page_title: Medusa
section_title: Myth
hierarchical_section_title: Medusa / Myth
caption_attribution_description: English: Gorgon. Side A from an Attic black-figure neck-amphora, ca. 520–510 BC. Français&#160;: Gorgone. Face A d'une amphore à col attique à figures noires, vers 520-510 av. J.-C.
context_page_description: Medusa is a character in Greek mythology. Her story has been told and retold by ancient and modern storytellers, writers, and artists.
  The Latin poet Ovid writes in Book IV of his Metamorphoses that Poseidon had raped Medusa in the temple of Athena. The goddess was outraged, and changed Medusa into a monster with snakes for hair.
  Medusa has been depicted in the visual arts for centuries. Many interpretations surround the myth, including one by Sigmund Freud. For the ancients, an image of Medusa's head was a device for averting evil. This image was called a Gorgoneion. The Gorgoneion was very scary and made all the children cry, but worked only against Medusa and not her sisters.
context_section_description: Medusa was one of three sisters. They were known as The Gorgons. Medusa's sisters were Stheno and Euryale. Medusa was mortal, but her sisters were immortal. They were all children of the sea deities, Phorkys and his sister Keto. Before they were monsters, all three sisters were beautiful young women, particularly Medusa; however, she was a priestess in the temple of Athena and was bound by a vow of celibacy.
  Any man or animal who looked directly upon her was turned to stone.
   
  The hero Perseus beheaded Medusa by viewing her reflection in his burnished shield. After using the dreadful head to defeat his enemies, he presented it to Athena and she put it on her shield. 
  Medusa was pregnant by Poseidon at the time of her death. Pegasus, a winged horse, and Chrysaor, a golden giant, sprang from her blood.
caption: Gorgon on a black-figure amphora from Greece (520–510 BC)
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