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In addition to being snake-haired and winged, she was often pictured with fangs and a wide, menacing face. London: Nutt, 189496. Thus, it seems that Medusa was depicted differently in art than she was in literature. Medusa. Andromeda had been left chained to a rock as a sacrifice to a sea monster. WebIn one version of the Medusa story, she was a gorgeous young woman who agreed to become one of Athenas priestesses. They manage to escape when Percy beheads her. The myths of Medusa and Perseus appear in Book 2. Pausanias, in his Description of Greece, offers a historical version of Medusa that may be worth mentioning. Euryale could leap with ease, while Stheno was stronger than her sisters. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2000. It is said he was killed because of the death of Proetus. During the 20th century, many looked at the tale of Medusa and how it relates to feminism. Medusa or her Gorgon sisters appear in many video games and role-playing games, including Dungeons and Dragons, God of War, and Final Fantasy. Eventually, it died. Medusa by Michelangelo Caravaggio (159596). Modern literary experts also point to the legend as one of the first times in history when men blamed a victim for her rape. They write new content and verify and edit content received from contributors. Nameberry is a registered trademark of Nameberry, LLC. The two decided to marry, which infuriated the goddess. 2022 Wasai LLC. Uma Thurman took on the film role and was in a pivotal scene. When Ovid wrote her story in Metamopheses, he claimed that she was born beautiful before becoming a snake-haired creature and retained her looks over the years. Frightened by this prophecy, Acrisius imprisoned his daughter in a bronze chamber and buried her underground. Cixous urges women to use this story as a way to take back their own power and escape the control that men have over them. This creature had a snake on the end of its tail and the body of a dragon. Greek writers never specified why only one Gorgon sister was mortal. Beth Seeling took a different approach to the Greek legend. Virgil: In the epic the Aeneid (19 BCE), Medusa and the Gorgons are included among the monsters living at the outskirts of the Underworld (6.287ff). The fields of Atlas contained the golden fruit, some of which the old Titan had previously given to Heracles. WebPerseus Early Life Perseus was the demigod offspring of the unusual union between Zeus and Danae: the supreme god came to the imprisoned princess of Argos in the form of a golden shower through a crack in the roof of her chamber. Herodotus the historian said her home was Libya. I know, its complicated. According to most sources, she had two sisters that lived alongside her. WebIo (/ a. Medusa was one of the scariest creatures that Greek mythology created. While some myths suggest that Perseus volunteered to retrieve the head as a wedding gift, others say he was ordered to as a method of getting rid of the pesky young man. Perseus then headed to Ethiopia to rest and set her head down on the ground. Any man who saw her face would turn to stone, and it was considered a feat that Perseus could survive her presence, let alone kill her. Some vases have also been found that depict the story of the golden shower, in which Danae is locked away. As she traveled, some of the serpents in her hair fell to the ground and slid away. Perseus is one of the few people besides Hermes to wear the winged sandals. Andromeda was said to be an Ethiopian princess. Classic Medusa, in contrast, is an Oedipal or libidinous symptom. Her pure white milky skin turned a scary green hue. Thus the prophecy was fulfilled, and Perseus was officially the rightful claim to the throne of Argos. Andromedas mother boasted that she was more beautiful than the Nereids, so Poseidon sent the monster to attack the city. Perseus is a godly Greek hero (he was a son of Zeus) whose ancient name just Let us know if you have suggestions to improve this article (requires login). 1 According to Hesiod ( Hes. Next time there is a trivia night, it might be more interesting to choose questions about Perseus than Hercules, and there are some fun facts that make perfect questions. Today, many surviving bronze shields from ancient antiquity are carved with the Gorgons head as a warning for all who face the wielder. Perseus, admiring her beauty even in death, beheaded her to show the Greeks upon his return. Among her early depictions were those in horror films from the 1960s. Numerous analyses have made us familiar with the occasion for this: it occurs when a boy, who has hitherto been unwilling to believe the threat of castration, catches sight of the female genitals, probably those of an adult, surrounded by hair, and essentially those of his mother. It ended with Perseus taking the Gorgon head from its bag and turning the entire Ethiopian army into stone. Medusa was often depicted as a terrifying winged female with snakes instead of hair. Unlike other creatures who were mortal, Medusa was mortal and capable of death. She personified, or represented, fairness, the laws of the gods, the laws of human nature, the laws made by man and customs (or tradition). Priestesses took a vow of chastity and devoted their lives to her. Medusa, the daughter of the sea gods Phorcys and Ceto, was the most feared of the Gorgons. She was portrayed using stop motion animation in the 1981 film Clash of the Titans. Medusa is also a character in the first installment of Rick Riordans Percy Jackson and the Olympians series and is portrayed by Uma Thurman in the 2010 film adaptation. Dohalice, which is a small village in the Czech Republic also uses her head in its coat of arms. [1] Alcmene was the daughter of Electryon, the king of Mycenae and a son of the hero Perseus. London: Spottiswoode and Company, 1873. Themis was a Titaness (the female version of Titan), which was a generation of gods that came before the Olympians. Andromeda was a legendary Ethiopian princess who was saved by the Greek hero Perseus from a terrible sea-monster. Together, Perseus and Andromeda lived a happy life until they became constellations in the sky. Perseus and Andromeda, from the imperial villa at Boscotrecase, 1st century BCE, The Met. Pegasus was eventually tamed by the hero Bellerophon.[18]. Pindar wrote in 490 BC that she had fair cheeks. Medusa. Mythopedia, March 11, 2023. https://mythopedia.com/topics/medusa. Origin: Greek. Athena was customarily portrayed wearing body armour and a helmet and carrying a shield and a lance. Unlike other stories that claim she caught them in the throes of passion, this version says that she was upset that her priestess went against her rules. In later artwork, she appears as a more beautiful woman. Athena took things a step further. Caravaggio painted two versions of Medusa, the first in 1596 and the other around 1597. Sicily uses both Medusa and the trinacria on its flag. In later times, Artists would paint quite detailed works of Perseus holding the head of Medusa, and they would inform similar beheadings, such as David and Goliath, or the beheading of John the Baptist. In one version of the Medusa story, she was a gorgeous young woman who agreed to become one of Athenas priestesses. She has been featured in movies, books, cartoons and even video games. Hephaestus also helped the young man with the gift of a sword. Then he grew to an immense height in every part (so you gods determined) and the whole sky, with its many stars, rested on him.. Apollonius of Rhodes, Argonautica 4.1515; Ovid, Metamorphoses 4.770; Lucan, Civil War 9.820. Perseus was eventually the person to kill his grandfather. Parthenon As the guardian of the welfare of kings, Athena became the goddess of good counsel, of prudent restraint and practical insight, as well as of war. Some legends say Themis created this oracle position while others credit Gaea, who then gave it to her. Rather than the father of Perseus, Poseidon is a lover of Medusa, a sea monster who Perseus slew. It is only those interested in the stars that may see the name appear commonly, and that is because there is a very famous constellation named after the Argive king. Elizabeth Johnston released an essay in 2016 where she talked about how men used the legend as a way to disparage Hillary Clinton as she ran for President. The myths of Medusa are addressed in Book 3. In this myth, the vipers emerged from the droplets of Medusas blood as Perseus flew over the Sahara with the Gorgons severed head. O Atlas, the oracle said, mark the day a son of Zeus shall come to spoil; for when thy trees been stripped of golden fruit, the glory shall be his. Worried that this son was Perseus, Atlas was always careful. Learn more about our mission. WebPerseus was one of the oldest out of all of the Greek mythological heroes. Dionysios Skytobrachion wrote about her during the second century and claimed that she both lived and died in an area of Libya. When I asked why Perseus appeared only to them, and why, unlike all other Egyptians, they celebrate games, they told me that Perseus was by lineage of their city. She turned Medusa into an ugly creature by making her eyes bloodshot and raging and her face haglike. Being the favourite child of Zeus, she had great power. For this insult, Perseus showed the severed head of Medusa, and the old Titan turned to stone. The oracles of Zeus told the King that, by sacrificing Andromeda, the monster would be appeased and go once more. Heracles was the son of Zeus, the king of the Greek gods, and a mortal woman named Alcmene. Pindar, Pythian Ode 12.16. Upon returning to Seriphos, Perseus showed the king Polydectes the head and turned him to stone, thus saving his mother. The Legend of Perseus. Perseus is a godly Greek hero (he was a son of Zeus) whose ancient name just might have modern possibilities along with other so-old-they're-new-again names such as Atticus and Orion. Strabo, Geography: A late first-century BCE geographical treatise and an important source for many local Greek myths, institutions, and religious practices from antiquity. Though he used it to save his mother, Perseus then went to Argos and buried her head there. So maybe its a good time to say what Sigmund Freud in his Das Medusenhaupt (Medusas Head) thought of her. One of her works said that similar stories focused on sister trios and that authors likely added Medusas sisters. While Medusa once had soft and supple white skin, it turned green. Perseus took the beautiful woman with him back to Argos. The story of Perseus birth and the prophecy of his grandfathers death would become the center of the myth known as The Golden Shower.. [21], Perseus eventually gave Medusas head to Athena, who placed it on her breastplate or shield, called the aegis. After their wedding, he headed to Seriphos for his mothers wedding. The serpentine locks of Medusas hair had an effect very similar to that of the head: while they did not necessarily turn people to stone, they could scatter entire armies. Due to his connection to the sea, many think that Perseus is related to Poseidon. Pegasus, the famous horse with wings, arose from her dead body. According to Ovid, this is what first got her into trouble: when Medusa slept with Poseidon in a temple of Athena, Athena turned her hair into snakes as a punishment. 1 And having wedded Earth, he begat first the Hundred-handed, as they are Whether it is Pausanius or Apollodorus you read, the story is remarkably the same. Perseus was eventually killed by Megapenthes, son of Proetus. Essentially urban and civilized, Athena was probably a pre-Hellenic goddess later taken over by the Greeks. The terrible monster beheaded by Perseus wasnt always so horrifying or deadly. Hercules then went to Tegea and met with Sterope who was the daughter of Cepheus. The other two Gorgons were named Stheno and Euryale. The Seven Faces of Dr. Lao came out the same year and told the traditional story of Medusa. Perseus was assisted by the gods, who provided him with a mirrored shield, winged sandals, a helmet of invisibility, an adamantine sword, and a magical satchel that could carry Medusas head. During the height of the #metoo movement, many women began using images of Medusa. What Do We Know About Historical Perseus? Fans of Percy Jackson & the Olympians will find that she pops up in both the original book and the film based on the book. The once lovely hair was morphed into poisonous, dangerous snakes. 2023. https://mythopedia.com/topics/medusa. Thanks to it, we will be able to sustain and grow the Magazine. Though some point to the version of the story where Athena came across Medusa in her temple, others claim that the legend never says whether she willingly agreed to intercourse with Poseidon. Herodotus found some evidence that she appeared in Berber mythology where she was a major part of their religion. No source of mythology states that Poseidon was his father, although the sea god does play a role in Perseus story. His bones became stones. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); Gods of Death It is said that the priestesses of Chorea, women who followed Dionysus, were slaughtered by Perseus and his followers and dumped into a communal grave. In most versions of the story, she was beheaded by the hero Perseus, who was sent to fetch her head by King Polydectes of Seriphus because Polydectes wanted to marry his mother. Greek poet Hesiod wrote that Medusa lived close to the Hesperides in the Western Ocean near Sarpedon. Legend says that when invaders attacked the city, Sterope used the hair to bring forth a storm that sent them running away in fear. Only according to the scholia on Apollonius of Rhodes Argonautica 4.1399. Perseus Percy Jackson, is the main character of a popular YA book series called Percy Jackson and the Olympians. Written by Rick Riordan, the series of books follows a modern story of a demi-god fighting to stop the Titans from taking over the world. In the versions that name Perseus, the story is grim. Howe, T. P. An Interpretation of the Perseus-Gorgon Myth. PhD diss., Columbia University, 1952.
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