Medusa is best known for having hair made of snakes and for her ability to turn anyone she looked at to stone, literally to petrify.
She was lovely, according to the poem—until she was raped in Athena's temple by Poseidon. Athena then punished her for this violation, by turning her into the monstrous, stony-glanced creature that we know.
Throughout history, Medusa got the bad reputation as a scornful, evil woman who turns people into stone with a mere glance. However, much like most women of ancient mythology, she was a victim of patriarchal societal norms.
Medusa was a beautiful woman who was raped, killed and beheaded by various gods. However even in the face of tragedy and disgrace, the Medusa was portrayed as meaningful. Following the moment her head was removed, a Pegasus flew out of her body, representing the birth of beauty.
However, the best known story of Medusa is simply that she is a Gorgon, and that she could turn her victims to stone by looking at them, after she was killed by being forced to see her own reflection, and then was beheaded by Perseus, who is viewed as a brave hero.
There are no stories that tell us of Medusa turning people to stone, nor any tales of her harassing or killing people (unlike other Greek monsters such as Scylla and Charybdis). Although she had the power to kill, she was not inherently evil.
Medusa was once a beautiful young woman, but she was raped by Poseidon and punished by Athena to become a monstrous Gorgon whose very gaze turned men to stone. As the ultimate cruelty, Medusa's severed head was brandished by her tormentor Athena as a weapon and object of fear.
Before turning into the monster that she was, Medusa was a beautiful young woman. To her bad luck, she was beautiful enough to become Poseidon's object of desire. The god of the sea raped Medusa inside the temple of Athena, according to the Roman poet Ovid.
Legend states that Medusa was once a beautiful, avowed priestess of Athena who was cursed for breaking her vow of celibacy. She is not considered a goddess or Olympian, but some variations on her legend say she consorted with one. When Medusa had an affair with the sea god Poseidon, Athena punished her.
So, when Poseidon raped Medusa she became pregnant. When her head was chopped off by Perseus, her children came to be. Pegasus and Chrysaor sprung from the severed neck of Medusa.
She was usually represented as a winged female creature having a head of hair consisting of snakes; unlike the Gorgons, she was sometimes represented as very beautiful. Medusa was the only Gorgon who was mortal; hence her slayer, Perseus, was able to kill her by cutting off her head.
Medusa struck fear into ancient hearts because she was both deceptively beautiful and hideously ugly; Charybdis terrified Odysseus and his men because she represented a churning pit of bottomless hunger.
She looked at them in fear and saw them turn to stone in front of her. She was scared of her powers and angry at the gods for cursing her. She took her revenge on the men that were sent to kill her.
When Athena discovered the affair, she was enraged and immediately cursed Medusa by taking away her beauty. 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's life was forever changed.
Medusa was cursed as a punishment for bringing dishonor to the goddess Athena and her temple. Athena intentionally turned Medusa into a monster and changed her for Medusa protection. The curse was Medusa's snake hair and her ability to turn any living man into stone to protect her from harm.
Medusa's Children · The Lament of the Gorgons
For Medusa was pregnant at the time of her death, and when Perseus severed her head, her two unborn children, Chrysaor and Pegasus, suddenly sprang from her neck.
In fact, Athena was jealous of Medusa's beauty and lustrous hair. Poseidon ravaged her and took what she held dearly, her purity. Athena, outraged by this incident, cursed Medusa and turned her wonderful hair into venomous snakes, her beautiful face turned so ugly that any man who gazed upon would turn to stone.
The Medusa we know was raped by Poseidon in the goddess Athena's temple. Athena then punished her for desecrating her sacred space by cursing Medusa with a head full of snakes and a gaze that turns men to stone.
Why is Medusa killed? Medusa is killed because Perseus was ordered to bring King Polydectes her head. The hero had shown up to a party without a gift and was sent on the quest as a result.
In the end, Athena turned Medusa into a figure of horror, a Gorgon with venomous snakes instead of hair. Her face was so ugly that whoever looked at her turned into stone. Even after this cruel punishment, Athena was still not satisfied and decided to help Perseus in his quest for Medusa's head.
'guardian, protectress'), also called Gorgo, was one of the three monstrous Gorgons, generally described as winged human females with living venomous snakes in place of hair. Those who gazed into her eyes would turn to stone.
Athena cursed Medusa, turning her hair into squirming venomous snakes, and her face, probably more beautiful than that of the envious goddess, became so terrible to behold that the mere sight of it would turn onlookers to stone.
Medusa is portrayed in most tattoo art as a “symbol used to protect and defend against dangerous elements” and “to ward off evil with one evil image after another. But for others, her reptilian skin and hair may also symbolize the cycle of life.
Medusa is a villain from Marvel Comics.
Meet Perseus, a demigod of Greek mythology who was famous for killing Medusa by cutting off her head, which he displays in one hand.