Even though she has a hideous looks, Medusa is one of the most misunderstood characters in the ancient Greek mythology. Those who gazed into Medusa’s eyes would instantly turn to stone.
Even though she is viewed as a monster with snakes in place of her hair, once she was a beautiful woman who men and gods lust for. She was the only mortal child born to the ancient marine deities Phorcys and his sister Ceto. Unlike other children, Medusa does not share the hideous looks and immortality of her parents.
Even though she possessed great beauty, Medusa was a devoted follower of Goddess Athena. She wished to become the priestess of the Athena’s temple, and for that she remained pure. After she became the priestess of the temple, many came to the temple not to worship Athena, but just for a glance at Medusa’s beauty. They even claimed that Medusa’s hair rival that of Athena. Eventually, Athena got jealous of Medusa but kept it for herself since she had no reason to act against her.
One day when Medusa was walking along the shore, she caught the attention of ‘Poseidon’ who is the sea god. But Medusa showed no interest in him because if she wish to remain the priestess of Athena’s temple she should remain a virgin. So she refused multiple approaches of the sea god.
Athena and Poseidon had a conflict between them, so when he learned that Medusa is the priestess of athena’s temple, the desire to possess Medusa only grew. Since she showed no interest whatsoever, he grew tired of been rejected by Medusa, so he decided to take her by force.
Medusa in fear, ran into Athena’s temple, hoping the goddess would offer her protection. But there was no protection she got from the goddess. Poseidon raped Medusa in front of Athena’s statue. When Poseidon was finished, Athena did appear, in rage on Medusa for allowing such an act in her temple.
She also saw this as an opportunity to act on her long lived jealousy. So the goddess decided to punish Medusa since she could not punish a god such as Poseidon. Athena cursed Medusa, she turned her beautiful hair into a head of venomous snakes. Anyone who looked into Medusa’s eyes would be petrified and turned to stone.
People came to know of the monster Medusa had become, and she became the prize many worriers, who wished to claim her head to their list of trophies. Many tried and shared the same fate of being turned into stone.
With the help of many divine gifts, Perseus, the son of Zeus was able to retrieve the head of Medusa. He was given a helmet from Haydees that made him invisible to Medusa. A pair of sandals from Hermes allowing him to reach Medusa. Athena gave him a bronze shield able to reflect the gaze of Medusa and a sword, sharp enough to cut the head of Medusa. With these gifts, Perseus was able to behead Medusa.
At the time of her death Medusa was pregnant with Poseidon’s children. When Perseus beheaded her, Pegasus, a winged horse, and Chrysaor, a giant wielding a golden sword, sprang from her body.
Perseus used the head of medusa to win many of his adventures. He even used her head when defeating the Titan Atlas. After that he presented the head to goddess Athena which she embed into her shield and used it against her enemies.
Medusa is one of the most misunderstood characters in greek mythology. She is viewed as a cruel monster, but she was an innocent beautiful woman who was punished for the wrong reasons. She placed her trust on goddess Athena who ultimately betrayed her and punished for actions that were beyond her control. It is traditional that people keep amulets with the head of medusa with the hope that it would keep evil away from them. What do you guys think of this story? I personally believe that Medusa deserves much more than that and she’s nothing but an innocent victim of greek gods.
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