Gorgon (composition) a ceremonial work, used the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra's commission to see its realization. "Gorgon" was inspired by the legend of the three Gorgons from Greek mythology: Stheno, Euryale, and Medusa. Rouse described the creatures in the score program notes, writing: He added, "Since the time of the ancient Greeks, the gorgon has become a symbol for any terror too immense — and too horrible — to be faced. It has thus become an image of sublimated brutality and savagery, perhaps a metaphor for our own private and subconscious monsters." He concluded, "In addition to certain intentional similarities common to musical
Greek mythology theology (which also affect the interpretation of Virgil). In Saturnalia reappear mythographical comments influenced by the Euhemerists, the Stoics and the Neoplatonists. The genesis of modern understanding of Greek mythology is regarded by some scholars as a double reaction at the end of the eighteenth century against "the traditional attitude of Christian animosity", in which the Christian reinterpretation of myth as a "lie" or fable had been retained. In Germany, by about 1795, there was a growing interest in Homer and Greek mythology. In Göttingen, Johann Matthias Gesner began to revive Greek studies, while his successor, Christian Gottlob Heyne, worked