Medusa
In Greek mythology, Medusa (Greek: Μέδουσα), was a monstrous female character whose gaze could turn people to stone.
Some classical references describe her as one of three Gorgon sisters. Medusa, Stheno, and Euryale were monsters with brass hands, sharp fangs and hair of living, venomous snakes. The Gorgons and their other sisters the Graiae (and possibly the Hesperides) were daughters of Phorcys and Ceto. Some versions read that Medusa's sisters transformed themselves into monsters in order to protect Medusa.
In the most well known version of the myth, Medusa originally started out as a beautiful woman. She was raped by Poseidon in Athena's temple. Poseidon was an arch-rival of Athena's since at one time he vied for patronage of Athens; the soon-to-become Athenians chose Athena's offering of the olive tree over Poseidon's offering of horses or a spring of water.
Upon discovery of the desecration of her temple, Athena changed Medusa's form to match that of her sister Gorgons as punishment. Medusa's hair turned into snakes and her glance would turn all living creatures to stone. She was banished beyond the Hyperborean lands.
While Medusa was pregnant by Poseidon, she was beheaded in her sleep by the hero Perseus with help from Athena, Hermes, who supplied him with winged sandals, Hades' cap of invisibility, and a sickle. From her neck came her offspring: Pegasus and Chrysaor. Perseus used Medusa's head to rescue Andromeda, kill Polydectes, and, in some versions, petrify the Titan Atlas. Then he gave it to Athena, who placed it on her shield Aegis.
Another well known version is that the once human Medusa claimed to be more beautiful than the greek Goddess of love and beauty, Aphrodite. This caused her to turn Medusa and her sisters into Gorgons.
Medusa in popular culture
- Medusa is used as one of the many symbols of the haute couture house Versace.
- Medusa is the name of a Marvel comics fictional character.
- "Medusa" is a song by the thrash metal band Anthrax (band) from their classic 1985 album Spreading the Disease.
- Medusa is the name of the second solo album by Annie Lennox, released in 1995.
- "Medusa" is a song by the American indie rock band Helium, from their 1995 album The Dirt of Luck.
- Medusa serves as the boss for the second episode of the computer game Daikatana.
Medusa as a sexual image
Some writers, including Camille Paglia, author of Sexual Personae, have characterized Medusa as a sexual image. For example, in Sexual Personae, Paglia writes, "It is against the mother that men have erected their towering edifice of politics and sky-cult. She is Medusa, in whom Freud sees the castrating and castrated female pubes. But Medusa's snaky hair is also the writhing vegetable growth of nature. Her hideous grimace is men's fear of the laughter of women."
