Academic literature on the topic 'Gorgons (Greek mythology)'

The facts of Gogol's appeal to the models of classical forms of myth and ritual are interesting not only by themselves but also in the aspect of their relationship with the arsenal of Christian mythology. The fundamental point here is that in light of the historical interpretation of the myth and the Revelation by F. W. J. Schelling, the mythology since its initial stage organically developed to Christianity, to the truths of Revelation (as the historical movement “flowed” into them). The symbolic complex of the story Vij, interlacing with Eros and Thanatos, allows parallels to the myth of Orpheus and Eurydice since in the case of the story Vij and in the case of myth, the motive of prohibition on sight also holds. The philosopher (i.e. the poet in the archaic and romantic notion) Homa Brut comes into contact with the world of death not of his own free will, besides, the panicle Eurydice died because of him. Orpheus partakes of the Dionysian sacraments. A visit to Orpheus of hell equated him, in Christian understanding, with Christ. In Gogol's story Vij, Dionysus and Christ have implicitly come together. The motive of the story Vij for blindness is related to Oedipus's self-blindness motive. Mythological Erinnes, persecuted by Oedipus, are old women, which correlates with one of the chthonic incarnations of the plaque, thereby drawing closer to the goddesses of revenge, punishment, and remorse of conscience. The fact of the final recognition of Oedipus as “holy” is reflected in the potential Christian semantics of the image of Homa as a martyr and passion-bearer. As the winner of the witch, the deliverer of people from her misfortunes and the passion bearer Homa is a Christian ascetic. Against the background of Christian parallels, the second stay of Homa on the farm becomes as if his “second coming”, symbolically comparable to the expected second coming of Christ, who is coming all the time. The terrible glance of Vij and pannochka certainly reminds of the slaying glance of Medusa Gorgon, which forced all living things to petrify. There is pathos of fighting tyranny in ridding the farm from the witch by Homa. Although Homa defends himself first of all in the beating scene, the general social meaning of his action is obvious. The power of the pannochka (she is the daughter of a wealthy sotnik), who for some reason considers himself pious, is not only socio-political but, in the main, existential-anthropological, this domination over man as a species, over man as such. The motives of ancient Greek and in general pagan mythology are closely intertwined in Gogol's story with Christian motives, which formed the unique spiritual and aesthetic synthesis of the story Vij.

Myths of all nations filled with images of scary creatures. Historians of religion, ethnologists, experts myths explain them differently, mainly when they come together in mind that all together they certify man's fear of the gods. But this does not explain the fact that a wide variety of creepy creatures, each intricate mythology is inexhaustible and inexplicably ugly. It is proposed to take a look at the most famous monsters of Greek mythology in aspect of psychoanalytic combined with allegorical approach, since it is an allegory includes powerful resource codification mental states. Fears rights embodied in the mythical monsters and populate the world. Tree-headed Cerberus (later three-headed dragon in fairy tales) and Medusa Gorgon is the brightest in Greek mythology, allegory fear of death. Fears rights embodied in the mythical monsters and populate the world. Three-headed Cerberus (later three-headed dragon in fairy tales) and Medusa Gorgon is the brightest in Greek mythology, allegory fear of death. Fear of death is the fear of the underworld in the image of Cerberus, he exposed the relative control and can even be overcome. The horror of death which suddenly embraces man and kills her in the image of Medusa Gorgon. Allegory of the fear of death and horror of death - various images that cause different themes. Complex movements of the inner life of people have learned to understand and analyze only the new time, but even in mythical times of mankind were put into allegorical codes that are interpreted each time differently.

The Gorgon is a creature described as terrible in ancient literature. It was depicted with glaring eyes, tusks and a hanging tongue and was a part of Greek antiquity from Archaic to Roman Period. The Gorgon motif has frequently been adorned on different materials. The reason as to why such a creature was depicted has been a subject of interest in earlier studies. The Gorgon motif has been elaborately studied in combination with buildings, armours and vases. A gap of knowledge that is still to be filled is a deeper examination of the Gorgon motifs on coins, which is the inspiration for this study in which the main aim is to approach an understanding of what function the Gorgon motif could have had on Archaic Greek coins. The study is based on a collection of 42 Archaic coins from Athens and Neapolis in Macedon. Through Panofsky's theory of iconography the material is analyzed and discussed via a series of sub-questions; ‘Did the Gorgon motifs differ depending on the location?’, ‘What combination of features appear on the coins?’, ‘To what extent was the Gorgon myth linked to the locations that used the motif and what other myths were used on coins during the same period? ’, ‘Is there a link between the use of Gorgon motifs on coins and on other material objects?’ The paper measures the possible explanations of the Gorgon motif with archaeological finds and ancient texts dealing with the Gorgon, many of which point to the fact that the Gorgon’s function generally served a purpose as an apotropaic symbol. Its function as a possible amulet is investigated using previous research that studies the symbolic significance of the Gorgon, as well as tracing its background and examination of the Gorgon myth to find possible connections with other mythical creatures.
Gorgonen är en varelse som beskrivs som fruktansvärd i den grekiska antikens litteratur. Den avbildas med stirrande ögon, betar och en hängande tunga. Gorgonen har varit en del av den grekiska antiken sedan dess början och har varit ett populärt motiv på olika material. Det har funnits stort intresse i tidigare studier kring anledningarna till att en sådan varelse valts att avbildas. Motivet har studerats omsorgsfullt när det har smyckat byggnader, rustningar och vaser. En lucka som inte har fyllts än inom ämnet är en djupare undersökning av gorgonmotiven på mynt, vilket även är ämnet för denna studie med syftet att närma sig en förståelse för de funktioner som Gorgonmotiven fyllde på mynt under arkaisk grekisk tid. Studien baseras på ett urval av 42 arkaiska mynt från Aten och Neapolis i Makedonien. Genom Panofskys trestegsmodell analyseras gorgonmotiv som framkommer på mynten och svarar på en rad viktiga underfrågor: Skiljer sig gorgonmotiv åt mellan platser Vilka kombinationer av gorgoner förekommer på mynten? I vilken utsträckning var gorgonmyten kopplad till de platser som använde motivet, vilka andra myter användes på mynten under samma period? Finns det ett samband mellan användningen av gorgonmotiv på mynt och på andra objekt? I uppsatsen bedöms möjliga förklaringar till gorgonmotivet med arkeologiska fynd och antika texter som behandlar gorgonen, varav många pekar mot att gorgonens funktion i allmänhet fyllde ett apotropeiskt syfte. Detta undersöks med hjälp av tidigare forskning av gorgonens symboliska betydelse samt kopplingen med andra mytiska varelser genom att spåra dess bakgrund och granskning av gorgonmyten.

Along with 21^st-century spinoffs The Sarah Jane Adventures and Torchwood, the iconic British science fiction series Doctor Who has engaged with Greek mythological characters and storylines across five decades. This chapter explores trends in this engagement. Troy and Atlantis are settings for the time-travelling Doctor inadvertently to set in motion events leading to their fall (‘The Myth Makers’, 1965, ‘Time Monster’, 1972), Medusa and the Minotaur are creatures in a fantasy world (‘The Mind Robber’, 1968) and stories of the Argonauts, the Minotaur and the Trojan War are set in space (‘Underworld’, 1978, ‘The Armageddon Factor’, 1979 and ‘The Horns of Nimon’, 1979-80). More recently, Greek mythological objects are cast as alien: e.g. Philoctetes (‘Greeks Bearing Gifts’, 2006), the Gorgon (‘The Eye of the Gorgon’, 2007), Pandora’s box (‘The Pandorica Opens’, 2010), the Minotaur (‘The God Complex’, 2011), and the Siren (‘The Curse of the Black Spot’, 2011). Evidence for the popularity of Greek mythology amongst contemporary viewers is discussed. By tracing shifting intersections between Greek myth and the ever-developing mythology of Doctor Who, this chapter considers how the long-running series anticipates, plays with and informs audience knowledge of Greek mythology, and spurs them on towards criticism and invention.