The Story of Athens

This post is originally from my other blog: A Dramaturg Fantasy

One day in Greece a new city was underway. The city was big and beautiful. The only thing left to do was to find a patron god for the new city. Both Poseidon and Athena wanted to take this position. The people of the city held a contest to choose their patron god. Whoever gave the greatest gift would win.
Poseidon stabbed his trident in the ground and gave a saltwater spring, and Athena gave the first olive tree. The people saw Athena's gift to be more useful so they chose her as their patron. They named the city Athens in her honor. They built an Acropolis or the Parthenon for her too.

The Parthenon
Picture from http://www.greece-athens.com

How the Gorgons Came to Be

This post is also on my other blog: A Dramaturg Fantasy

The story of the gorgons is actually quite pathetic. It goes something like this:
Once upon a time there was a beautiful woman named Medusa (don't freak, just hear me out). Medusa caught the attention of Poseidon, god of the sea. So together they planned a date. It was to take place in Athena's temple. Medusa acquired the help of her two sisters, Stheno and Euryale, to get her into the temple. This entire thing generally upset Athena, goddess of wisdom and war. Athena already had a rocky history with Poseidon (see The Story of Athens), so, as you can imagine, Athena did not take pleasure with him bringing his latest fling in for a date in her house. As punishment, Athena turned Medusa and her sisters into the three gorgons. Medusa got an extra-special punishment with her petrifying (literally) eyes.
Later, Medusa was killed by the hero Perseus and out of her severed neck came the beautiful winged-horse Pegasus, and our favorite 'golden boy' Chrysaor.
Sad huh?
We have never been quite clear on the appearance of Medusa and her sisters except the fact that they are absolutely hideous. Here is a list of some popular gorgon attributes:

Snake hair
Fangs
Boar tusks
Chicken legs
Wings
Scaled skin
Serpent body
Bronze hands/claws

They sound like happy beings don't they?