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
Jason Garcia
I love Greek mythology and the creatures that were created within it. The story of Medusa was one that I always wanted to learn but could never find enough information on. The article explained Medusas tragic history up until her “death” by Perseus. While I don’t think it was intentional at the stories creation the story of Medusa has a lesson which I believe is ” True beauty lies within” While Medusa was beautiful on the outside, some stories say she was evil and cruel on the outside, which is what Athena used to turn her into the beast she later became.
Alyssa Childs
Although I have read about Medusa before I was astonished with how well written this article was. The story of Medusa is a tragic one and I feel like the author, Cherice Leach, captured the story perfectly. As I read the article I felt myself being more drawn into the life of Medusa because I felt the pain she went through. It’s devastating to read the cycle of events that caused Medusa’s life to turn around because of jealously from Athena. Medusa is a woman who was misinterpreted because people only saw the cover, nobody had the intentions to read her story and discover the kind and pious woman she once was.
Natalie Childs
I am a huge fan of mythology, so when I saw this title, I immediately wanted to read it. While I previous knowledge of Medusa not always being the monster we imagine, I never knew the full story. And it is one that is incredibly tragic. It’s almost heartbreaking what happened, since she, as a mortal, was wooed by one of the most powerful Gods, and then punished horribly, to live a life filled with agony and alone.
Didier Cadena
It was really interesting to read about the symbolism of Medusa after she was killed. I was unaware that many Greek soldiers would use her image to scare and intimidate their enemies. The article also does a great job of describing the tragedy that is Medusa. The article does a great job of getting to point and summarizing the myth. Because of that, it helped make this a great read.
Hector Garcia
It’s interesting to read of how this myth of Medusa could determine the outcome of a battle. Even though she is portrayed as an antagonist in Perseus’ mission, we are still given Medusa life before she was a monster. It’s also fascinating to hear that this myth has survived for thousands of years. It has even made it way to become the symbol for the famous clothing line, Versace. By far, this was an excellent article because it was short and concise.
Marlene Lozano
This was a great article! I knew about Medusa but never the story of how the curse came to be. After reading this I was surprised to find out that Medusa was once known to be beautiful and if Athena had never cursed her, she wouldn’t have had the rage and power that was greatly known and feared. I also believe it is partly Medusas fault because of her affair with Poseidon in Athena’s temple. Altogether the story behind her curse is very interesting.
Joel Gracia
I have always had a profound interest in Greek mythology, and this story in particular has always been one of my favorites. I enjoyed reading this article and learning of new symbols and meanings within the story. I find that there is always more to learn on topics such as this, and you did a great job of introducing new aspects to an already great story.
Amanda Cantu
Great article! I love reading about Greek Mythology and I find Medusa quite fascinating. I kinda knew her story but I didn’t know all the details. It was really interesting to get to read about what truly happened to her. Yeah it sucks that Athena did that to her but in a way she became really powerful. In all honestly I guess jealousy does get out of hand with females and even gods. I’m really curious on what would have happened if Medusa didn’t get cursed but I guess that is just up to our imagination.
Mariet Loredo
I have heard about Medusa but never of how she became someone so feared. Athena was the one responsible for Medusa’s power of turning anyone who looked at her into stone. In my opinion, she did deserve it since she had a love affair with Poseidon. What I didn’t think was fair was how after Perseus took her head, he still used it to turn people into stone. This was a very interesting topic and I learned more about Medusa and how she came to be.
Osman Rodriguez
Interesting article. I love reading about Greek mythology. Medusa is a very interesting character herself. This article explains her origin pretty well. I did not know how Medusa came to be, but I did know she wasn’t the feared woman many know of today. I feel as though the Greek gods give certain people a bad rap. Medusa was helpless against the meddling of Poseidon, and could not do anything about Athena. Still, an interesting story indeed.