On an eerie night, all the way in the ancient world of Greece, an impossible task was asked of Perseus, the son of Zeus. Perseus was asked to behead the dreadful monster of Medusa. He was asked to do this impossible task because everyone knew how dangerous and terrifying Medusa was. Therefore, Polydectes asked Perseus to carry out this mission because he wanted Perseus gone.1
There was no doubt about how dangerous the gorgon Medusa was, and all of Greece believed that whoever got close to her would turn to stone. Perseus’ mission was expected to be a failure due to these dangerous conditions. Medusa had a deadly power of turning those who looked into her eyes to stone. When Perseus was asked to behead her, Polydectes and the other gods didn’t believe Perseus could make it out with Medusa’s head and not be turned to stone. However, Perseus succeeded in his mission and beheaded the dreadful gorgon Medusa. The Greeks were ecstatic that this nightmare of a woman was dead and that the wonderful demi-god Perseus had Medusa’s fatal power in his hands. After this, Perseus used Medusa’s head to turn many into stone and it kept the people of Greece in fear of Medusa even after she was dead.2 However, Medusa was not always the feared monster that everyone knew her to be.
Before Medusa was known as a terrifying monster, she was a beautiful maiden who was very kind and pious. Medusa was the daughter of Phorcys and Ceto. Phorcys was a sea god and Ceto was the goddess of sea monsters. Ceto gave birth to all three of the gorgons; Sthenno, Euryale, and Medusa. Medusa was the only one of the gorgons who was mortal, while the other two were immortal. Medusa was a beautiful young woman who was a priestess for the goddess of wisdom and war, Athena. Medusa was a very good priestess, as she made a vow to the goddess that she would swear her life to celibacy and servitude. However, while Medusa was praising and serving Athena, she caught eye of the god Poseidon. What caught his attention most were the gorgeous, golden locks of hair Medusa had. Because Poseidon took such a liking to Medusa, he charmed her and swayed her off her feet. The two were caught having a love affair in Athena’s temple. Once Athena found out about this affair, her jealousy raged and she became furious! She then decided to put a nasty curse on Medusa for breaking her promise of celibacy. This curse turned Medusa’s beautiful locks into venomous snakes and made it so that whenever someone looked at Medusa, they would turn to stone.3
This curse completely turned Medusa’s life around. Once given this curse, Medusa fled her home, never to return. On her journeys, she was shunned, feared, and loathed by all she encountered. These awful experiences turned Medusa’s kind, pious personality into one that matched her new appearance. It’s a shame the goddess Athena had the power to turn Medusa’s entire life around; however, Medusa was not just a feared monster to the ancient Greeks. Medusa’s severed head eventually became a symbol that scared away evil. Many warriors used the symbol of Medusa’s head on shields and breastplates during battle to aid them in winning. Other than aiding in battle, the symbol of Medusa is also seen on ancient coins from Greece that are now ancient artifacts.4 Although Medusa came to be hated by all, she was still an important part of the culture and became a key symbol in ancient Greece.
- Stephen R. Wilk, Medusa: Solving the Mystery of the Gorgon (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2008): 20. ↵
- Carolyn Springer, “Medusa The Reader,” Women’s Art Journal 28, no. 1 (2007): 63-64. ↵
- Encyclopedia of Sex and Gender, 2007, s.v. “Medusa,” by Paolo Fasoli. ↵
- G. K. Jenkins, “Some ancient coins of Libya,” Libyan Studies 5, no. 1 (March 2015): 29-35. ↵
103 comments
Tyler Thompson
This was a very well written article describing the life of medusa. I am very interested in Greek Mythology, and it was nice to see her story. It was interesting to read that she Poseidon broke her vow of celibacy, and how that one act changed her life forever. She is important to Greek culture, but to only imagine what it would be like if it didn’t happen. I wish that there was more detail about the story of Perseus.
Belia Camarena
I have always been interested in ancient Greek mythology, but I never knew the origins of Medusa. I think the author did a great job writing this article, and it was very informative. I always assumed that Medusa was just born evil, not that she was made evil. The effects of jealously are crazy, and reading this article has made me view Medusa with pity, instead of dislike.
Kayla Lopez
Greek mythology has never really been a topic that has always interested me, however, the featured images really made me want to read. I have always heard of Medusa being an evil and mean creature so it was a breath of fresh air to know that she was kind until she finally had enough of being shunned. It was also interesting to know that her face is used as a symbol to ward off evil.
Anna Guaderrama
I mean I feel like everyone has heard of medusa and is well aware of who she is. But, I among many others (I assume) never knew the ‘origin’ of how she came to be. I found it interesting reading up on how she became the medusa everyone knows her as. I honestly just always thought she was born like that because I’ve only ever seen her depicted like that and talked about with those defining characteristics.
Joshua Castro
The story of Medusa has always been an interesting one and this article does something different from most Greek mythology literature. It not only emphasized her immense power and the fear she struck people with, but the tragedy that changed her life to become the monster she was known as. It’s crazy how much the Greek gods acted on jealousy, especially when jealous of a mere mortal despite all the power they hold. Their actions were almost childlike.
Timothy ODekirk
This article about the myth of Medusa was interesting to me. I was always aware of Medusa and even the story of her origins, but no to this extent. It’s crazy to think how jealously could make someone do such a thing to Medusa, turning into a vile monster that everyone loathed. The story also has a sad element to it as well, given the fact that Medusa was not always the snake-haired monster that we all know today. She was a priestess and a beautiful one at that, and jealously turned her into something that she was not. The myth of Medusa is story about jealously and an extremely interesting one at that.
Natalia Carroll-Long
This is the think that I don’t understand about Greek mythology. Sometimes, the stories are about actual heroes and sometimes, like this time, it’s about gods messing with humans purely because they can. I knew about how Perseus was to kill Medusa and her back story, but it seems like her past is always ignored. I really like your turn on the story. It wasn’t even Medusa’s fault that she was with Poseidon, it wasn’t her fault that Athena hated her, it was never her fault, but she took the blame. The Gods were on their shenanigans again.
Saira Castellanos
I thought that Medusa was just born like that. I did not know that story about her. What a shame that Athena did this to her. On the other hand, Medusa should have either not made her promise of celibacy or should have stopped Posieden, or she should have just been more careful about where she had her affairs with him. I mean she kind of asked to get caught by doing it in Athena’s temple. Awesome story!
Alexandra Cantu
The name Medusa is common to all, her name and her looks are known in Greek mythology. Her once beautiful looks turned vile and everyone feared this creature. I found this article on Medusa interesting because I did not know everything about her and how her image became used on coins and shields. I have always been interested in these fascinating stories the Greeks continuously tell and its remarkable how the story is told throughout places. I never knew Medusa was decapitated that was something new to this version of the story.
Auroara-Juhl Nikkels
I love mythology, especially Greek mythology. I think the story of how she came to be the women with the head full of snakes is sad. Poseidon and Athena have always had a rivalry and I feel like he brought her to Athena’s temple on purpose to anger Athena. Medusa got the brunt of Athena’s anger and was cursed for the rest of her life. At the same time, some people say that Athena used the curse to show what Medusa was like on the inside and turn it to how she looked on the outside.