I’ve always been under the logic of that when travelling. Even if you can’t speak much of the local language, the basic little things such as "Please" and "Thank you" will always be appreciated.
With the collection finished, it was discovered someone had written a note and placed it in the collection plate. So that note was passed to the priest, who opened it.
Inside was written a single word: IDIOT
The priest considered it for a moment, then announced to his congregation:
"Often it will happen that someone writes me a note, but leaves no signature. This is the first time that someone has written their signature, but with no note."
Original story of Gorgons (Medusa) was very very sad. She got raped by Poseidon and then for a revenge, Pallas Athene killed her. (Unlike her sisters Medusa was not immortal.)
I mean, that is not accurate… mortality seems to be the punishment(if we are going with immortal sisters) and each of them were punished for what medusa did (or what was did to her) with being turned to gorgons. But sisters got to remain immortals.
But original story: No sisters, prob somewhat consensual sex (how consensual it can be if other is god), in Athenes temple.
in every story, it is perseus who delivers the killing blow, with help from several gods.
There’s actually no way for us to know what the ‘original story’ was, the nature of Mythology doesn’t allow for that. The best we can access is the oldest surviving written version of the tales, tales which were memorized at best, improvised at each telling most likely.
Also be careful as some Mythologies mix, merge, and get confused with others. The ‘Gorgon’ figure probably got really changed when the Etruscans (and shortly thereafter, the Romans) got a hold of it, as they had a whole snakey-cult thing going on before they started adapting Greek legends.
That being said, I also have never heard of a version of the tale where Athena flat-out killed Medusa. And I’ve heard many-a-version!
It always fascinates me to see people come out of the woodwork to defend depicting Medusa as a pure monster when people point out that she was a victim in the majority of depictions in myth history and now pop culture.
I think it is safe to say that if you pull back and look at the aggregate of her stories Medusa is much more tragic and sympathetic than most monsters.
The stories I heard was that she was a priestess of Athena, and Poseidon chased her into a temple to Athena and raped her there. Kind of hard to be consensual in those sorts of situations.
Athena was a very spiteful Goddess and was honestly one of the worst ones in her treatment towards mortals.
Yes, because Poseidon raped her in one of Athena’s temples, and there was no way she could punish her uncle(?) so of course punished the victim (who had fled to the temple for protection from Athena, so Medusa was fucked over by the gods *twice*)
That depends entirely on which origin story you go with, AND which interpretation of the myth you choose to accept.
That said, it was Perseus that killed Medusa/Gorgo. Athena is often shown as the one who turned her into that (except… she wasn’t).
If memory serves, the one who popularised that version had a bit of a hate-on for the gods, and has been criticised for how out-of-character Athena’s actions seem.
I’ve never heard that it /Wasn’t/ Athena that cursed Medusa. But I agree, it’s more of a Hera or Artemis thing to do. Athena /usually/ isn’t quite that petty.
Well, Arachne was cursed to be a spider because she won at weaving
Athena could be the less bad of the olimpian’s gods but he became a total bitch.
Other tale said that was Anfitrite because she seduced Neptune
There are a Game of rol called "Gods and monsters" for fate system. (The rest in spanish. I sorry, i don’t know the words or phrases in english. I hope you can translate.)
"Los dioses y semidioses provenientes de los mitos y las leyendas tienden a poseer poderes fÃsicos abrumadores, una inteligencia no muy superior (o inferior) a un ser humano medio y la madurez emocional de un irascible niño de seis años"
"Gods and demigods from myths and legends tend to possess overwhelming physical powers, an intelligence not much superior (or inferior) to an average human being, and the emotional maturity of an irascible six-year-old child" -Google Translate
If you are powerful enough and your parents don’t bother raising you, you also ends up spoiled. The emotional maturity of six-year-old makes sense. The gods simply never needed to mature.
Arachne was turned into a spider not because she was better than Athena at weaving (which, admittedly, did make her a bit salty) but because she went into full hybris mode about it.
Even the less charitable versions of the myth are fairly clear on that. It was her character that was punished, not her skills.
There’s at least one version I heard that says Medusa was a virgin priestess of Athena, and that after Poseidon decided he wanted her, Athena actually turned Medusa into a gorgon as a form of protection, so that no man could ever try to hurt her that way again. Which makes a fair amount of sense given, as you said, Athena wasn’t *usually* that petty, at least against an innocent victim.
Medusa being given a petrifying gaze as a gift rather than a curse is certainly a valid interpretation of the myth. It’s for that reason some women’s shelters were decorated with carvings of Medusa.
In some versions of the myth, Medusa and her sisters were born monsters. Most often than not, they are listed as daughters of Cetos, though the father is up to debate (with some versions listing him as Gorgon/Gorgos, one of the giants).
Also, your gorgons are closer to the original form than the popularised version of the Harryhausen films (which is more of a mix between lamia and gorgon).
That story about Poseidon is distinctly to Ovid, who was Roman, and the story reeks of Roman moralism. But the Gorgons existed in Greek culture as monsters for at least 400 years before Ovid wrote.
And I gotta admit, I’m not a huge fan of any interpretation that says women can’t be monstrous in their own right, they have to be made monstrous by the actions of men.
I know the 3 Gorgons as Daughters of Poseidon, being terrible Monsters and only Medusa being normal.
The other Version wasnt about rape, as the goddes turned her into a Monster cause she claimed to be prettier as a godess
And the Medusa depictions predate the greeks by a bit, likely she was a goddess from a culture they conquered and was a figure of protection as evidenced by reliefs of the gorgon head above archways in similar uses to more modern day gargoyles.
You can see evidence of this in her presence on the Aegis, the ultimate symbol of protection. So while I agree with the desire to allow women to be fully realized characters and villains on their own, I also think it is a bit problematic to try and ignore the ones that aren’t. We don’t live in a world of absolutes really.
Besides, Medusa is a villain or monster of the week more often than a protagonist, I don’t see why people always come out of the woodwork to oppose that.
"But Lewie isn’t even here. I thought a priestess said she saw him walking around naked over by the Temple crash site…but probably I just heard that wrong."
P!enapple, Fang FanGirl, t!…I’m quite touched (and flattered!) by your interest. Let me finish it, let it sit, edit it a few dozen times, and then, have a few conversations with Rich about it, once there’s a tangible "it" to discuss. Whether or not it’s finalized as a YAFGC-inspired fan work…it’s a YAFGC-inspired fan work, and one must take particular care with homages to respect the source material, its creator, and his wishes, in all aspects of things.
So gorgons are some of my favorite monsters and I love that there are so many gorgons in this comic. That’s why her statement about the hunting of gorgons is making me sad! I hope it doesn’t mean they become rarer in the storylines (even if they become rarer in the lore).
Also their adventuring party really is getting close to invincible now, especially if the gorgon party member is a rogue lol
I have to admit that Nelussa has shot to the top of my list of favorite characters for any number of reasons. Enough so that after reading this lovely comic since the beginning, this is the first time I’ve felt compelled to write.
Welcome to the comments! Thank you for following for so long, I’m delighted to hear from you. I’m a little fond of Nelussa myself. When I created Agaera I decided that would be the LAST time I drew a Gorgon ’cause the snake-hair was a pain. But many years later when I saw how other comics handled it, I gave it another go, and behold, I was able to bring them in with less frustration. I don’t know if Nelussa will become any more regular than Brandor and Kob are, but if/when I do need them, she’ll be part of the group from now on.
-R
I’m glad you find this snake style less painful to draw…and as many of us have said repeatedly during the Ranna arc, the snakes themselves are hilarious and full of personality (probably well beyond any personality you *intended* for them.) I often find myself feeling sorry for the sneks if their "host" gorgon is killed or petrified.
And I agree with GrumboltGoblin that Nelussa is an awesome character. This whole trio have been favorites of mine ever since their initial pragmatic teamups; any time the story wanders their way, I’ll be looking forward to seeing ’em again.
So in your world, I’m assuming that gorgons are immune to their own gaze? Otherwise, mother gorgons and their children are going to have an interesting time of it.
Modern enlightened gorgon: "I wear a mask, or he wears a blindfold, or we do it in complete darkness. Better yet, all three, since no one method of protection is 100% reliable. And though I’ve never had to use it, I HAVE read Gram’s book."
Unreconstructed "monstrous" gorgon: "Why would I let him keep his eyes?"
> Also, would the most appropriate ironic method of executing a gorgon be stoning?
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Standing offer. Nice.
They all shop for shoes at the same store.
See? Adding ‘please’ helped!
Lolol Doesn’t hurt to be polite lol
Love the "standing offer" comment too, Mr Casual lol
Really glad they agreed that she could join, but I haveta admit, I’m reallllly curious what percentage each reason was for her motivation
"And if once helps, then five more times has gotta be a sure thing! I am, in fact, invincible! Hey, we should write that down somewhere."
I’ve always been under the logic of that when travelling. Even if you can’t speak much of the local language, the basic little things such as "Please" and "Thank you" will always be appreciated.
Doesn’t ‘witless’ have 2 s’s?
Probably more, if you’re a Gorgon.
https://files.catbox.moe/cr5qw5.jpg
She’s hypercorrecting.
Yes.
Unless we re-imagine the Ranna’s stooges as all sharpening sticks. 😛
Aw. Those big softies. ^_^
And hey, we might still see Gorgon Amazons be born!
"Those big softies"
The two guys or the gorgon boobies?
… Yes?
If she can get away with that, I want Arache back.
What ever happened to that dagger, anyway?
(and how can we keep it AWAY from DrowCup?!)
Difference being: Arachne died, not simply went into witness protection
After two days of feeling like/being a grumpy bugger, this makes me happy.
Witless!
Yeah yeah, I know.
I honestly read it as wities, not witles. Old age eyesight is horrible.
Have a cookie.
And some diabetes 😛
Virtual cookies are diabetic friendly! Sheesh LOL
Does that mean they are gluten free as well? *eyes cookies hopefully*
With the collection finished, it was discovered someone had written a note and placed it in the collection plate. So that note was passed to the priest, who opened it.
Inside was written a single word: IDIOT
The priest considered it for a moment, then announced to his congregation:
"Often it will happen that someone writes me a note, but leaves no signature. This is the first time that someone has written their signature, but with no note."
t!
Lmao love this!!!!
Original story of Gorgons (Medusa) was very very sad. She got raped by Poseidon and then for a revenge, Pallas Athene killed her. (Unlike her sisters Medusa was not immortal.)
I mean, that is not accurate… mortality seems to be the punishment(if we are going with immortal sisters) and each of them were punished for what medusa did (or what was did to her) with being turned to gorgons. But sisters got to remain immortals.
But original story: No sisters, prob somewhat consensual sex (how consensual it can be if other is god), in Athenes temple.
in every story, it is perseus who delivers the killing blow, with help from several gods.
There’s actually no way for us to know what the ‘original story’ was, the nature of Mythology doesn’t allow for that. The best we can access is the oldest surviving written version of the tales, tales which were memorized at best, improvised at each telling most likely.
Also be careful as some Mythologies mix, merge, and get confused with others. The ‘Gorgon’ figure probably got really changed when the Etruscans (and shortly thereafter, the Romans) got a hold of it, as they had a whole snakey-cult thing going on before they started adapting Greek legends.
That being said, I also have never heard of a version of the tale where Athena flat-out killed Medusa. And I’ve heard many-a-version!
It always fascinates me to see people come out of the woodwork to defend depicting Medusa as a pure monster when people point out that she was a victim in the majority of depictions in myth history and now pop culture.
I think it is safe to say that if you pull back and look at the aggregate of her stories Medusa is much more tragic and sympathetic than most monsters.
The stories I heard was that she was a priestess of Athena, and Poseidon chased her into a temple to Athena and raped her there. Kind of hard to be consensual in those sorts of situations.
Athena was a very spiteful Goddess and was honestly one of the worst ones in her treatment towards mortals.
Yes, because Poseidon raped her in one of Athena’s temples, and there was no way she could punish her uncle(?) so of course punished the victim (who had fled to the temple for protection from Athena, so Medusa was fucked over by the gods *twice*)
That depends entirely on which origin story you go with, AND which interpretation of the myth you choose to accept.
That said, it was Perseus that killed Medusa/Gorgo. Athena is often shown as the one who turned her into that (except… she wasn’t).
If memory serves, the one who popularised that version had a bit of a hate-on for the gods, and has been criticised for how out-of-character Athena’s actions seem.
I’ve never heard that it /Wasn’t/ Athena that cursed Medusa. But I agree, it’s more of a Hera or Artemis thing to do. Athena /usually/ isn’t quite that petty.
Well, Arachne was cursed to be a spider because she won at weaving
Athena could be the less bad of the olimpian’s gods but he became a total bitch.
Other tale said that was Anfitrite because she seduced Neptune
There are a Game of rol called "Gods and monsters" for fate system. (The rest in spanish. I sorry, i don’t know the words or phrases in english. I hope you can translate.)
"Los dioses y semidioses provenientes de los mitos y las leyendas tienden a poseer poderes fÃsicos abrumadores, una inteligencia no muy superior (o inferior) a un ser humano medio y la madurez emocional de un irascible niño de seis años"
"Gods and demigods from myths and legends tend to possess overwhelming physical powers, an intelligence not much superior (or inferior) to an average human being, and the emotional maturity of an irascible six-year-old child" -Google Translate
Hahaha, agreed!
If you are powerful enough and your parents don’t bother raising you, you also ends up spoiled. The emotional maturity of six-year-old makes sense. The gods simply never needed to mature.
Arachne was turned into a spider not because she was better than Athena at weaving (which, admittedly, did make her a bit salty) but because she went into full hybris mode about it.
Even the less charitable versions of the myth are fairly clear on that. It was her character that was punished, not her skills.
No, the Greek gods were *always* viewed as spiteful bastards, *all* of them
Who was the one with the Apples? To be given to the fairest? Who happened to be *not* a goddess?
There’s at least one version I heard that says Medusa was a virgin priestess of Athena, and that after Poseidon decided he wanted her, Athena actually turned Medusa into a gorgon as a form of protection, so that no man could ever try to hurt her that way again. Which makes a fair amount of sense given, as you said, Athena wasn’t *usually* that petty, at least against an innocent victim.
Medusa being given a petrifying gaze as a gift rather than a curse is certainly a valid interpretation of the myth. It’s for that reason some women’s shelters were decorated with carvings of Medusa.
In some versions of the myth, Medusa and her sisters were born monsters. Most often than not, they are listed as daughters of Cetos, though the father is up to debate (with some versions listing him as Gorgon/Gorgos, one of the giants).
Also, your gorgons are closer to the original form than the popularised version of the Harryhausen films (which is more of a mix between lamia and gorgon).
That story about Poseidon is distinctly to Ovid, who was Roman, and the story reeks of Roman moralism. But the Gorgons existed in Greek culture as monsters for at least 400 years before Ovid wrote.
And I gotta admit, I’m not a huge fan of any interpretation that says women can’t be monstrous in their own right, they have to be made monstrous by the actions of men.
Oh that’s very true! The Gorgon figure predates the Medusa story by a long shot!!!
I know the 3 Gorgons as Daughters of Poseidon, being terrible Monsters and only Medusa being normal.
The other Version wasnt about rape, as the goddes turned her into a Monster cause she claimed to be prettier as a godess
And the Medusa depictions predate the greeks by a bit, likely she was a goddess from a culture they conquered and was a figure of protection as evidenced by reliefs of the gorgon head above archways in similar uses to more modern day gargoyles.
You can see evidence of this in her presence on the Aegis, the ultimate symbol of protection. So while I agree with the desire to allow women to be fully realized characters and villains on their own, I also think it is a bit problematic to try and ignore the ones that aren’t. We don’t live in a world of absolutes really.
Besides, Medusa is a villain or monster of the week more often than a protagonist, I don’t see why people always come out of the woodwork to oppose that.
" Louie I think this is the start of a beautiful friendship "
"But Lewie isn’t even here. I thought a priestess said she saw him walking around naked over by the Temple crash site…but probably I just heard that wrong."
They should change their team to "Stone Cold Adventurers for Hire"
And they wrestle on the side between adventures to pay the bills…
I didn’t say that. But I might have thought it. LOL
"CAN YOU SMELL WHAT KOB IS COOKING?!!!!"
That’s *one* way to clear out a dungeon 😛
And no Geneva to ban chemical weapons 😀
That snake is literally licking his boot. A demeaning metaphor, however accurate.
But when I first noticed it, I saw it as a cute little "Hello" taste. Which is the interpretation I’m gonna go with.
t!
This observation — the second paragraph, specifically — prompted an entire short story to unpack itself explosively into my mind, at once.
Bless you, t!. I’m writing it, now.
Any chance to read that?? (Begs as much as Nelussa, but not in the same way)
I’d like to read that too!.
*bribes Rancourt with baked goods*
> Bless you, t!.
On the contrary – thank *you* for paying me the compliment of gifting it with your writing.
t!
P!enapple, Fang FanGirl, t!…I’m quite touched (and flattered!) by your interest. Let me finish it, let it sit, edit it a few dozen times, and then, have a few conversations with Rich about it, once there’s a tangible "it" to discuss. Whether or not it’s finalized as a YAFGC-inspired fan work…it’s a YAFGC-inspired fan work, and one must take particular care with homages to respect the source material, its creator, and his wishes, in all aspects of things.
This said, it’s in progress already. 🙂
With luck, the story could even spawn a set of song lyrics and be a smash hit for Parseltöngue Periscope!
I can be patient LOL
Ahem… how patient do we need to be? 🙂
Aww…right in the feels! A happy ending.
Ha–never noticed the "We R Invincible" tagline on the wagon until now. Well, you can’t be an adventurer without raging self-confidence…
Who knows? A few years later, she might bear his kid.
Might not take a few <i>years</i>, as her sex drive seems to quite active. Hmm, do gorgons go through heat? In which case she is probably in it.
Wait, is it all gorgons being hunted down and killed? Or just the naturals?
Guessing they haven’t heard about the cure… yet
And, what about the nice drow teacher? Would the drow kill her or try and cure her?
They might want to get her some armor with a largish helmet for adventuring garb as well as camouflage.
Aw, this is lovely. I’m an old softy who loves happy endings. Thank you for this, Rich.
So gorgons are some of my favorite monsters and I love that there are so many gorgons in this comic. That’s why her statement about the hunting of gorgons is making me sad! I hope it doesn’t mean they become rarer in the storylines (even if they become rarer in the lore).
Also their adventuring party really is getting close to invincible now, especially if the gorgon party member is a rogue lol
I do hope we get to see some of their adventures in the future.
I have to admit that Nelussa has shot to the top of my list of favorite characters for any number of reasons. Enough so that after reading this lovely comic since the beginning, this is the first time I’ve felt compelled to write.
Welcome to the comments! Thank you for following for so long, I’m delighted to hear from you. I’m a little fond of Nelussa myself. When I created Agaera I decided that would be the LAST time I drew a Gorgon ’cause the snake-hair was a pain. But many years later when I saw how other comics handled it, I gave it another go, and behold, I was able to bring them in with less frustration. I don’t know if Nelussa will become any more regular than Brandor and Kob are, but if/when I do need them, she’ll be part of the group from now on.
-R
I’m glad you find this snake style less painful to draw…and as many of us have said repeatedly during the Ranna arc, the snakes themselves are hilarious and full of personality (probably well beyond any personality you *intended* for them.) I often find myself feeling sorry for the sneks if their "host" gorgon is killed or petrified.
And I agree with GrumboltGoblin that Nelussa is an awesome character. This whole trio have been favorites of mine ever since their initial pragmatic teamups; any time the story wanders their way, I’ll be looking forward to seeing ’em again.
How does "natural born" gorgons work? There aren’t any male gorgons and humanoids would be petrified.
Also, would the most appropriate ironic method of executing a gorgon be stoning?
They are able to mate with Human (and presumably, other humanoid) males. But their children are always females and Gorgons. At least, in my world.
So in your world, I’m assuming that gorgons are immune to their own gaze? Otherwise, mother gorgons and their children are going to have an interesting time of it.
I think it’s pretty clear in a couple of strips that they aren’t immune to each others’ gazes.
So I guess mom and daughter gorgon wear masks around the house? Or mother/daughter are immune?
Modern enlightened gorgon: "I wear a mask, or he wears a blindfold, or we do it in complete darkness. Better yet, all three, since no one method of protection is 100% reliable. And though I’ve never had to use it, I HAVE read Gram’s book."
Unreconstructed "monstrous" gorgon: "Why would I let him keep his eyes?"
> Also, would the most appropriate ironic method of executing a gorgon be stoning?
"Well, she DID say ‘Ranna’…"
It occurs to me that gorgon-stoning might be the only defense against Joan Half-Orc. We know nothing else works.
King Captain Fang (the First) seems to be effective, at least in keeping her occupied… for now
Get those two on a treadmill… infinite energy! Just throw ‘King Captain Fang (the First)’ some cookies now and then.
Fang is very much needed outside of the threadmill ^^
Huh…why DID she prefer gorgans as her priestesses anyway? Did that just get added to her mythology at one point and as a god she had to follow it?
She likes snakes