gorgoneia are first seen in greek art at the beginning of the 8th century bc. one of the earliest is on a coin found during an archaeological dig at parium. other early 8th-century examples were found at tiryns. there is a similar image from the knossos palace, dating from the 15th century bc. marija gimbutas even argues that "the gorgon extends back to at least 6000 bc, as a ceramic mask from the sesklo culture illustrates".