A wooden gorgoneion on the door of a Parisian hotel to guard the establishment from unwanted guests, by Thomas Regnaudin . Origin According to Marija Gimbutas, gorgoneia represent certain aspects of the Mother Goddess cult associated with "dynamic life energy" and asserts that the images may be related to a cultural continuity persisting since Neolithic examples. She defined the gorgoneion as a quintessentially European image.  Jane Ellen Harrison, on the other hand, claims that many primitive cultures use similar ritual masks in order to scare the owner from doing something wrong, or, as she terms it, to make an ugly face at the owner: "The ritual object comes first; then the monster is begotten to account for it; then the hero is supplied to account for the slaying of the monster".. History Winged Gorgoneion from Olympia, originally an apotropaic shield decoration, early sixth century BC  Gorgoneia appear frequently in Greek art at the turn of the eighth century BC. One of the earliest representations is on an electrum stater discovered during excavations at Parium. Other early eighth-century examples were found at Tiryns. Going further back into history, there is a similar image from the Knossos palace, datable to the fifteenth century BC. Marija Gimbutas even argues that "the Gorgon extends back to at least 6,000 BC, as a ceramic mask from the Sesklo culture illustrates",. and in her book, Language of the Goddess, she also identifies the prototype of the Gorgoneion in Neolithic art motifs, especially in anthropomorphic vases and terracotta masks inlaid with gold.  See also Gorgoneion Group Cultural depictions of Medusa and Gorgons References  Category:  Ancient Greek art Category:  Anthropology Category: Amulets Category:Iconography Category: Zeus Category:Athena Category:Ancient Greek religion Category:Medus
175px|Gorgoneion on the Tondo of an Ancient Greek Attic black-figure cup, end of sixth century BC - Cabinet des médailles de la Bibliothèque nationale de France, Paris, France . Origin According to Marija Gimbutas, gorgoneia represent certain aspects of the Mother Goddess cult associated with "dynamic life energy" and asserts that the images may be related to a cultural continuity persisting since the Neolithic period defining the gorgoneion as a quintessentially European image. See and . Jane Ellen Harrison, on the other hand, claims that many primitive cultures use similar ritual masks in order to scare the owner from doing something wrong, or, as she terms it, to make an ugly face at the owner: "The ritual object comes first; then the monster is begotten to account for it; then the hero is supplied to account for the slaying of the monster".. History Winged Gorgoneion from Olympia, originally an apotropaic shield decoration, early sixth century BC . Gorgoneia appear frequently in Greek art at the turn of the eighth century BC. One of the earliest representations is on an electrum stater discovered during excavations at Parium. Other early eighth-century examples were found at Tiryns. Going further back into history, there is a similar image from the Knossos palace, datable to the fifteenth century BC. Marija Gimbutas even argues that "the Gorgon extends back to at least 6,000 BC, as a ceramic mask from the Sesklo culture illustrates",. and in her book, Language of the Goddess, she also identifies the prototype of the Gorgoneion in Neolithic art motifs, especially in anthropomorphic vases and terracotta masks inlaid with gold. . See also Cultural depictions of Medusa and Gorgons References Citations Category: Amulets Category: Ancient Greek art Category: Ancient Greek religion Category: Anthropology Category: Athena Category:Iconography Category: Medusa Category:Zeu
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A wooden gorgoneion on the door of a Parisian hotel to guard the establishment from unwanted guests, by Thomas Regnaudin
175px|Gorgoneion on the Tondo of an Ancient Greek Attic black-figure cup, end of sixth century BC - Cabinet des médailles de la Bibliothèque nationale de France, Paris, France
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