Gargoyle Totally Explained

Everything about Gargoyle totally explained

In architecture, a gargoyle is a carved stone grotesque with a spout designed to convey water from a roof and away from the side of a building.
   The term originates from the French gargouille, originally "throat" or "gullet"; cf. Latin gurgulio, gula, and similar words derived from the root gar, "to swallow", which represented the gurgling sound of water (for example, Spanish garganta, "throat"; Spanish gárgola, "gargoyle").
   A chimera, or a grotesque figure, is a sculpture that doesn't work as a waterspout and serves only an ornamental or artistic function. These are also usually called gargoyles in laypersons' terminology,
   Gargoyles were also used to scare off demonic spirts. At that time no-one knew much about the Earth and thought that evil spirits would come and take over their homes, to keep these aways people used Gargoyles to make the evil spirits think there was already a spirit there.

19th and 20th centuries

Monsters, or more precisely chimarae, were used as decoration on 19th and early 20th century buildings in cities such as New York (where the Chrysler Building's stainless steel gargoyles are celebrated), and Chicago. Gargoyles can be found on many churches and buildings.
One impressive collection of modern gargoyles can be found at Washington National Cathedral in Washington, DC. The cathedral, begun in 1908, is encrusted with the limestone demons. This collection also includes Darth Vader, a crooked politician, robots and many other modern spins on the ancient tradition. The 20th Century collegiate form of the Gothic Revival produced many modern gargoyles, notably at Princeton University, Washington University in St. Louis, Duke University and the University of Chicago.

Gargoyles in fiction

In contemporary fiction, gargoyles are typically depicted as a (generally) winged humanoid race with demonic features: generally horns, a tail, and talons. These fictional gargoyles can generally use their wings to fly or glide, and are often depicted as having a rocky hide, or being capable of turning into stone in one way or another.

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