Medusa

**Medusa** was a gorgon, one of three sisters who also excelled in magic. Medusa was renowned as the most beautiful of all gorgons -- a fact which caught the eye of the deity Poseidon. Though initially she was interested in him, she realized he was only interested in her physical beauty and rejected him. When he refused to take no for an answer, she fled to the Temple of Athena for safety -- only for Poseidon to pursue her into the temple and rape her. He boasted of his conquest to others in the Greek Pantheon. Athena was infuriated at the desecration of her temple, and placed a curse on Medusa -- destroying her beauty by transforming her hair into serpents, and ensuring that no one would ever see her pain. Any who gazed upon her true face, serpentine hair and all, but failed to truly see her would be turned to stone.

Eventually, Medusa faced Perseus in battle, and he beheaded her. He took her head to use as a weapon in battle, turning his foes to stone. But Medusa soon discovered her curse was eternal -- a new head grew from her body, and the curse continued.

## Powers & Abilities

* Spellcasting - Medusa was adept at the casting of magical spells.
* Paralyzing Poison - like all gorgons, Medusa had a naturally occuring paralytic poison she could use.
* Superhuman Strength - Medusa possessed greater physical strength than any human.
* Glamouring - Medusa was able to use illusions to alter her appearance to look like an ordinary human, a beautiful woman.
* Snake Communication - like all gorgons, Medusa was capable of speaking with snakes.
* Invulnerability - Medusa was impossible to kill, except through decapitation, and was impervious to most wounds.
* Immortality - due to the eternal curse placed upon her, Medusa's revived even after being decapitated.
* Resurrection - as a side effect of Medusa's immortality, her blood is capable of restoring life to the dead.
* Petrification - Medusa could turn others into stone.
* Sensing - Medusa could detect the presence of other magical creatures.
* Mind Control - the blood of a gorgon has mind controlling properties.

## Weaknesses

* Decapitation - cutting off her head with a silver blade would temporarily kill Medusa, and restore any of her current stone victims to flesh.

## Lore

### Vera Book of Shadows

> "The most powerful known gorgon
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> Medusa was one of three sorceress sisters– Medusa, Stheno & Euryale. She was renowned for being an enchanting beauty Poseidon could not resist her and raped her in Athena's temple. To punish her for this she was transformed into a demon with serpents hair. No one could ever look upon her beauty again; One look into her eyes and the onlooker would turn to stone.
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> The hero Perseus was sent by the King Polydectes of Seriphus to destroy a sleeping Medusa. He used the reflection of her in his shield he recieved from Athena to guide and behead her. Her severed head retained its powers and so Perseus used it as a weapon in battle to turn his foes from being into stone.
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> Decapitation is the only known method of vanquishing Medusa should she be summoned. The use of mirrors or other reflective materials is advised to avoid her destructive gaze."
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## Source

Medusa is derived from:

* Blood Ties
* Charmed
* Charmed Reboot
* Supernatural