon, that awful monster", leaves "straightway"., 11.630–37.

The Hesiodic Shield describes the Gorgons chasing Perseus as being "dreadful and unspeakable" with two snakes wrapped around their waists, and that "upon the terrible heads of the Gorgons rioted great Fear", perhaps a reference to snakes writhing about their heads.Gantz, p. 20; Shield of Heracles 229–237 (Most, pp. 18–21). makes snakes for hair explicit, saying that Perseus' Gorgon head "shimmered with hair made of serpents", and that the Gorgons chasing Perseus also had "horrible snaky hair", so too in Prometheus Bound where all three Gorgons are described as "winged" as well as "snake-haired".Gantz, p. 20; , Phythian 10.46–48, 12.10–14; (?), 799. The Gorgon's reputation for ugliness was such that the Athenian comic playwright could, in 405 BC, ridicule the women of the Athenian by referring to them as Gorgons.Bremmer 2006, s.v. Gorgo 1; , Frogs 475–477.

The mythographer Apollodorus gives the most detailed description:

While such descriptions emphasize the hideous physical features of the Gorgon, by the fifth century BC, Pindar can also describe his snake-haired Medusa as "beautiful"., Pythian 12.16. And the Roman poet tells us that Medusa was originally a beautiful maiden, but because of a sexual encounter with Neptune (the Roman equivalent of the Greek ) in 's temple (Minerva being the Roman equivalent of the Greek ), Minerva punished Medusa by transforming her beautiful hair into horrible snakes., 4.794–803.

Iconography
Gorgons were a popular subject in ancient Greek, Etruscan and Roman art,Bremmer 2015, s.v. Gorgo/Medusa. with over six hundred representations cataloged in the Lexicon Iconographicum Mythologiae Classicae ( LIMC).Krauskopf and Dahlinger, p. 288 (351 entries); Krauskopf, p. 331 (118 entries); Paoletti, pp. 345–346 (206 entries). For a comprehensive discussion of Gorgon/gorgoneion iconography see: Krauskopf and Dahlinger, pp. 285–330 (images: LIMC IV-2, pp. 163–188); Krauskopf, pp. 330–345 (images: LIMC IV-2, pp. 188–195); Paoletti, pp. 345–362 (images: LIMC IV-2, pp. 195–207. For other discussions see: Carpenter, pp. 134–139; Karoglou, pp. 4–25; Ogden 2013, pp. 93–94; Vernant, pp. 112–116. In addition to the many examples found on vase paintings, Gorgons occur in a wide variety of other contexts, including architectural ornamentation, shield devices, and coins.Vernant p. 112, which also mentions Gorgons "decorating household utensils, hanging in artisan's' workshops, attached to kilns, set up in private residences". For architecture, see Belson 1981. For Greek shield devices, see Chase 1902. Although preserved gorgoneia on actual shields are rare, Chase lists 47 examples (pp. 95 (XVII, XXVII), 106–108 (CXIX–CXXV)) of gorgoneia on representations of shields, and argues (p. 79) that "the constant recurrence of the commoner devices—the bull's head, the gorgoneion, the lion, the serpent, the tripod, can hardly be explained except upon the supposition that these devices were in constant and widespread use throughout the whole period of Greek civilization". For coins, see Kroll 1981; Cook, pp. 853–856. Some representations show full-bodied Gorgons, while others, called , show only the face (or head) of a Gorgon, such as those described in the as appearing on 's , and 's shield.Ogden 2008, p. 34; , 5.738–742 (Athena's aegis), 11.32–37 (Agamemnon's shield). The earliest representations of both types are found from roughly the same time period, the mid-seventh century BC.Ogden 2013, p. 93; Ogden 2008, pp. 34–36.

Archaic Gorgons typically have snaky hair either with snake-like curls (Figs. 8, 9), or actual snakes protruding from their heads (Figs. 2, 5, 6, 10). The faces of Archaic Gorgons are particularly distinctive, typically with large menacing eyes, tripartite scroll-like () noses, wide mouths with rictus-like grins or grimaces, lolling tongues, fangs and/or tusks (Figs. 4, 5, 6), and sometimes beards (Figs. 3, 4, 13, 15).Ogden 2013, p. 93; Wilk, pp. 32–33; Gantz, p. 21. Aside from its particular monstrousness, the most distinctive feature of archaic representations of Gorgons is that the head is always facing frontally (en face) with its large fierce eyes glaring directly at the viewer.Vernant, pp. 112–113, identifies "two fundamental characteristics" in the archaic representations of Gorgons as "first frontality ... second, monstrousness". Ogden 2008, p. 35, describes this "direct frontal stare, seemingly looking out from its own iconographical context and directly challenging the viewer" as "a shocking and highly exceptional thing in the context of Greek two-dimensional imagery." See also Wilk, pp. 32–33.

Consistent with the change in literary descriptions seen in the works of Pindar and Ovid mentioned above, beginning in the fifth century BC, representations of Gorgons and gorgoneia transition from hideous monsters to beautiful young women, with such representations becoming typical in the fourth century BC.Ogden 2013, p. 96; Karoglou, pp. 4–5, places this transition, along with similar transitions for other mythical female human-monster hybrids, in the larger context of "the idealizing humanism" of Greek art of the Classical period, "when ugliness was largely avoided"). For a discussion of this Iconographic transition see Karoglou, pp. 6–26, which traces Medusan iconography from the ancient to the modern. See also Cook, pp. 848–858. One of the earliest such "beautiful" Gorgons (mid-fifth century BC) is a red-figure (Fig. 11), which shows Perseus, with head turned away, about to behead a sleeping Medusa.Karoglou, pp. 9–10. While gorgoneia continue to be ubiquitous through the end of antiquity, after the fourth century BC full-bodied Gorgons ceased to be represented.Karoglou, pp.11–12.

Full-bodied Gorgons
Full-bodied Gorgons are usually shown in connection with the Perseus-Medusa story.Ogden 2013, p. 93. The earliest representations (mid-seventh century BC) of such Gorgons are a relief (Fig. 1), which depicts Perseus, with head turned away, decapitating a Gorgon, and the (Fig. 2), which shows two Gorgons chasing Perseus fleeing with a severed Gorgon head. That the Perseus on the pithos averts his gaze shows that already in these earliest images it was understood that looking directly at the Gorgon's face was deadly.Gantz, pp. 21, 304; Ogden 2008, pp. 35–36; Ogden 2013, p. 93; Carpenter pp. 134–135. Of particular interest is the famous Medusa pediment (early sixth century BC) from the temple of Artemis in (Fig. 6), which shows a winged-Medusa in the characteristic (kneeling-running) position, with two snakes wrapped around her waist, like the Gorgons described in the Hesiodic Shield of Heracles.Gantz, p. 21; Krauskopf and Dahlinger, p. 311 (Gorgo, Gorgones 289).

Although the Gorgon being beheaded on the Boeotian pithos is depicted as a female , with neither wings nor snakes present, and the Gorgons on the Eleusis Amphora, have wingless, wasp-shaped bodies with cauldron-like heads, by the end of the seventh century BC, humanoid bodies, with wings, and snakes around their head, necks, or waist, such as depicted on the Medusa pediment, become typical.Ogden 2013, p. 93; Ogden 2008, pp. 35–36; Gantz, p. 21. Unlike the depictions of gods and heroes, which are usually shown in profile, Gorgons, even when their bodies are presented in profile (usually running), their heads are (as noted above) always turned frontally displaying their full face, directly gazing at the viewer.Ogden 2008, p. 35; Wilk, pp. 32–33; Vernant, p. 112.

File:Perseus Medusa Louvre CA795.jpg| Fig. 1. Horse-bodied Gorgon (Medusa) being decapitated by Perseus with averted gaze; relief , Louvre CA 795 (mid-seventh century BC)Carpenter, pp. 134–135, fig. 128; Ogden 2008, pp. 35–36; Gantz, p. 21; Krauskopf and Dahlinger, p. 312 (Gorgo, Gorgones 290); Perseus Medusa Louvre CA795; 9731; LIMC IV-2, p. 183 (Gorgo, Gorgones 290). File:Funerary proto-Attic amphora by Polyphemos painter depicting Odysseus and his men blinding the cyclops Polyphemus from xxx flickr 8706777442 b4db371a26 o.jpg| Fig. 2. Two wingless cauldron-headed Gorgons with wasp-shaped bodies chase Perseus (on the body of the vase below the neck); , , Archaeological Museum 2630 (mid-seventh century BC)Carpenter, p. 134, fig. 127; Near, p. 106; Gantz, p. 21; Krauskopf and Dahlinger, p. 313 (Gorgo, Gorgones 312); 9830; LIMC IV-2, p. 184 (Gorgo, Gorgones 312). File:Gorgon Kameiros BM GR1860.4-4.2.jpg| Fig. 3. Winged Gorgon with nose, wide mouth, tusks/fangs, tongue, and beard, as flanked by geese; plate from , , A 748 (late seventh century BC)Carpenter, pp. 138, 139 fig. 133; Zolotnikova, p. 360; Krauskopf and Dahlinger, p. 310 (Gorgo, Gorgones 280); 30559; LIMC IV-2, p. 182 (Gorgo, Gorgones 280); 1860,0404.2. File:Nessos Painter - ABV 4 1 - Herakles and Nessos - the three Gorgons - Athens NM 1002 - 06.jpg| Fig. 4. Winged Gorgon with nose, wide mouth, tusks/fangs, tongue, and beard; of the , Athens, National Archaeological Museum 1002 (late seventh–early sixth century BC)Gantz, p. 21; Krauskopf and Dahlinger, p. 313 (Gorgo, Gorgones 313); Beazley Archive 300025; 13680; LIMC IV-2, p. 184 (Gorgo, Gorgones 313). File:Dinos du Peintre de la Gorgone - frag 2.jpg| Fig. 5. Two winged snake-haired Gorgons with volute nose, wide mouth, tusks/fangs, tongue (center and right) chase Perseus, with a headless Gorgon (left); Dinos of the Gorgon Painter, E874 (early sixth century BC)Gantz, p. 21; Krauskopf and Dahlinger, p. 313 (Gorgo, Gorgones 314); Perseus Louvre E 874 (Vase); Beazley Archive 300055; 4022; LIMC IV-2, p. 185 (Gorgo, Gorgones 314). File:Centre Close Up of the West Pediment from the Temple of Artemis in Corfu.jpg| Fig. 6. Winged snake-haired Gorgon (Medusa) with belt of snakes, in kneeling-running position, with her offspring (left) and (right) at her side, and flanked in style by a pair of lions; from the temple of Artemis in , Archaeological Museum of Corfu (early sixth century BC)Ogden 2013, p. 95; Ogden 2008, p. 38; Gantz, p. 21; Zolotnikova, p. 362; Krauskopf and Dahlinger, p. 311 (Gorgo, Gorgones 289); 502; LIMC IV-2, p. 182 (Gorgo, Gorgones 289). File:Amasis Painter - ABV 153.32 - Perseus killing Medusa - London BM 1849-0620-5 - 01.jpg| Fig. 7 Perseus, with head turned away, decapitates Medusa with Hermes on the right; (pitcher) by the , B 471 (mid-sixth century BC).Ogden 2013, pp. 94–95, fig. 2.3; Ogden 2008, pp. 32–40, fig. 3.2; Krauskopf and Dahlinger, p. 312 (Gorgo, Gorgones 293); 310459; 9728; LIMC IV-2, p. 183 (Gorgo, Gorgones 293); 1849,0620.5. File:Aict GSM058-GSM058-GSM058 full 1821 1441 0 native.jpg| Fig. 8. Winged curl-haired Gorgon (Medusa) being decapitated by Perseus aided by Athena; fragment of ivory relief plaque from the Heraion of Samos Archaeological Museum of Samos E 1 (sixth century BC)Gantz, pp. 21, 305; Hard 2004, p. 60, Figure 2.6. File:Gorgoneion Syrakus.jpg| Fig. 9. Winged curl-haired Gorgon (Medusa) holding ; relief terracotta , Temple of Athena at Syracuse, in the Museo Archeologico Regionale Paolo Orsi of Syracuse, (late sixth century BC)Zolotnikova, p. 370 n. 52; Krauskopf and Dahlinger, ; 30551; LIMC IV-2, . File:Berlin Painter ARV 197 11 Gorgo pursuing Perseus (05).jpg| Fig. 10. Gorgon (detail); amphora, Munich, Staatliche Antikensammlungen 2312 (Early fifth century BC)Krauskopf and Dahlinger, ; 9805; LIMC IV-2, ; Hard 2004, p. 59, fig. 2.5. File:Terracotta pelike (jar) MET DT352033.jpg| Fig. 11. Perseus about to behead a "beautiful" sleeping Medusa; , attributed to , Metropolitan Museum of Art 45.11.1 (mid-fifth century BC)Karoglou, pp. 9–10; Krauskopf and Dahlinger, p. 313 (Gorgo, Gorgones 301); Beazley Archive 213438; Metropolitan Museum of Art 45.11.1; 9730; LIMC IV-2, p. 183 (Gorgo, Gorgones 301). File:Arula, Museo Archeologico di Gela.jpg| Fig. 12. Winged Gorgon (Medusa) holding and ; terracotta altar from the at , in the Museo Archeologico Regionale of Gela, (late fifth century BC)

(2025). 9788861640719, Regione Siciliana.

Gorgoneia
Of the depictions of ancient Greek demons, the gorgoneion is, by far, the most frequently occurring.Krauskopf and Dahlinger, p. 288. Thought to have had an (protective) function, gorgoneia are often found on architectural elements such as temple pediments, and ornamental and , or decorating various round objects, such as shields, coins, and the bottoms of bowls and cups.Ogden 2013, p. 93; Wilk, p. 33. For a discussion of the apotropaic function of gorgoneia, see Ogden 2008, p. 37. For gorgoneia in Greek architecture, see Belson 1981. As with full-bodied Gorgons the earliest representations are found from the mid-sixth century BC. The earliest example of a "beautiful" gorgoneion is the (Fig. 20), which is thought to be a Roman copy of a Greek original dated to either the fifth-century BC or the period.Karoglou, pp. 14, 16; Ogden 2013, p. 96; Krauskopf, pp. 347–348 (Gorgo, Gorgones 25).

Athena's victory over the Giant Enceladus—with a gorgoneion on her shield—was apparently depicted on the Temple of Apollo at Delphi (latter part of the sixth century BC). In 's Ion (c. 412–412 BC), the Chorus describes seeing, on the temple's stone walls, Athena "brandishing her gorgon shield" against Enceladus., Ion 205–211. For the date of the temple standing at the time of Ion's production, see Stieber, p. 289, n. 61. Pausanias describes seeing a votive golden shield dedicated by the Spartans and their allies after the Battle of Tanagra (457 BC), with a gorgoneion (or possibly a full-bodied Gorgon) depicted in relief being displayed at the Temple of Zeus at Olympia.Krauskopf and Dahlinger, p. 300, no. 158a, which says that Pausanias's Μέδουσαν τὴν Γοργόνα ("Medusa the Gorgon") probably means a gorgoneion rather than a running Gorgon; Chase, p. 74; Pausanias, 5.10.4.

File:OlympiaGorgo retouched.jpg| Fig. 12. Winged gorgoneion; bronze shield device from Olympia, Archaeological Museum B 110 (first half of the sixth century BC)Mack, fig. 1; Krauskopf and Dahlinger, p. 300 (Gorgo, Gorgones 158); 30455; LIMC IV-2, p. 174 (Gorgo, Gorgones 158). File:Lydos - ABV 111 extra - gorgoneion - München AS 8760 - 01.jpg| Fig. 13. Bearded gorgoneion; Attic plate by , Munich, Staatliche Antikensammlungen 8760 (mid-sixth century BC)Krauskopf and Dahlinger, p. 291 (Gorgo, Gorgones 38); Beazley Archive 350347; 30266; LIMC IV-2, p. 165 (Gorgo, Gorgones 38); Carpenter, pp. 135–136, fig. 129;. File:Athens - 550-546 BC - silver didrachm - head of Gorgon - quadratum incusum with head of panther - London BM 1841-B-618.jpg| Fig. 14 Gorgoneion; silver issued by Athens (mid-late sixth century BC).Jenkins, p. 25, fig. 51; Kroll, pp. 12, 32, Pl. 2 (14); 1841,B.618. File:Disk-fibula Gorgoneion Louvre Br4306.jpg| Fig. 15. Gorgoneion; Disk-fibula, BR 4306 (second half of the sixth century BC)Fossey, pp. 19–24; Louvre CA 1371 File:Chalcidizing eye-cup type A - ABV 205 - gorgoneion - bust of warrior - München AS 2027 - 02.jpg| Fig. 16. Bearded snake-haired gorgoneion; , Munich, Staatliche Antikensammlungen 2027 (second half of the sixth century BC)Krauskopf and Dahlinger, pp. 291–292 (Gorgo, Gorgones 41); Beazley Archive 9031655; 30269; LIMC IV-2, p. 166 (Gorgo, Gorgones 41). File:Gorgon-head antefix 1 - Acropolis Museum.jpg| Fig. 17 Gorgoneion with earrings; terracotta from the Acropolis of Athens, 78–87, K 292–29 (second half of the sixth century BC)Krauskopf and Dahlinger, p. 291 (Gorgo, Gorgones 32); Belson II, pp. 5–6, GM 2; Cook, p. 848. File:Antefissa gorgonica 2.jpg| Fig. 18. Gorgoneion; terracotta from the Acropolis of , Museo Archeologico Regionale di Gela (sixth century BC)

(2025). 9788861640719, Regione Siciliana.
File:Gorgoneion Cdm Paris 320.jpg| Fig. 19. Gorgoneion; cup, Paris, Cabinet des Medailles 320 (late sixth century BC)Beazley Archive 302907; 35646 File:Rondanini Medusa Glyptothek Munich 252 n1.jpg| Fig. 20. "Beautiful" gorgoneion, with small head wings and two snakes twined under her chin; the , Munich, Staatliche Antikensammlungen GL 252 (first-second century AD, Roman copy of a Greek original?)Karoglou, pp. 14, 16; Ogden 2013, p. 96; Krauskopf, pp. 347–348 (Gorgo, Gorgones 25); 25976; Cook, pp. 850–851. As Ogden notes, "it is disputed whether this is the product of the mid-fifth century or the early Hellenistic period". File:Gorgon's Head of the Temple Sulis Minerva at Bath - Roman Baths (Bath).jpg| Fig. 21. first century Gorgon's Head of the at , considered a mix of Greek, Celtic and Roman iconography

Possible origins
There has been considerable and wide-ranging speculation concerning the possible origins of the story of Perseus and the Gorgons, as well as gorgoneia, the representations of Gorgon faces.For discussions of such previous speculations (usually followed by new speculations of their own) see, for example, Hopkins 1934, pp. 341–344; Cook 1940, pp. 845–846; Howe 1954, pp. 209–212; Phinney 1971, p. 446; Belson 1981, II p. 8 n. 1; Wilk 2000, pp. 87–104. The origins of the Perseus-Gorgon story, and gorgoneia, even with respect to each other, are uncertain. The Perseus-Gorgon story might have come first inspiring the development of gorgoneia, or gorgoneia might have come first, in which case the Perseus story might have served an etiological function, as an , developed as a way to explain where gorgoneia had come from. It is also possible that the Perseus story and gorgoneia developed independently, but later converged. Since the earliest literary and iconographic evidence of both the Perseus story and gorgoneia are roughly contemporaneous, such evidence seems unable to definitively distinguish between any of these three scenarios.Ogden 2008, p. 37.

It is possible that the mythology and/or the iconography of Gorgons were subject to influence.Ogden 2013, p. 94; Bremmer 2006, s.v. Gorgo 1. In particular elements of full-bodied Gorgon iconography seem to have been borrowed from that of the .Ogden 2013, p. 95; Bremmer 2006, s.v. Gorgo 1; Burkert, p. 84–85. Mesopotamian depictions of slaying , may have influenced the Perseus-Gorgon story, while gorgoneia may be connected to images of Humbaba.Ogden 2013, pp. 94–95; Ogden 2008, pp. 32–33; West 1997, p. 454; Carter, pp. 360–366; Hopkins 1934.

Perseus and the Gorgons
The Gorgon as , in the Medusa pediment from the temple of Artemis in (Fig. 6) shows affinities with images of Lamashtu.Ogden 2013, p. 95; Ogden 2008, p. 38. As has noted, Lamashtu has several characteristic iconographic elements which include an animalistic head atop a humanoid body, often in the Knielauf (kneeling-running) position, with the presence of snakes, a horse or ass, animal offspring, and sometimes in the Mistress of Animals configuration. All of these elements are present, for example, in the Medusa pediment.Burkert, pp. 83–85.

Images which show Perseus, with head turned away, decapitating Medusa (Figs. 1, 7), resemble Mesopotamian depictions of slaying the wild man . Such depictions can show Gilgamesh with head turned away looking behind him for a goddess to pass him a weapon.Ogden 2013, pp. 94–95, fig. 2.3; Ogden 2008, pp. 38–40, fig. 3.2; West 1997, p. 454; Burkert, p. 85, calling these depictions "models for representations of Perseus killing the Gorgon"; Carter, pp. 360–362. In particular, a bronze shield strap from Olympia (mid-sixth century BC), which shows Perseus with his head turned away about to decapitate Medusa, assisted by Athena,Krauskopf and Dahlinger, p. 312 (Gorgo, Gorgones 292); Roccos, p. 339 (Perseus 120); Demargne, p. 1003 (Athena 502) with figure, p. 1026, B3; LIMC VII.2, p. 290 (Perseus 120 a); Burkert, p. 86, fig. 6 (top right); 8770 (Gorgo, Gorgones 292). bears a striking resemblance to a seal impression from c. 1450 BC.Burkert, p. 86, fig. 6 (top left). This suggests the possibility that Greeks misinterpreted or reinterpreted these Mesopotamian images, giving rise, through a process that Burkert has described as a "creative misunderstanding", to the myth of the Gorgon's petrifying gaze.Ogden 2013, p. 95; Ogden 2008, pp. 32–33; Burkert, p. 87.

The gorgoneion
The consensus among classical scholars seems to be that the function of a gorgoneion was , as a device (an apotropaion) to ward away unwanted things, and which was in origin a dancer-worn mask.Mack, p. 572. See for example: Faraone, p. 38; Vernant, pp. 111; Jameson, p. 27; Howe, p. 213. The classic formulation of this view is that of Jane Ellen Harrison, the gorgoneion as a "ritual mask misunderstood":Mack, p. 599, n. 3.

That gorgoneia were used as apotropaic shield devices, at least, seems evident from Agamemnon's gorgoneion-shield, which Homer describes in the Iliad as displaying "the Gorgon, grim of aspect, glaring terribly, and about her were Terror and Rout".Ogden 2008, p. 37; Homer, 11.32–37. Supporting the view that gorgoneia originated as masks, are two groups of seventh-century BC terracotta gorgonion-like masks: a group of wearable helmet masks from , and another group of non-wearable votive masks from the Sanctuary of Orthia at , which share some features with the typical earliest representations of Gorgon faces. If such masks were in fact intended to represent the face of a Gorgon, then they would show that Gorgons or gorgoneia played a role in some kind of ritualistic or dramatic practice or performance.Ogden 2008, pp. 37–38. For the Tiryns masks see Carter, p. 360; Napier 1986, pp. 85, 86 Pl. 34. For the Spartan masks see: Rosenberg 2015; Carter 1987; Napier 1986, pp. 46–47, Pls. 9a-12b; Dickins, pp. 163–186 ( Pls. XLVII–LXII).

The gorgonesque votive masks from Sparta have deep S-shaped furrows on either side of wide-mouthed grimaces. Such features resemble those on the much earlier terracotta plaques depicting .Ogden 2008, pp. 38–40; Carter, pp. 355, 357 fig. 2, 358 fig. 3, 360–366; Napier 1986, p. 49 Pls. 11a, 12b; Dickens, pp. 166–167 ( Pls. XLVII–XLIX), which classifies these masks as "Old Women".

In popular culture
Notes
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