ThoughtCo uses cookies to provide you with a great user experience and for our, 10 Fast Facts on Athena and Her Parthenon, The Greek Mythology of Clash of the Titans, The Twelve Olympian Gods and Goddesses of Greek Mythology, Profile of Eros, Greek God of Passion and Lust, The Story of Nike, the Greek Goddess of Victory, Fast Facts on Helios - Greek God of the Sun, What You Need to Know About the Greek God Zeus. While Medusa is usually considered to be ugly, one myth states that it was her great beauty, not her ugliness, that paralyzed all observers. Ovid grouped his vast collection of poems by subject and theme, even by geographical location. With such an eye for theme and symbolism, Ovid likely elaborated on many older and less fleshed-out stories to achieve his desired effect. Details were added and entire plot points embellished for dramatic effect rather than an adherence to tradition. The original tale of Perseus had no instance of physical transformation, and thus no basis for inclusion in Ovid’s work. He included her in his Metamorphoses, a collection of over two hundred myths that centered around incidents of physical transformation. The snake-headed, petrifying image of Medusa is instantly recognizable in popular culture. It seems that Medusa’s fate was sealed once she was cursed. Did a Lion-Headed Monster Exist in Greek Mythology. In this work, Ovid describes Medusa as originally being a beautiful maiden. For this infraction, Medusa was transformed into the most terrible looking monster the world had ever seen and eventually hunted down and beheaded by one of Athena’s favored champions. In some imagery, she has fangs, a forked tongue, and bulging eyes. Legend states that Medusa was once a beautiful, avowed priestess of Athena who was cursed for breaking her vow of celibacy. Medusa is a monster who can petrify people to stone if they look her directly in her eyes.. The Greek poet Hesiod wrote that Medusa lived close to the Hesperides in the Western Ocean near Sarpedon. An image of Medusa's head was placed on Athena's own armor or shown on her shield. Also, the flag and emblem of Sicily feature her head. Ovid, one of the era’s most prolific writers, included her in his Metamorphoses. Ancient statuary, bronze shields, and vessels have depictions of Medusa. Her beauty caught the eye of Poseidon, … According to Ovid’s account, Medusa’s punishment by Athena was just and appropriate for her crime. The story had be be embellished so that one of Greece’s most famous heroes and founding kings could be included in a thematically-appropriate way. The image of Medusa was thought to be protective. He was generally considered to be the father of Pegasus and Chrysaor, who sprang from the Gorgon’s neck when she was decapitated. The Greeks, according to all the surviving sources of the story, had no concept of Medusa as ever having been cursed, however. From there, Ovid’s tale continues the familiar narrative of her beheading by the hero Perseus, who was aided by both Athena and Hermes in his quest to kill the monster. Ovid’s was not the only account in which Poseidon had some sort of relationship with Medusa. While her sisters were immortal man-eaters, Medusa was the only one of the three who could be killed. Hesiod’s account, written nearly eight centuries before Ovid’s Metamorphosis, specified that Poseidon met Medusa in a meadow, however, not in the temple of Athena. Many modern readers thus interpret Medusa as the victim of a patriarchal culture that punished female victims for crimes committed against them. She turned Medusa into a hideous hag, making her hair into writhing snakes and her skin was turned a greenish hue. Many were ancient tales, while others seem to have been rewritten or entirely created by Ovid. To modern readers, however, it seems like a cruel act in which the victim was punished, and eventually killed, for the actions of her assailant. Hers was not the only story of transformation created by Ovid. Medusa was one of three Gorgon sisters who lived in a cave at the edges of the known world. His poems are viewed by modern analysts as examples of engagement with established stories and the poetic forms in which they had previously been written. Why Did Medusa Get Cursed? The Medusa myth has enjoyed a renaissance since the story was featured in the "Clash of the Titans" movies in 1981 and 2010, and "Percy Jackson and the Olympians," also in 2010, where Medusa is portrayed by actress Uma Thurman. According to him, Medusa had been cursed by Athena. The hero Perseus was sent on a quest to kill Medusa. She turned her long hair into venomous snakes and made her beautiful face so hideous that those who looked into her eyes would immediately be turned to stone. Medusa is one of the more unusual divine figures of ancient Greece mythology. DeTraci Regula is a freelance writer who has specialized in Greek travel and tours for 18 years. In Medusa’s case, it was Poseidon who was drawn to her. Famous artists that have been inspired by Medusa and the heroic Perseus story include Leonardo da Vinci, Benvenuto Cellini, Peter Paul Rubens, Gialorenzo Bernini, Pablo Picasso, Auguste Rodin, and Salvador Dali. Such an act would be a violation of the sanctity of any temple, but it was particularly insulting for Athena. I am the owner and chief researcher at this site. Throughout ancient Greece, there are a number of references to the Medusa myth by ancient Greek writers Hyginus, Hesiod, Aeschylus, Dionysios Skytobrachion, Herodotus, and Roman authors Ovid and Pindar. Medusa’s long shining hair was turned to snakes and her features were twisted beyond recognition. The mere sight of her could turn a man to stone in an instant. Medusa fled to the cave where her already monstrous sisters lived. On a boast, Perseus sought Medusa out to vanquish her once and for all. In modern times, her carved image adorns a rock off the coast of the popular Red Beach outside of Matala, Crete. For this infraction, Medusa was transformed into the most terrible looking monster the world had ever seen and eventually hunted down and beheaded by one of Athena’s favored champions. One account says she married Perseus. When Medusa had an affair with the sea god Poseidon, Athena punished her. It was his victim, Medusa, who bore the brunt of the goddess’s wrath. While they were immortal monsters, she was renowned as one of the most beautiful women in Greece. She was so hideous that the mere sight of her could cause a man to be petrified into solid stone. Once the challenge was issued by … My work has also been published on Buzzfeed and most recently in Time magazine. She is famed for her snake-like hair and her gaze, which turns those who look at her to stone. Legend states that Medusa was once a beautiful, avowed priestess of Athena who was cursed for breaking her vow of celibacy. He made the boast to impress a king who was after his mother. When Medusa had an affair with the sea god Poseidon, Athena punished her. I have been in love with all things related to Mythology. He was able to defeat the Gorgon by lopping off her head, which he was able to do by fighting her reflection in his highly polished shield. The other two sisters were Stheno and Euryale. Anyone who locked gaze with Medusa was turned into stone. Some accounts said her two spawn had sprung from her severed head. Although Hesiod gives an account of Medusa’s origins and the death of Medusa at the hands of Perseus, he does not say more about her. Medusa is remembered as a horrible monster, but in some later versions of the myth she had not always been so hideous. Privacy, Jason Greek: Who is Jason in Greek Mythology. Despite her mortality, Medusa was the deadliest of the three. As a virgin goddess she was appalled at the desecration of her sacred space. It is said that the Artemis temple in Corfu depicts Medusa in an archaic form. Instead, it is grouped with the love stories as a single scene in the larger tale of Perseus and Andromeda. The poet collected nearly 250 stories in Metamorphoses, several of which can be found nowhere else in the surviving texts of the ancient world. The idea of the Gorgon having been cursed by Athena allowed the story to fit in among tales of avenging gods and deserved punishments. The story of Medusa’s curse is not the main subject of Ovid’s story. Some ancient sources hinted at the idea that Medusa may not have always been so terrible to look upon, however. The characterization of Medusa as a formerly beautiful young woman was a very late addition to the mythology of the ancient Mediterranean world. She is not considered a goddess or Olympian, but some variations on her legend say she consorted with one. She is not considered a goddess or Olympian, but some variations on her legend say she consorted with one. While little is written of her life, probably because no one survived an encounter with her, we do have the story of her death. She was known to have been a lover of Poseidon and was occasionally referenced with favorable attributes of beauty. The Roman poet Ovid included Medusa in his epic collection of Metamorphoses. Her supposed crime was an assault by Poseidon in the goddess’s temple. Gaia is sometimes said to be the mother of Medusa; other sources cite the early sea deities Phorcys and Ceto as the parents of the trio of Gorgons. When Athena discovered the affair, she was enraged and immediately cursed Medusa by taking away her beauty. He later used her head as a weapon to turn enemies to stone. Many modern readers are unaware of Ovid’s stylistic reasons for changing the details of established stories and of the relatively late date in which he wrote. In Ovid’s version of the tale, Medusa had been born with much different features than her sisters. It was not Poseidon who was punished, however. Today, many accept the story of Medusa as a victim of Athena’s anger as a standard part of the story of the monster and her death at the hands of Perseus. Medusa’s life was forever changed. The real change in Medusa’s character came in the Roman era. According to the design house, it was chosen because she represents beauty, art, and philosophy. Medusa was regarded as one of the most hideous and deadly monsters in Greek mythology, but was she always so fearsome or was she actually the victim of a terrible curse? As early as the 4th century BC, Pindar referred to her as “fair-cheeked,” a term associated with traditional feminine beauty rather than a grotesque monster. She is shown as a symbol of fertility dressed in a belt of intertwined snakes. The work is still considered a masterpiece for the ways in which it connected stories and drew both parallels and contrasts between the tales.
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