Medusa: From Beauty to Beast
By: Sulola Oluwatobi
Tags: Perseus, Greek Mythology, Historical, Medusa, Mythology

In ancient Greek Mythology, the myth of Medusa remains one of the most famous. Till this day almost everyone is familiar with the tales of the serpent haired Gorgon famed for turning to stone those who dared gaze upon her face. A monster created by gods, feared by men and dreaded by Titans even in death.

Origin

Medusa was one of three daughters born to primordial Sea god Phorcys and his sister turned bride Ceto. According to Greekmythology.com, all Medusa’s siblings were monsters by birth, with Medusa a beautiful human girl the being the exception in the family. This also meant she was mortal unlike her sisters.

As a young woman, Medusa grew up to become a devotee and high Priestess of goddess Athena. To be a priestess in the temple of Athena, she had to take a vow of Chastity, which meant to remain pure, undefiled and celibate till the end of her days.

Poseidon’s lust and begining of Medusa’s end

One day, Poseidon the god of the sea gazed upon Medusa and was instantly enchanted by her beauty. In his state of raging lust, he broke into Athena’s temple and had his way with Medusa, albeit forcefully and fled upon Athena’s arrival.

Seeing this, Athena became boiled with rage and punished Medusa by placing a curse on her, transforming the beautiful Medusa into a hideous monster never to be looked at again by any man. Athena’s curse turned Medusa into a creature which had for hair a rhumba of writhing rattle snakes, a green scaly body and a gaze that instantly turned men and beasts into stone. Consequently, Medusa was banished from civilization to the Island of Sapedon somewhere near Cisthene, a location revealed to be in modern day Libya by 2nd Century Novelist Dionysios Skytobrachion.

Legend has it that Athena’s rage and decision to punish Medusa in such a cruel manner, was fueled by Athena’s jealousy for Medusa’s beauty and the fact that Poseidon was her arch rival. Similarly, it is also believed in some quaters that Poseidon defiled Medusa on purpose in Athena’s temple as a form of revenge, following his loss to Athena in the contest for the control of Athens and Attica.

Perseus and Medusa: The Quest Death

The myth of Medusa’s death will be incomplete without the heroics of Perseus the Son of Zeus, who with the help of Athena and the 3 Graeae witches was able to slay Medusa after hundreds of men had failed.

The tale of Medusa’s death is directly tied to Perseus’s quest and the events that followed it. Perseus was the son of the Sky god Zeus and Danae the daughter of Acrisius. After the Prophecy that Acrisius would die by the hand of Danae’s son, He kept her in a bronze chamber, locked away from men, such that she couldn’t get pregnant and conceive the child to fulfil the prophecy. Zeus being attracted to Danae, went to her in form a golden spring, made love to her and left her with child. After the child was born, Acrisius sent his daughter and her child Perseus away in a wooden box into the sea. Mother and son were rescued on the Island of Seriphos by a fisherman named Dictys who eventually raised Perseus as his son.

Many years passed and Perseus had become a man, brave and strong. Dictys brother Polydectes the King developed romantic interest in Perseus’s mother Danae, but Perseus was protective of his mother as he didn’t consider Polydectes an honourable man. In a bid to get rid of Perseus, so as to have his mother, Polydectes devised a plot to send Perseus on a quest to bring the head of Medusa the serpent haired Gorgon. In all rationality, it was simply a quest of death, one which was expected to claim Perseus’s life.

Perseus was given some special gifts by the gods to aid him in his quest to behead the Gorgon. Hades, god of the underworld, gifted him the Helmet of invisibility. Hermes, the god of travel gave Perseus a pair of winged sandals to help him fly. Athena gifted him a reflective bronze shield, and Hephaestus, god of fire and the forge, gave him a special sword.

Armed with all the gifts from the gods, Perseus finds Medusa’s cave. In his battle with Medusa, he uses the reflective shield to as a mirror to locate Medusa and eventually gets close enough to behead her with the sword given to him by Hephaestus. As soon as he decapitates her, she births Pegasus the winged horse and Chrysaor (Her kids with Poseidon). He bags Medusa’s head and heads home.

The Medusa head as a weapon

Perseus flies with Medusa’s head safely bagged (It’s not sure if he flew with the winged sandals or with Pegasus the winged horse), still potent with its power to turn people to stone. On his journey home, at Ethiopia where King Cepheus was being tormented by Poseidon’s sea monster, Cetus, Perseus slew the beast and won the hand of King’s daughter Andromeda. Andromeda was betrothed to another so it resulted in a contestation which ended up with Perseus using Medusa’s head to turn her previous betrothed to stone.

Likewise, Perseus met the titan Altas, who after an altercation he turned to stone with Medusa’s head, thus creating the Atlas Mountains of North Africa.

On getting home and realising he the trick King Polydectes played on him, he once again used the Medusa head to turn Polydectes into stone, after which he handed the head over to Athena who placed it on her shield as protection.

The symbol of the Medusa head has been used through out history on ammor and shields as a symbol of protection. Well let’s not also forget it’s the symbol of global fashion brand “Versace”.