GagBase Logo Explore

Midas & Medusa: A Very Brief Affair

This single-panel cartoon meme depicts two iconic figures from Greek mythology: King Midas, who possesses the power to turn anything he touches into gold, and Medusa, who can turn anyone who gazes at her into stone. Midas is shown standing in an open doorway, holding a golden bouquet, fully turned to stone, as he shakes hands with Medusa, who is fully turned into gold, standing inside the home with her characteristic snake hair and snake lower body. The joke relies on the juxtaposition of their two opposing powers, which activated immediately upon their meeting, instantly ending their potential romantic relationship, as referenced by the 'very brief affair' caption.
Make

Text content

MIDAS & MEDUSA: A VERY BRIEF AFFAIR

Overview

This single-panel cartoon meme depicts two iconic figures from Greek mythology: King Midas, who possesses the power to turn anything he touches into gold, and Medusa, who can turn anyone who gazes at her into stone. Midas is shown standing in an open doorway, holding a golden bouquet, fully turned to stone, as he shakes hands with Medusa, who is fully turned into gold, standing inside the home with her characteristic snake hair and snake lower body. The joke relies on the juxtaposition of their two opposing powers, which activated immediately upon their meeting, instantly ending their potential romantic relationship, as referenced by the 'very brief affair' caption.

Origin notes

This meme was posted to the Reddit subreddit r/CultureBlitz 1 month before the screenshot was captured, earning 1.3k upvotes and 6 comments at the time of the screenshot. It is an original hand-drawn humor comic that plays on widely known lore of Greek mythological characters for a pun-based punchline.

Similar memes

The meme is a comic-style illustration featuring two Greek mythological figures: King Midas and Medusa. Midas, depicted with a gray stone-like appearance (likely petrified) and holding a golden object, stands at an open door. Medusa, with snake hair and a golden lower body (likely turned to gold), is shaking hands with Midas. The text at the bottom reads 'MIDAS & MEDUSA: A VERY BRIEF AFFAIR', referencing their conflicting powers—Midas's golden touch and Medusa's petrification—making their interaction humorously short-lived.

Midas & Medusa: A Very Brief Affair

The meme is a comic-style ill…

This is a silly pun meme parodying the Greek mythological figure Medusa. The top text reads 'We heard of Medusa now get ready for:', followed by an illustration of a Medusa-like character whose hair is made entirely of geese instead of snakes, with the bottom text labeling the parody 'MEGOOSA' — a portmanteau pun combining 'Medusa' and 'goose'. The illustration is a cartoon bust profile of the character against a solid brown background, signed by the artist in 2022.

We heard of Medusa now get ready for Megoosa

This is a silly pun meme paro…

This image is a screenshot of a 2018 Twitter (now X) thread. In the first tweet, verified user Matt Crowley mixes two Greek mythology-derived idioms for comedic effect, stating 'Not knowing about Greek mythology is my Achilles' Horse', incorrectly combining 'Achilles' Heel' (a common term for a personal weak point) and the Trojan Horse myth. Verified user Bryn Stole replies with a single exasperated 'Matt.' to call out the mixed idiom. Crowley then leans into the joke, replying 'Uh oh, I've really opened a Pandora's Labyrinth here', another deliberate incorrect mix of the idioms 'Pandora's Box' (a source of unforeseen widespread trouble) and the Labyrinth of Crete from Greek myth. The humor stems from the self-aware mangling of widely recognized cultural references to create absurd new mixed phrases.

Greek Mythology Idiom Mixup Pun Twitter Thread

This image is a screenshot of…

This is a single panel absurdist comic meme depicting the afterlife entrance, traditionally referred to as the Christian pearly gates. Three figures representing Abrahamic religious adherents: a Christian priest with cross imagery on his clothing, a Jewish man wearing a kippah, and a Muslim man wearing a turban, stand at the gates looking upward in shock. A speech bubble near the gates reads 'Uh oh', referring to their surprise at seeing the Norse god Odin standing behind a bright yellow podium labeled 'ODIN' at the entrance, instead of the religious figure they expected to be in charge of heaven. One of Odin's iconic ravens is perched on his shoulder, while another flies overhead in the blue sky above clouds that surround the gate area. The joke centers on the absurd premise that Norse mythology was the correct religion, and all Abrahamic faiths were wrong about the afterlife.

Abrahamic religious figures shocked to find Odin runs the afterlife

This is a single panel absurd…

This is a 4-panel illustrated comic meme that jokes about a perceived gender double standard in social event planning. The top left panel shows a dark-haired woman asking if they should invite another woman they are not close to, and the top right panel shows a blonde woman responding that they should not, as they barely know her. The bottom left panel shows a man in a black cap asking who an unknown bearded man is, and the bottom right panel shows another bearded man casually responding that he has no idea who the stranger is, he just brought him along because he was outside the event. The joke highlights the stereotype that women are far more cautious about including unfamiliar people in group plans, while men are extremely casual about bringing random unvetted strangers to group events without prior discussion.

Double Standard For Inviting Strangers To Social Events Meme

This is a 4-panel illustrated…

This is a screenshot of a viral Twitter (now X) tweet, reposted to 9Gag. The tweet makes a crude, darkly humorous observation about abusive cult leaders, stating that almost every cult leader claims God commands them to have sex with their followers' wives. The 9Gag post's title adds an extra layer of joke, implying that many men secretly desire the power and control that cult leaders hold over their groups. The original tweet gained over 14.9 thousand retweets and 124 thousand likes after being posted in May 2020.

Every man wants to be a cult leader

This is a screenshot of a vir…

This is a reaction meme that jokes about common reactions to classic Monty Python jokes. The top text sets up the scenario: the original poster makes a Monty Python meme, then this image shows how everyone reacts, using the iconic scene from *Monty Python's Life of Brian*. In the scene, Pontius Pilate confusedly asks 'What's so funny about Biggus Dickus?'. Biggus Dickus is an intentionally vulgar-sounding punny fake Roman name that has been a popular joke from the film for decades, and this meme plays on how everyone immediately finds any reference to this iconic joke funny, mirroring the reaction in the original movie scene.

What's So Funny About Biggus Dickus

This is a reaction meme that …

This is a single-panel hand-drawn cartoon meme. A blonde woman holding a mobile phone speaks to a man standing next to her, saying 'I LIKE YOUR PRIDE SHIRT.' in a speech bubble. The man is wearing a black t-shirt printed with the iconic cover art of Pink Floyd's *The Dark Side of the Moon* album, which shows a triangular prism refracting a beam of white light into a rainbow color spectrum. The core humorous gag of the meme comes from a relatable, lighthearted misunderstanding: the woman associates the rainbow graphic on the shirt with LGBTQ+ pride symbolism, while the design is actually famous rock band merchandise unrelated to pride movements.

Woman Mistakes Pink Floyd Dark Side of the Moon Shirt for Pride Merchandise

This is a single-panel hand-d…

A two-panel digital illustration screenshot from a Twitter/X post. Left panel: A pregnant woman with long black hair in a brown dress holds a phone; her transparent belly reveals a fetus holding a phone. Right panel: A pregnant woman in a niqab and burqa sits reading a book; her transparent belly reveals a fetus wearing a small niqab/burqa. Below the illustration: engagement metrics (20.8M Views, 3,038 Reposts, 3,362 Quotes, 25.1K Likes) timestamped '12:15 AM · 10 Feb 24'. A reply thread follows: @N64iac asks 'Whys the baby gotta cover up', and @nekokot_1 replies 'so the men aren't tempted sexually'.

Pregnant Women and Fetuses' Attire Comparison Meme

A two-panel digital illustrat…

This is a two-panel animated meme using clips from the 2007 DreamWorks film *Bee Movie*. The first panel shows female character Vanessa looking to her side, with an overlaid text that reads 'Bananas without the B is just pineapple'. Her boyfriend Ken is seen facing away in the background of the first panel. In the second panel, Ken turns around with a confused, annoyed, bewildered expression, while Vanessa looks down with a small, smug, satisfied smile after stating the absurd pun. The joke relies on wordplay: removing the letter 'B' from 'bananas' leaves 'ananas', which is the word for pineapple in many languages outside of English, making the statement technically correct but sounding nonsensical to most English speakers, prompting Ken's annoyed reaction.

Bananas Without The B Equals Pineapple Bee Movie Pun Meme

This is a two-panel animated …

This image is a screenshot of two consecutive X (formerly Twitter) posts. The top post is from user Donnel @DonnelVillager, who writes 'so uuuuhhh.. my dad just offered me beer. im 16', with 11k comments, 9.6k retweets, 40k likes and 16 million views. Below it, verified user Zam @lZamX quotes the line 'So uuuuhhh.. my dad just offered me beer' and attaches a reaction image of Spongebob Squarepants. Spongebob has wide sparkling eyes, blushing pink cheeks, a very happy elated grin, and is wearing a formal suit with a red bow tie, conveying extreme excited anticipation. The joke lies in the contrast between the original poster's casual, nonchalant tone and the obvious unbridled excitement they feel about being offered alcohol as a minor, which the Spongebob image perfectly illustrates.

16 Year Old Offered Beer By Dad Spongebob Excited Reaction Meme

This image is a screenshot of…

This image is a screenshot of a public X (formerly Twitter) post. It displays the profile of user @jzux, whose display name is 'trash jones', with a profile photo of a smiling young woman, alongside the tweet text: 'hey can i come over and be weird at your house'. The post is a casual, relatable, playful request to hang out with a close friend without any formal planned activities, referencing the comfort of being unapologetically goofy and unfiltered around people one is close to.

Request to come over and be weird at a friend's house

This image is a screenshot of…