Gorgon
by Ignazio Caloggero
Theseus and the Gorgon - Vatican Museums - Rome
Reference page: Repertory of Cults and Myths
The Gorgons were three, daughters of two marine deities: Forcecite and Ceto. They were called Stheno, Euryale and Medusa. Their heads were surrounded by snakes and anyone who met their eyes was turned to stone. When we speak only of the Gorgon, we generally refer to Medusa, the only one to be immortal, who was killed by Perseus. Among the various authors of the myth of the Gorgon Medusa, Ovid should be remembered who wrote about the myth in the Metamorphoses (Book IV: Perseus and Medusa (769-803)
According to one of the many versions of the myth, Perseus was ordered to kill the Medusa by the tyrant of Serifo, she was helped by Hermes who gave him winged sandals and by Athena who gave him a shield. Once he found the Gorgon, Perseus waited, for greater safety, for Medusa to fall asleep, and using the shiny shield as a mirror to avoid looking directly at Medusa, he cut off her head. From the decapitated trunk of Medusa came out, together with the streams of blood, Pegasus, the winged horse and Crisaore, father of the three-headed giant Geryon. According to some versions of the myth, Gorgonia (coral) was formed from the same blood.
The Myth in the IWB Register of the Sicily Region
The places of the Myth of the Gorgon have been included by the Sicily Region in the LIM Register (Places of Identity and Memory of Sicily), sector of the Places of the minor gods and divinities.
The places affected by the recognition are the Coral Reefs of Trapani
Excerpt from the book “ Myths of Ancient Sicily” by Ignazio Caloggero ISBN:9788832060157 © 2022 Centro Studi Helios srl
