It does seem odd though, of all the awful things mythical beasts might do to brave adventurers, Gygax and Arneson have fixated on the ability to petrify people as an iconic and very dangerous power. It's shocking how many monsters in the 1970’s editions of Dungeons and Dragons turn their foes to stone, but maybe it shouldn't be as there's an entire saving throw dedicated to petrification and then the spell stone to flesh.
