Gorgons were a popular subject in ancient Greek, Etruscan and Roman art, with over six hundred representations cataloged in the
Lexicon Iconographicum Mythologiae Classicae (
LIMC). 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. Some representations show full-bodied Gorgons, while others, called
gorgoneia, show only the face (or head) of a Gorgon, such as those described in the
Iliad as appearing on
Athena's
aegis, and
Agamemnon's shield. The earliest representations of both types are found from roughly the same time period, the mid-seventh century BC. 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 (
volute) 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). 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. 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. One of the earliest such "beautiful" Gorgons (mid-fifth century BC) is a red-figure
pelike (Fig. 11), which shows Perseus, with head turned away, about to behead a sleeping Medusa. While gorgoneia continue to be ubiquitous through the end of antiquity, after the fourth century BC full-bodied Gorgons ceased to be represented.
Full-bodied Gorgons Full-bodied Gorgons are usually shown in connection with the Perseus-Medusa story. The earliest representations (mid-seventh century BC) of such Gorgons are a
Boeotian
relief pithos (Fig. 1), which depicts Perseus, with head turned away, decapitating a Gorgon, and the
Eleusis Amphora (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. Of particular interest is the famous Medusa pediment (early sixth century BC) from the
temple of Artemis in
Corfu (Fig. 6), which shows a winged-Medusa in the characteristic
Knielauf (kneeling-running) position, with two snakes wrapped around her waist, like the Gorgons described in the Hesiodic
Shield of Heracles. Although the Gorgon being beheaded on the Boeotian pithos is depicted as a female
centaur, 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. Unlike the depictions of gods and heroes, which are usually shown in profile,
Archaic 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. File:Perseus Medusa Louvre CA795.jpg|
Fig. 1. Horse-bodied Gorgon (Medusa) being decapitated by Perseus with averted gaze;
Boetian
relief pithos, Louvre CA 795 (mid-seventh century BC) 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);
Eleusis Amphora,
Eleusis,
Archaeological Museum 2630 (mid-seventh century BC) File:Gorgon Kameiros BM GR1860.4-4.2.jpg|
Fig. 3. Winged Gorgon with
volute nose, wide mouth, tusks/fangs, tongue, and beard, as
Mistress of Animals flanked by geese; plate from
Kameiros,
Rhodes,
British Museum A 748 (late seventh century BC) File:Nessos Painter - ABV 4 1 - Herakles and Nessos - the three Gorgons - Athens NM 1002 - 06.jpg|
Fig. 4. Winged Gorgon with
volute nose, wide mouth, tusks/fangs, tongue, and beard;
name vase of the
Nessos Painter, Athens,
National Archaeological Museum 1002 (late seventh–early sixth century BC) 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,
Louvre E874 (early sixth century BC) 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
Pegasus (left) and
Chrysaor (right) at her side, and flanked in
Mistress of Animals style by a pair of lions;
pediment from the
temple of Artemis in
Corfu,
Archaeological Museum of Corfu (early sixth century BC) 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;
olpe (pitcher) by the
Amasis Painter,
British Museum B 471 (mid-sixth century BC). 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) File:Gorgoneion Syrakus.jpg|
Fig. 9. Winged curl-haired Gorgon (Medusa) holding
Pegasus; relief terracotta
antefix,
Temple of Athena at Syracuse, in the
Museo Archeologico Regionale Paolo Orsi of
Syracuse,
Sicily (late sixth century BC) File:Berlin Painter ARV 197 11 Gorgo pursuing Perseus (05).jpg|
Fig. 10. Gorgon (detail); amphora, Munich,
Staatliche Antikensammlungen 2312 (Early fifth century BC) File:Terracotta pelike (jar) MET DT352033.jpg|
Fig. 11. Perseus about to behead a "beautiful" sleeping Medusa;
Pelike, attributed to
Polygnotos,
Metropolitan Museum of Art 45.11.1 (mid-fifth century BC) File:Arula, Museo Archeologico di Gela.jpg|
Fig. 12. Winged Gorgon (Medusa) holding
Pegasus and
Crysaor; terracotta altar from the
archaic emporium at
Gela, in the Museo Archeologico Regionale of Gela,
Sicily (late fifth century BC)
Gorgoneia Of the depictions of ancient Greek demons, the gorgoneion is, by far, the most frequently occurring. Thought to have had an
apotropaic (protective) function, gorgoneia are often found on architectural elements such as temple pediments, and ornamental
antefixes and
acroteria, or decorating various round objects, such as shields, coins, and the bottoms of bowls and cups. 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
Medusa Rondanini (Fig. 20), which is thought to be a Roman copy of a Greek original dated to either the fifth-century BC or the
Hellenistic period. 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
Euripides's
Ion (c. 412–412 BC), the Chorus describes seeing, on the temple's stone walls, Athena "brandishing her gorgon shield" against Enceladus.
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. File:OlympiaGorgo retouched.jpg|
Fig. 12. Winged gorgoneion; bronze shield device from
Olympia,
Archaeological Museum B 110 (first half of the sixth century BC) File:Lydos - ABV 111 extra - gorgoneion - München AS 8760 - 01.jpg|
Fig. 13. Bearded gorgoneion; Attic plate by
Lydos, Munich,
Staatliche Antikensammlungen 8760 (mid-sixth century BC) 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
didrachm issued by Athens (mid-late sixth century BC). File:Disk-fibula Gorgoneion Louvre Br4306.jpg|
Fig. 15. Gorgoneion; Disk-
fibula,
Louvre BR 4306 (second half of the sixth century BC) File:Chalcidizing eye-cup type A - ABV 205 - gorgoneion - bust of warrior - München AS 2027 - 02.jpg|
Fig. 16. Bearded snake-haired gorgoneion;
kylix eye-cup, Munich,
Staatliche Antikensammlungen 2027 (second half of the sixth century BC) File:Gorgon-head antefix 1 - Acropolis Museum.jpg|
Fig. 17 Gorgoneion with earrings; terracotta
antefix from the
Acropolis of Athens,
Acropolis Museum 78–87, K 292–29 (second half of the sixth century BC) File:Antefissa gorgonica 2.jpg|
Fig. 18. Gorgoneion; terracotta
antefix from the Acropolis of
Gela, Museo Archeologico Regionale di Gela (sixth century BC) File:Gorgoneion Cdm Paris 320.jpg|
Fig. 19. Gorgoneion;
Attic kylix cup, Paris, Cabinet des Medailles 320 (late sixth century BC) File:Rondanini Medusa Glyptothek Munich 252 n1.jpg|
Fig. 20. "Beautiful" gorgoneion, with small head wings and two snakes twined under her chin; the
Medusa Rondanini, Munich,
Staatliche Antikensammlungen GL 252 (first-second century AD, Roman copy of a Greek original?) File:Gorgon's Head of the Temple Sulis Minerva at Bath - Roman Baths (Bath).jpg|
Fig. 21. first century Gorgon's Head of the
Temple Sulis Minerva at
Bath, considered a mix of Greek, Celtic and Roman iconography ==Possible origins==