If you carefully study the myths and legends of the ancient Greeks, it becomes clear that there were several gorgons, but, after millennia, from memory we can reproduce the name only by one of them - Medusa.
Gorgon jellyfish. The myth of origin
The earliest references to snake-headed creatures in the literature date back to the eighth century BC. In "The Odyssey, " Homer writes about Medusa - a monster from the underworld, and in "Theogony" Hesiod talks about the three gorgon sisters. In general, there are several options for how the Gorgons appeared and who they were originally.
The first version of the appearance that Euripides adhered to was titanic. It says that the mother of the gorgon was Gaia - the goddess of the earth and the ancestor of the Titans. If so, then the gorgon Medusa and her sisters could initially be monsters.
The second version can be called "Poseidonic." It is stated in Ovid's Metamorphoses.
Once upon a time, in immemorial times, Forkis, who in Greek mythology was the god of the stormy sea, and his sister Keto, a sea monster like a dragon, had three daughters - beautiful water maidens. They received such names: Sfeno (translated from ancient Greek as "mighty"), Euryale ("jumping far") and Medusa ("guard", "mistress").
The most beautiful of the sisters was the Gorgon Medusa. She was so fascinated by the beauty of the god Poseidon that he forcibly took possession of Medusa in the temple dedicated to Athena. The goddess became furious when she learned about the desecration of her sanctuary, and turned the sea maiden into a gorgon - a monster covered with thick scales, with hydra and snakes fluttering on her head instead of hair, with yellow teeth sticking out of her mouth. Sfeno and Euryale decided to share the fate of their sister and also became monsters. And perhaps the matter is not at all in the temple, just the powerful Athena envied the beautiful appearance of Medusa and was jealous of the sea god.
Gorgon jellyfish - the only one of the sisters was mortal, and only she could turn people into stone statues with her eyes. According to some other myths, all three gorgons had a terrible gift of turning people and animals to stone, as well as freezing water. When young Perseus accidentally dropped the phrase that he could kill the gorgon Medusa, Athena caught him at the word. She taught the hero how to defeat the gorgon and not turn into stone, and handed the young man her shield, polished like a mirror. The hero fulfilled his promise and brought the goddess the head of Medusa, and also returned the shield on which the image of the gorgon was imprinted.
The ancient Greeks believed that the Gorgon Medusa, or rather its severed head, is an excellent protective artifact that protects from evil and the "evil eye." This is how gorgoneon amulets appeared and spread.
Images of Medusa were applied to weapons, armor, medallions, coins and building facades not only in Greece, but also in Ancient Rome, Byzantium and Scythia. At first, the gorgon was painted terribly scary, like a real monster, but over time, Medusa was portrayed as a beautiful, albeit terrifying woman with wriggling snakes on her head.
