by Hazem Ameen
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Good on Daggerheart for turning the gorgon back into a gorgon. The kind of brave design decision you’d expect for a game with rules for breaching the gates of heaven to usurp the gods
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Gorgon, what an awful name to be called. It could sound fancy, even elegant, but it is just another way to call us Monsters. We are born with snakes replacing our hair; our eyes are capable of petrifying people just by looking at those courageous enough to come into our Island, forgotten by every God existing above, in Olympus. It would be good to be there for once, instead of being trapped down here, on an island that is not even signed on the maps, but that people manage to find somehow, guided by Misfortune.
They blame us for calling them in, but we never do that; we want to be left alone, to live our lives as we are supposed to. As everyone else.
My name is Euryale, and I am one of the three Gorgon sisters living here; my other two sisters are Stheno and Medusa. Ah! How many stories I’ve heard about that latter, people are talking about her as if she were me, like she is the only Gorgon existing, Stheno and I are just a marginal part of the story, we don’t even exist. I love my sister, but she is not the only one dangerous around the world; still, they consider only her. None of the humans knows about my incapability to petrify people with my eyes. Still, my voice is not all bad for me. If one of them tries to blind me, I would still be able to petrify them, surprisingly, as none of them knows Stheno’s capabilities to fight and petrify; among us, she is the most bloodthirsty. Still, nobody knows, because we are nothing but sidekicks of the main Villain.
I walk, or better say crawl, see the giant snake tail I have instead of legs, we are all like that, my mother, Ceto, is like that, and so is my father, Phorcys. They are both Sea Monsters terrorizing humanity with their aspects. We are daughters of some kind of Primordial Sea God, but still, we have no place up in Olympus because of Zeus, the father of all Gods. He thinks we do not deserve the Goddess’s title somehow, and also, if it is something that would be ours for right, he seems not to care about it.
If you ask me, he is not even that special, so is not Poseidon, they both played dirty with their brother Hades, forcing him to be confined in the Underworld. Imagine if Hades were now in the abyss instead of Poseidon, or worse, in Olympus; people would have a merciless God to pray to instead of the Great Sea God or a God who’s running the Earth only to cheat on women, forcing them to have his babies. I cannot avoid asking myself if that would have been so bad. Hades is not what they picture him to be, and I am sure, he would have been a better King for all the Gods. People speak about him like a desperate God, thirsty for revenge. Maybe they are right, but try to fit his shoes; he’s been confined to the Abyss of Earth, ruling a place populated only by dead souls, no life in there. How would you handle it?
Still deep in my thoughts, my hand brushes slightly against a couple we petrified two days ago, two men, one lying on his back as his husband is kissing his forehead. Is this the love humans talk about?
I can still see the precious tears running from their eyes, somehow I feel something strange inside, some kind of…sadness, yes, this is the word, sadness, and I wonder if we are bound to be alone forever, damned to live an eternity on our own, with nothing else but ourselves to care for. But who would have mercy for monsters like us? We have no heart nor Soul, and we cannot die, so it is what it is, I suppose.
In my crawling, I can hear my Sister Stheno Yelling in the distance, “Κάποιος έρχεται στο νησί μας!” My eyes widen, and I speak in a whisper, «Κάποια άλλα αγάλματα!» I move fast, jumping here and there, pressing on my tail till I arrive at the shore made of rocks.
“Βλέπεις ποιος είναι εκεί, Σθένο?” Medusa and I are close now, looking at the horizon and seeing the vessel getting close to the Island, we look at each other worried, “Έχω ένα κακό προαίσθημα” says Medusa, as Stheno growls as the Vessel approaches, and we understand it is someone who shouldn’t be there, we remain there for long, controlling the situation, but seeing no changes, we just return into our cave, our home.
We eat something together, we exchange stories, and a little laugh is stolen from us as we start to feel tired for the day. The Vessel is not visible, and we all saw it turning around and going in another direction. We are stupid, so stupid to think nothing will happen, but we just let go.
During the night, a muffled sound wakes me up. I see a pair of feet in front of me, and I screech to wake up Medy and Hen; the latter jumps awake while Medusa is in a pool of blood.
Her head has been chopped off by the warrior Perseus, that has her head in his hands, we’ve opened our eyes too late to save her; Stheno and I realize what’s happening, I scream trying to petrify him, but the man runs away with ears covered as he keeps Medusa’s head clenched to his belt, we follow him, taken by hate, thirst of blood and revenge.
We follow his run, with his men, we keep some of them with our abilities, but we cannot reach the bastard, who manages to escape from us. And there we are left, on our Island, looking at the Vessel going away while we fight against other soldiers, his companions, one of them calls his name out loud, “Περσέα!” A plea for help as he dies petrified. At hearing his name, I cannot avoid screaming once more, my power explodes as Stheno growls next to me, damning his name, the army he took with him is powerless against our fury, but still, Perseus managed to escape from our hands, leaving my heart broken into pieces.
Is this what humans call heartbreaking? Because I feel the pain inside me that will never be cured.
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Imagine:
A young Half-Blood makes it to Camp, their Satyr protector absolutely Petrified.
The Half-Blood is taken into a Private space with either Percy, Anabeth, or another Camp Elder or Elders.
They have Dark Glasses covering their eyes, the Satyr Protector stopping them from being removed.
“There’s something different about this one, Perce. Look at the back of their neck.”
The quiet Half-Blood pulls down their collar to reveal a patch of Snake Skin creeping into the back of their hairline and taking it over.
“They turned a Gryphon to Stone. Percy I think this kid is a Gorgon.”
I NEED HALF BLOODS OF DIFFERENT MONSTER SPECIES. I NEED IT.
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Considering that the Danaids knew Io’s story and related to her plight, I wonder if Danaë and Perseus also know her story since they’re her descendants. I wonder if Danaë remembered how Io was kicked out of her home by her father just like her but took comfort in knowing that even through all the trauma Io persevered and found a new family too.
Perseus would know about Prometheus’s instructions to Io to steer clear of the gorgons, if Danaë was a good story teller she’d tell a young Perseus about how terrifying and powerful the gorgons and he’ll remember that fear he felt as a child when he kills Medusa, almost like he conquered that fear. Perseus would probably also relate to Io’s grief in being so far from home and traveling foreign land, he’d hear of the Amazons and their queen Myrina and remember that it was Amazons who helped his ancestor so long ago, he’d feel grief for the Amazons lost in the war against the gorgons.
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Bronze Shield from the 6th Century BCE, Archaeological Museum, Olympia
Guys I found the objectively coolest gorgon design ever, also y’know that part in Euripides Ion where Athena was said to have slain a gorgon in the Gigantomachy? Maybe she fought this gorgon lol
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Gorgons with little socks on all their little snakes during cold weather because they don’t want to shove them all in a beanie
wait no snakes are cold blooded… uhh
Gorgons putting little socks on their snakes bc it’s cute. And for warmth put a warm water bag on their head.
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im still really gorgongirl pilled rn so have this wip w a joke you’ll have to google to get if u dont know snake genuses and their common names by heart
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medusa, common ancestor of all modern day gorgones, was the mother of pegasos, ancestor of all thoroughbred pegasi. inversely, the pegasi are more related to the gorgones than they are to horses.
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And Cadmus married the half-sister of the dragon he slew (I will never tire of sharing that fact). Greek mythological genealogies are wild.
We do know why Chrysaor and Pegasus are a thing though! Medusa’s ancestor was the Mesopotamian Lamashtu, who was often shown with bestial features and clutching snakes (like Medusa). Images of her tend to have her surrounded by animals, standing on a donkey, possibly with warriors nearby. It’s easy to see how the Greeks read those images as a gorgon giving birth to a horse and warrior.
References
Ogden, D. (2013). Drakōn: Dragon myth and serpent cult in the Greek and Roman worlds. Oxford University Press.
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The Gorgon Sisters (Mythological Creatures Part 4)
AKA: Their names were Stheno, Euryale, and Medusa.
Creation: According to one legend, they are the daughters of Phorcys (an Ancient Greek sea god) and Ceto (an Ancient Greek sea goddess) while other stories say they are the daughters of either “the Gorgon” or Gaia.
Description: Gorgons were said to be horrifically ugly humanoids (feminine) with menacing eyes, and often with fangs. They sometimes (but not always) had hair composed of snakes. Sometimes, they were depicted with wings.
Attributes: Their shrill scream and ability to turn people to stone with just a look are their best-known characteristics. Some lore says their blood was powerful; able to both heal and cause harm. Two of them (Stheno and Euryale) were immortal.
Vulnerabilities: Their own reflection could turn themselves into stone (although this may have only been Medusa).
Home location: Depending on the source, they were said to live either at the edge of night, beyond Oceanus (the world-circling river), or on the island of Sarpedon in Oceanus, or at Lake Tritonis (a mythological lake in northwest Africa).
Culture(s): Mediterranean; predominantly Ancient Greek mythology but also featured in ancient Roman and Etruscan art.
Famous encounter(s):
- In a story by Apollodorus, Perseus was ordered by his enemy, Polydectes, to fetch the head of Medusa. Perseus flew to Oceanus and surprised the Gorgons while they slept, beheading Medusa. He then used Medusa’s head to kill Polydectes.
Cultural impact: The gorgons (primarily Medusa) have been featured in art across the centuries ever since the Ancient Greeks, including art by da Vinci, Rubens, and Picasso.
Source: Wikipedia
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A theory I have about gorgons is that they are affected by the cold. Snakes become sluggish and can potentially die if they are in the cold too long. I think that would translate to the outcasts species. In the show, Ajax is always seen hoodies or layers, so it kinda fits.
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Was it ever explained how people stopped being stones after being turned into stones by Gorgons in Wednesday?