I Have a Problem With Luciano Garbati’s “Medusa with the Head of Perseus”….and Medusa Does Too
By: A.K. Johnson
Tags: Feminism, Metoo, Art, Medusa, NYC

Five years ago, I was nannying a child who was particularly interested in Greek mythology. Being a student of comic books as well, he wanted to know the ‘origin story’ of his favorite myth — Medusa. This began a personal ongoing research project into the origins, symbolism, and impact of the myth of the Gorgon, and if it’s possible for a 32-year-old woman to have an imaginary friend, I have certainly found mine in Medusa.

On Tuesday, October 13, a statue depicting Medusa holding the head of slain Perseus was installed outside NY County Criminal Court, to serve as a warning to all who enter. I have a problem with this. Well, maybe not problem. Garbati’s an artist and can do what ever he wants. I do, however, take issue with the head she’s holding belonging to Perseus, as I believe it shows a lack of understanding of the true myth of the Gorgon, aka the ancient Patient Zero of sexual assault, victim-blaming, and rape survival.

Slowly, gradually, and a millennia too late, the world is learning the true story of Medusa. A maiden in the temple of Athena captures the eye of Poseidon, and he rapes her in the temple. Athena, enraged that the temple was desecrated, but unable to enact revenge on Poseidon (he’s her brother/God politics), curses the maiden to become what we know as Medusa, the Gorgon. Her legs fuse together to form a sort of slithery, snakelike lower half, her hair is replaced with snakes, her teeth grow into grisly tusks, and her eyes turn every living thing they see into stone.

No more vagina, literal phalluses growing out of her head, and men can’t look at her or they’ll die. We all know it. Nathaniel Hawthorne wrote a version of it that was and always will be my favorite bedtime story.

Okay.

How about the other subject of this sculpture, Perseus? Did he wantonly wander up the mountain with the intention to slay the Gorgon, and use her head to conquer his enemies? No. The story begins before Perseus was born. His mother, Danae, had an evil man for a father — Akrisios. Like other principle characters of Greek drama, Akrisios was cursed with the knowledge of a prophecy. He visited the Oracle of Delphi, who warned him that his daughter would bear a son who would one day kill him. Terrified, he locked Danae in a prison, where she was living when Zeus saw her and fell in love. Unable to get through the prison doors (wtf, Zeus), the god turned himself into gold, floated into her cell, and subsequently impregnated her with Perseus (WTF, ZEUS). When Perseus is born, Akrisios again attempts to thwart the prophecy by locking his daughter and grandson in a box and casting them out to sea. A kind fisherman rescues them on the shores of Seriphos. It is in their new home that the king, King Polydektes sees Danae and falls madly in love with her. She won’t marry him. He tries to force her, which only creates enmity between the King and the now-teenage Perseus. Polydektes pretends to accept this marriage refusal, pretends to be engaged to someone else, and demands that Perseus give him Medusa’s head as a wedding gift. The king assumes Perseus will die, making Danae powerless to stop his advances.

Here’s where the gods got political. Medusa’s existence was an embarrassment to Olympus. Poseidon desecrated his sister’s temple, Athena lost her temper, she was jealous of Medusa’s (former) beauty, and clearly her followers were not attentive at worship, AND two other women followed Medusa into exile. There were three Gorgons, remember. Sthenno and Euryale sacrificed their humanity to stand in solidarity with their friend after Poseidon’s rape. The other two Gorgons, for their ‘noble sacrifice,’ were granted immortality from the gods. The gods respected the friendship with the victim, but not the victim herself. Medusa alone, serving as a symbol of the gods’ weakness, was mortal. That is why the gods rush to help Perseus, giving him the sword, the shield, and the shoes. They instruct Perseus to seek out the Graiae, three women who have one eye they share to see, and one tooth they share to eat. He steals their seeing eye, prompting them to give up the location of the Gorgons.

The part of me that believes this story does not believe the legend that Perseus sneaked up on Medusa and killed her in her sleep. He had, in his life, seen abuse after abuse suffered at the hands of greedy men who had nothing better to do than take from women who couldn’t fight back. I think Perseus and Medusa spoke, I think she was heartbroken that nothing had changed, and knowing that she could spare one woman any amount of pain, she bowed her head and let her last act on this earth be one of sacrifice. Medusa should be referred to as Survivor and Martyr. Perseus is a hero. He was just a boy trying to save his mother.

I challenge anyone to not shudder in recognition at moments when you have been Athena, vilifying a person for making you feel inferior. Or to look at Akrisios and see yourself in his fear of loss, or Poseidon in his anger when rejected. The most enduring metaphor for me is the Graiae, who, once blinded, pave the way for their sister’s murder. Anyone else ever make a choice that harmed their friend because they were ‘blind’, or is it just me and the 2,000-year-old Graiae?

This is looking the other way when a coworker is uncomfortable. This is ‘he’s only mean to you because he likes you.’ This is Ted Bundy being played by Zac Efron. This is Larry Nassar preying on children for decades. This is Donald Trump calling Kamala Harris a monster. Medusa is the mother of an ancient pain, and it is recalled and relived often.

At long last, and a millennia too late, my point: Medusa shouldn’t be holding the head of Perseus. It could be Zeus, it could be Athena, Poseidon or Polydektes; it could be Harvey Weinstein or Brock Turner. But if the true purpose of this statue is to admonish all entering the New York Criminal Court, Medusa should be holding a mirror.