THE GORGON AND MEDUSA
- ParrisVstefanow
- Jun 19
- 18 min read
THE GREEKS APPLIED the name Gorgo or, less commonly, Gorgon to female monsters
which are a favourite subject in their extant art, sometimes terrifying but sometimes, to all appearances, humorous.
In mythology, the Gorgons figure chiefly in the story of Perseus. The ancient lore concerning them is most fully summed up in Apollodorus's Library of Mythology,
in Ovid's Meta-morphoses and in Lucan's Pharsalia.
These accounts written between the 2nd century BC and the 1st century AD, are all late versions of the myth of Perseus, and depend on much older poetry, which has been lost.
It is not known that there was ever a complete epic that described the adventures of Perseus in his quest for Medusa.
The scattered references to the Gorgon or Gorgons in earlier poetry and poetical fragments known to us are usually to the terrifying aspect of the Gorgon's head;
....... as for instance in the Odyssey (book II) where Odysseus fears that Persephone may send up the Gorgon's head to confront him if he stays longer by the entrance of Hades.
In Hesiod's poem
"Shield of Hercules" the Gorgons are said to be represented on the shield pursuing Perseus as he flies away carrying the head of Medusa, which is so large that it covers all his back.
After him rush Medusa's sisters, the other Gorgons, "not to be approached and not to be described, eager to seize him.
The shield rang sharp and shrill with a loud din as they trod on the pale adamant, on their belts were two serpents writhing and arching their necks and darting out their tongues
and furiously gnashing their teeth as they savagely glared.
And over the terrible heads of the Gorgons a great Dread quivered.
The Three Sisters
This is the earliest continuous piece of
poetry dealing with the Gorgons (except for the summary account of their origin and dwelling in Hesiod's Theogony).
In the common versions of the myth of Perseus, at least in those which became accepted by such writers as Apollodorus, there were three Gorgon sisters, daughters of the ancient sea gods, Phorcys and Ceto, namely Stheno and Euryale, who were immortal and Medusa who was mortal.
According to most writers, they lived on the Atlantic shores of Africa, which seems to link them with the underworld, which was likewise placed in the far west.
According to the philologists, the name Gorgons should once have denoted a terrible roaring or bellowing.
But in Greek usage the name always suggests their glaring eyes. Perseus, son of Zeus and Danae, grew up on the island of Seriphos, whose king Polydectes conceived a passion for Danae, out of the way, Polydectes sent him to fetch the Gorgon's head, an enterprise which would, he hoped, lead him to his death.
But Perseus was helped by Hermes and Athena. The nymphs gave Perseus the winged
sandals of Hermes, the kibisis, apparently a large sack or wallet, and the cap of Hades which made its wearer invisible.
Hermes also gave him the sickle (harpe), a special curved sword with which he was able to cut off the head of Medusa.
Once Famous for her Beauty Perseus flew to the home of the monsters where he found the three Gorgons asleep, their heads covered with snakes instead of hair, and their mouths armed with great tusks like those of boars.
Their gaze turned to stone all who beheld them. As they slept, Perseus stood over them, Athena guiding his hand, and looked away at a polished shield while he cut off the head of Medusa.
From her as she died sprang forth the winged horse Pegasus. Perseus put the head into the sack and set off homeward, pursued
by the other two Gorgons, who could not see him but tracked him by smell.
They failed to catch him. On his way back he made use of the Gorgon's head against his enemies, and when he arrived at Seriphos he turned Polydectes and his followers to stone.
He returned the sandals and other
gifts to the nymphs and finally gave the
head of Medusa to Athena to adorn her
goatskin shield. Though in Ovid and other writers Medusa is said to have been once famous for her beauty, she was grotesquely ugly when she had taken on the nature of a Gorgon.
In art, particularly on vases and architectural ornaments, the Gorgons are shown in human form but with wings and very wide faces to contain their immense tusked mouths and thick lolling tongues.
Their great eyes glare in an inhuman manner, sometimes like those of wild beasts and sometimes those of cuttlefish. Their pursuit of Perseus, as described in Hesiod, is often shown with the details that he gives. The gorgoneion, or gorgon-face, was one of many demon-faces that existed in archaic Greek art.
One of its purposes as a magical object was to frighten away evil beings. It seems likely that the Gorgons have a special connection
with the underworld because they are so
lethal. If so, the expedition of Perseus might fall within the class called the harrowing of hell' (see HELL) to which the similar
expedition of Hercules to Hades to fetch up Cerberus certainly belongs.
If the origins of the Gorgons are sought outside Greece, the most likely source is the:
- Near East
- Anatolia
- Phoenicia
- or Mesopotamia,
....... where religious art abounds in monsters.
It has been plausibly suggested that the origin of the Gorgon face is in the Anatolian and Syrian sculptures of open-
mouthed lions with lolling tongues which were attendant on the gods.
Perseus has a connection with Joppa in Phoenicia, where he delivers Andromeda from the sea monster. His sickle-shaped sword, like that used by Cronus to castrate Uranus, of Near Eastern origin.
Apollodorus, Library of Mythology (Lob edn, Harvard Univ. Press); K. Schefold, Myth and Legend in Early Greek Art
The architect of Chavín sculpted a terrible creature, which he placed in the middle of the labyrinth.
To maintain the secret of the subterranean mansion, a myth was spread, which perhaps not even its creator imagined would survive for such a long time.
The poets sang of the deed of the hero who had challenged this abominable creature. Now, dear reader, you will be taken to the Gorgon.
In fact, at the intersection of two subterranean galleries, forming a cruciform chamber, in the middle of the labyrinth stands a 4.53-meter tall diorite pillar, upon which rests the principal deity of the temple (Fig. I - 3).
Due to the lance-like shape of the monolithic pillar, it was called "Lanzón."
The "Lanzón" was suspended from above like a gigantic knife ready to strike. It remained in that position, held firmly between two slabs of granite (or quartzite), forming part of the floor of the room above. While cleaning the galleries, in 1919, it was loosened from its original position.
With that lamentable mishap, the pillar fell and lost its original alignment.
Curiously, the image of the terrible divinity, or rather, the Gorgon, was not represented as free to come and go as she liked. Like the Minotaur of Daedalus, the artist portrayed her chained to the middle of the labyrinth, with thick spiral cords. On the upper half she is held by the right arm, menacingly raised with the palm open.
In the lower part, there are two laterally engraved cords, held doubly secure below the feet. Who kept her in that robust prison?
What sacrifices was she offered to pacify her and to deserve her favors?
In the narrow room above, where once two large slabs of stone supported the "Lanzón," one finds the sacrificial room; very narrow and of peculiar shape, measuring 1.8 m in height. In this minuscule cubicle the victim was placed, after crossing a span by means of a ladder or a portable bridge.
The altar upon which the victim was sacrificed was not found though, from other sacrificial stones found in minor places of worship in the Andes, one can presume that the victim's blood ran through an orifice in the floor, dripping over the frightening image of the Gorgon.
Tello states that the victim's blood trickled down the front of the "Lanzón."
On that side there are two deeply engraved parallel grooves in the rock which, according to the archaeologist, were used to convey the blood from the sacrificial room down to a circular depression, as if it were the third eye of the Gorgon.
This depression is located in the middle of a cross engraved on top of the idol's head.
The arrangement of the double grooves, states Tello, allowed the recently sacrificed victim's blood to go directly into the mouth of the great divinity, before spreading down the grooves of the stone idol.
Another archaeologist, Rebeca Carrion Cachot, believed that, besides blood, chicha (an alcoholic drink made from corn) was poured down, and that the "Lanzón" was the most ancient paccha, or rhyton, known in Peru. 8
When, in January 1981, I faced the imposing stone pillar (Illus. I - 8), below the sacrificial room, I tried to imagine how horrible it must have been to see it covered with blood.
If suffering and anguish could leave their marks on matter, that pillar would certainly contain all the lamentations of Hell. With that in mind, I extended my hand, closed my eyes and opened my soul.
Upon touching it, absolutely nothing happened; I only felt the cold surface, like a polished tombstone, as if it had been polished over a long period of time by the hands of nameless priests, with blood, fat and chicha, as it was usually done in ancient Peruvian rituals.
But, slowly I began to feel ill at ease. An overwhelming force entered my soul, inciting me to write without respite the results of my "journey."
A famous Painting from ancient vase in the Etruscan Museum, Rome showcases Jason apparently being vomited forth by the serpent/dragon, rests on the serpent's teeth.
'Serpent's tooth' is euphemism for Sirius (see Chapter Seven). Looking on is a female figure in serpent-headed robes, holding an oracular dove;
....... she may be Medea or a goddess. In the background the golden fleece is seen suspended in the grove guarded by the serpent.
Note that the breastplate of the female figure, on which is a fanged Gorgon's face, is composed of scales identical to those of the serpent/dragon.
On her helmet is the Greek sphinx (a mythological being associated with Greek Thebes). Though the elements can here be identified in this way, the story implied by them cannot so easily be unravelled.
JAVA
A worship compounded of the Brahminical and Budh superstitions, prevailed originally in Java. Sir Stamford Raffles, in exploring the ruined temples, found many images which were adorned with the sacred serpent.
Gigantic figures, placed at the portals, were armed with a club in one hand, and a writhing snake in the other. Small twisted snakes also formed their armlets; and one, passing diagonally across the body, represented a belt.
In the temple of Kedal is an idol, on one side of which are three serpents of an enormous magnitude, intertwining over the head of the image. A female figure, with a serpent also, reclines over it:
Over the portal of the great temple of Chandi Sewu is;
....... "a very large and terrible gorgon visage." These gorgon visages are not uncommon, and are probably a form of the ophite hierogram, denoting consecration, such as we see over the portals of some of the Egyptian temples.
All the Javanese temples are pyramidal: which is a figure dedicated to the solar deity:
and the same gorgon visages, as emblems of consecration, appear over the niches which contain the images.
The symbolical serpent, at least, was therefore once worshipped in Java.
One thing that strikes me as particularly important is this: if Abram and Moses were one and the same person, if Sarai and Nefertiti were one and the same person:
"A beautiful woman has come," we must think about the fact that the one thing that these men all had in common, including Akhenaten, was Monotheism, and this may have had more to do with the woman in question, who was shared among them than anyone might think.
And that takes us back to that odd event recorded in Genesis 33:11, where something was transferred from Jacob to Esau.
Perhaps it was the Ark of the Covenant? The "Blessing?"
And if that is the case, and it was taken EAST, which is a most intriguing idea when considering the grail stories and certain remarks of Fulcanelli:
that we are to have faith in the story of Plato, and in that story, we are told that the Greeks were instructed by the Arabs which certainly makes us wonder who were these original "Arabs" who seem to be the Tribe of Dan.
And we note, of course, the name similarity to Danae, the mother of Perseus.
And of course, Perseus had the gorgon's head which was so similar in function to the Ark of the Covenant, and the stories belong to the ancient Scythians.
- The Dragon Hath Horns of a Stag
- Head of a Camel
- Eyes of a Demon
- Neck of a Snake
- Belly of a Clam
- Scales of a Carp
- Claws of a Eagle
- Soles of a Tiger
- and Ears of a Cow
....... by these symbols you will know them.
Parts of the puzzle we will unravel slowly so nothing is missed.
The Ishtar Gate is one of the most controversial relics known to man. Just as the pyramids are gates, the Gate of the Ishtar also known as the Gates of Ilu were first located in Ur.
This was the first gate ever constructed to open the Portal of Inanna/Ishtar/Ashtoreth/Astarte/Asherah/Venus a channel to androgynous vampiric serpents and various other life forms that hang out in Club Shemhamphoresh.
She is Inanna consort of Marduk/Ra also called She-Ra and Rat, connected to the Seven Sisters in the Pleiades their protector the Dog Hyades/Anubis they are Ma, Maia, Ma’at, Mag and Mary who give power to the Magus with them is the Serpent Sor who is the Source of the Sorcerers power of Hathor.
This is the Dragon its first depiction then called SUSA our abbreviation USA land of the Serpents who guard the Sedona time portal to SIAM.
Their Art is sedation which brings about delusion and seduction. When approached by these Beings one feels a pressure around the anus they are androgens thus they masquerade as female and male this is God "S", Dragon Queen or Drag Queen.
They falsely Illuminate men to the wisdom of the Serpent thus eliminating them from the Great Race, this is the Gate of Ilu. Many Men have made Ishtar their consort and then have been betrayed such as Sumerian Gilgamesh and Solomon.
As the scripture says,
"Solomon went after Ashtoreth and sacrificed in the Groves and the High Places and after this his wisdom was naught".
This is the Bacchanalia, Temple Prostitutes, the Cult of Yoni.
They have connected with many of the daughters of the Gods called Fates, Ferts, Nymphs such as Morganus;
....... Medusa the Gorgon;
....... Persephone, Europa, Nemesis, Sothis or Sirius, Sekhmet, Saba, Sofia, Nepthys, Nut, Kadesh;
....... they have legions with them they are Succubae draining vigor from their captives.
Many an overambitious power hungry fool has wandered down the path of false Illumination and few have return.
In Ancient times men would war against each other to find favor with Ishtar then erect a High Place in her name to serve as a gate or portal, this is key to know now because you will see them everywhere.
It is said by the Greeks that Medusa's head was brought by Perseus; by this is meant the serpent Deity, whose worship was here introduced by people called Peresians.
Medusa's head denoted divine wisdom, and the island was sacred to the serpent, as is apparent from its name.
The Athenians were esteemed Serpentiginae, and they had a tradition that the chief guardian of their Acropolis was a serpent.
Q: (L) As we say, “I love a sixth density light being with a sense of humor!” Now, the main thing I wanted to ask about is the references I come across in tons of reading, that the number 33 is somehow significant. Could you tell us the significance, in esoteric terms, or in terms of secret societies, of the number 33. There is the cipher of Roger Bacon, based on the number 33, the 33rd degree masons...
A: As usual, we do not just give you the answers, we help you to teach yourself!! Now, take 11 and contemplate...
Q: (L) Well, three times eleven is thirty-three.
A: Yes, but what about 11?
Q: (L) Well, eleven is supposed to be one of the prime, or divine power numbers. In Kaballah, 11 is the power number...
A: Yes...
Q: (L) Eleven is 10 plus 1; it is divisible only by itself and by 1. I can’t think of anything else. In numerology, I am a an 11 in numerology... I am also a 22. What else is there to the number 11?
A: Astrology.
Q: (L) Well, in astrology, the eleventh sign is Aquarius, my name is an eleven, my birthday is a 22 which is twice eleven, and I am an Aquarian. The eleventh house is friends, hopes, dreams and wishes, and also adopted children. Aquarius the Waterbearer, the dispenser of knowledge. Does 11 have something to do with dispensing of knowledge?
A: Now, 3rd house.
Q: (L) Gemini. Okay. Gemini and Aquarius. Third house is how the mind works, communication, relations with neighbors and siblings, education, local travel, how one speaks. Gemini is known as the “consummate man.” Somewhat shallow and interested in the things of material life. It is also the divine number of creation. So, what’s the connection here?
A: Matrix.
Q: (L) Is there something about this in the Matrix material?
A: No.
Q: (L) This IS a matrix. The third house and the eleventh house create a matrix?
A: Foundation.
Q: (L) In terms of cosmic things, Gemini is in June, Aquarius is in February...
(S) Isn’t the third house also about teaching? And, we are friends here and we are being taught...
A: This is not about you.
Q: (L) Okay. This is not about us. I am just trying to relate it. Gemini is in June, Aquarius is in February. Gemini is the physical man, and Aquarius is the spiritual man?
A: Yin Yang.
Q: (L) So Gemini is the physical man and Aquarius is the spiritual man... yin yang... is that the...
A: Yes...
Q: (L) So 33 could represent the transformation of the physical man to the divine man through the action of secret or hidden teachings... and those who have gone through this process represent themselves with the number 33, which means that they started out oriented to the flesh and then became...
A: Medusa 11.
Q: (L) Medusa 11? What does Medusa have to do with it?
(S) What about spinning 33 times?
(L) Please tell me how Medusa relates here?
A: Heads.
Q: (L) Heads. Medusa. 11. Were there eleven snakes on the head of Medusa or eleven heads? This is really obscure... you need to help me out here.
A: We are.
Q: (L) Do I need to read the Medusa legend to understand?
A: No.
Q: (L) Medusa. Heads. 11. Is there something about the mythical Medusa that we need to see here?
A: 11 squared divided by phi.
Q: (L) By pi. 11 squared divided by pi. What does this result bring us to?
A: 33.infinity.
Q: (L) Well, we don’t get 33 out of this... we get 3.3166 etc if we divide the square root of 11 by pi. Divided by phi... what in the heck is phi? Okay, if we divide pi into 11, we get 3.5infinity, but not 33.
A: 1 times 1
Q: (L) Oh. You weren’t saying 11 times 11, you were saying 1 times 1.
A: No.
Q: (L) 1 times 1 is what? 1.
A: 5 minus 3.
Q: (L) Okay, that’s 2.
A: 2 minus 1.
Q: (L) Okay, that’s 1. I don’t get it. A math genius I am NOT. What is the concept here?
A: Look: 353535.
Q: (L) What is the 35 sequence?
A: 5 minus 3.
Q: (L) Okay, we have strange math. But, you can do anything with numbers because they correspond to the universe at deep levels...
A: Is code.
Q: (L) What does this code relate to? Is it letters or some written work?
A: Infinite power.
Q: (L) How is infinite power acquired by knowing this code? If you don’t know the correspondences, how can you use a numerical code?
A: Lord of Serpent promises its followers infinite power which they must seek
infinite knowledge to gain, for which they pledge allegiance infinitely for which they possess for all eternity, so long as they find infinite wisdom, for which they search for all infinity.
Q: (L) Well, that is a round robin... a circle you can’t get out of!
A: And therein you have the deception! Remember, those who seek to serve self with supreme power, are doomed only to serve others who seek to serve self, and can only see that which they want to see.
Q: (L) The thought that occurs to me, as we are talking here, is that the STS pathway consists of an individual who wants to serve themselves - they are selfish and egocentric -they want to impel others to serve them; they want to enslave others; and they find ways to manipulate others to serve them. But, they end up being impelled by some higher being than they are. Because they have been tricked into believing that by so doing, they are actually drawing power to themselves through the teachings, including the popular religions which promote being “saved” by simply believing and giving up your power. And, then, you have a whole pyramid of people TAKING by trickery and deception, from others. The taker gets taken from in the end. A pyramid where all those on the bottom, the majority, have no one to take from, so they get absorbed into the next level higher, until you get to the apex and everything disappears. In the STO mode, you have those who only give. And, if they are involved with other STO persons, everyone has and no one is at the bottom or at the top, in a void. In the end, it seems like everyone ends up serving someone else anyway, and the principle is the INTENT. But in STO, it is more like a circle, a balance, no one is left without.
A: Balance, yin-yang.
Q: (L) Obviously the 33 represents the Serpent, the Medusa, and so forth...
A: You mentioned pyramid, interesting... And what is the geometric one-dimensional figure that corresponds?
Q: (L) Well, the triangle. And, if you have a triangle point up you have 3, joined to a triangle pointing down, you have 3, you have a 33. Is that something like what we are getting at here?
A: Yes.
Q: (L) Is there a connection between the number 33 and the Great Pyramid in Egypt?
A: Yes.
Q: (L) And what is that connection? Is it that the builders of the pyramid participated in this secret society activity?
A: Yes. And what symbol did you see in “Matrix,” for Serpents and Grays?
Q: (L) You are talking about the triangle with the Serpent’s head in it?
A: Yes.
Q: (L) Are we talking in terms of this 33 relating to a group of “aliens,” or a group of humans with advanced knowledge and abilities?
A: Either/or.
Q: (L) Is this what has been referred to in the Bramley book as the Brotherhood of the Serpent or Snake?
A: Yes.
Q: (L) Is this also what you have referred to as the Quorum?
A: Close.
Q: (L) So, we have a bunch of people who are playing with mathematics, and playing with higher knowledge, basically as a keep busy activity to distract them at the human level from the fact that they are being manipulated at a higher level. Is this what is going on? Or, do they consciously know what they are doing? Is it a distraction or a conscious choice?
A: Both.
Q: (L) If I were to name some names, could you identify if named individuals were involved in this secret group?
A: It would not be in your best interests.
Q: (L) Is there anything more on this 33 number that I should look at now?
A: No. You need to contemplate.
The usurping ornament of the "Star of Bethlehem" atop our traditional Christmas Tree would have originally represented the Planet Hyperborea atop the "tree trunk".
It is not surprising that many of these early legends originated in Northern Europe, where people would have had the most magnificent views of this "tree".
Coincidentally, Santa Claus lives at the North Pole! And serpent decorations were placed around these early trees!
Also, according to Dr. Immanuel Velikovsky's essay on The Night Sun and David Talbott's video computer animation, there were "satellites" orbiting this "planet".
Perhaps the "72 Branches" of The Cosmic Tree (72 Archons?)
....... i.e., the serpents in the hair of the Medusa, denote that these various planetoids and moons are, like Earth,
....... also tethered electromagnetically to the Hyperborea brown-dwarf planet and move around their "parent object" in some sort of snake-like fashion.
And it is furthermore interesting that most of the trees mentioned in THE CELESTIAL SHIP OF THE NORTH had:
- fruit hanging from their branches
- apples
- peaches
- figs
- mulberries
- sycamore balls
- oak acorns
- date clusters and so forth.
By chance, all of these fruit are round like Christmas Tree ornaments.
This is also why Egyptian Pharaoh's headdresses had snakes/birds coming out from the third eye point.
"Transforming out of the button/egg infantile state, the mushroom's appearance becomes more like that of a snake.
Once the mushroom has fully grown, decayed, and dissolved it leaves behind a hole. This is due to it's pushing the Pine needles or earth outward, as it expands. Around the hole is a white powdery substance, actually the many spores it left behind.
This hole resembles a snake's hole, or lair, which is another reasoning for the mushroom's being symbolized as a snake.
Most certainly, the depiction of the snake, in the garden of Eden, which revealed to humans secret knowledge that the fruit of the tree would make them as god, is a grand myth regarding this association."
James Arthur, "Mushrooms and Mankind" (55)
"The prime example of the relation between the serpent and the mushroom is, of course, in the Garden of Eden story of the Old Testament.
The cunning reptile prevails upon Eve and her husband to eat of the tree, whose fruit 'made them as gods, knowing good and evil' (Gen 3:4). The whole Eden story is mushroom based mythology, not least in the identity of the 'tree' as the sacred fungus, as we shall see.
Even as late as the thirteenth century some recollection of the old tradition was known among Christians, to judge from a fresco painted on the wall of a ruined church in Plaincourault in France.
There the Amanita muscaria is gloriously portrayed, entwined with a serpent, whilst Eve stands by holding her belly."
John Allegro, "The Sacred Mushroom and the Cross" , This is why Medusa's serpent hair turns men to stone.
This is why Mithra, the ancient mushroom hero is depicted rising from a stone entwined in snakes. Mithra, one of the 15 preChristian gods with exactly the same story as Jesus, was undeniably a mushroom god. Just as Christians take communion, Mithraic initiates ate mushroom sacraments as part of their worship.
It was Isis, the serpent queen of heaven who was to guide the souls through the twists of the Amenti. The path towards the centre, leads towards treasure. The snake adorning Athena in ancient Greece is shown with a swastika skirt. The same is true of Astarte and Artemis. There is Samarran pottery dating from 5000-4000 BC from Mesopotamia showing a female swastika, where the hair swirls with Medusa type serpents. The swastika is also shown as two serpents crossing each other.
The serpent has long been associated with the Goddess. At right are depictions of the Greek Goddess Medusa, whose hair was a nest of snakes, and the cobra, a holy Egyptian symbol for the Goddess religion.
