Meet the Gorgons

Tonight's guest Vendyl Jones and his Institute have been involved in archaeological excavations in the state of Israel. Recently, evidence has surfaced that there was once a Greek temple in the city of Dor, which is on Israel's Mediterranean coast.The area, which has been home to eight civilizations dating back 3,000 years, may have had a Greek presence around the seventh century BCE.

The latest Biblical Archaeology Review analyzed the finds from a dig there. "Especially tantalizing was... a huge clay mask, much larger than an ordinary human face. All that was preserved however, was a gigantic eye, with an eyebrow and part of the forehead," wrote Ephraim Stern. Eventually other pieces were located and found to form the heads of two Gorgons.

Gorgons are well known in Greek mythology (most famously Medusa) and have typically been depicted as monstrous beings with snakes for hair, fang-like teeth, and their tongues sticking out. In Greek culture representations of the Gorgon on shields, walls and gates became popular as a protective agent especially against "bewitchment."Because it was determined that one of the Gorgon heads from the Dor excavation was part of a roof tile this lent credence to the idea that there had once been a Greek temple at the site.

--L.L.(1)

1. http://archive.coasttocoastam.com/info/contactus.html

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