The most common interpretation of Medusa suggests she is an apotropaic symbol used to protect from and ward off the negative, much like the modern evil eye. She represents a dangerous threat meant to deter other dangerous threats, an image of evil to repel evil.
The story of Perseus and Medusa is a story of perseverance, bravery, and dignity. Perseus personifies the length one would go to in order to save the ones you love. Perseus shows the authenticity of his character when he rescues the helpless Andromeda from the Cetus and the attachment to the rock.
I think that the moral of Medusa tells us to appreciate others and to think about others as well as yourself. It tells the reader not to make the same mistake as Medusa did, and if you do you will have to pay for it. I think it also tells us to think before you say things.
Athena has long been associated with wisdom, intelligence, and innovation. Having sprung fully formed from Zeus's head at birth, Athena has been said to teach humans both sciences and crafts and is credited with the invention of various tools.
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.
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. Then, a heroic Perseus severed the serpent-headed Medusa, turning her into a trophy.
Gorgon Medousa was a terrible monster with snakes in her head and she could turn into stone everyone that looked her face. By killing Medousa, Perseus would prove his braveness, as fits to the son of Zeus. Polydectes was sure that Perseus would not survive this dangerous task.
She vowed to be celibate her entire life as a priestess of Athena until she fell in love with Poseidon. She went against her vow and married him. For this Athena punished her hideously. She turned Medusa into an ugly creature by making her eyes bloodshot and raging and her face haglike.
According to The Met Museum, Medusa is portrayed in most Greek art as an "apotropaic symbol used to protect and ward off the negative," representing a "dangerous threat meant to deter other dangerous threats, an image of evil to repel evil." In modern tales of Gorgon though, she is a symbol of female rage.
While a seemingly straightforward tale, Medusa's story explores female dynamics, female power against patriarchal forces, and the ultimate defense against the male gaze. Medusa was the emblem of female power back in Ancient Greece and a symbol of both protection and aggression.
Attachment theory uses the Medusa Complex to refer to a self-destructive early state of inwardly directed aggression produced by a disruption of the mother/child mutual gaze. Marion Woodman saw the Medusa Complex as a dissociated state produced by paralysis of the fight-or-flight response in a state of petrified fear.
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.
Medusa was very proud of her beauty and thought or spoke only of herself. Each day she boasted of how pretty she was. Medusa even boasted that she was prettier than Athena, goddess of wisdom, who watched over Athens. Athena decided to punish Medusa for her pride.
Medusa's hair of living snakes in Greek mythology keeps people away from her and underscores the terrifying and repulsive monstrosity of the previously attractive girl. In ancient Egypt, the giant serpent deity Apep embodied chaos and was the sworn enemy of the sun god, Ra.
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.
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.
Poseidon was enamored by Medusa's beauty, and Medusa returned the same feelings. Medusa and Poseidon engaged in a love affair and would have two children together, but not before Athena discovered the illicit affair.
Medusa was originally a very beautiful young girl, especially renowned for the beauty of her hair. Her tragedy began with her rape in the temple of Athena. Accounts of who raped her vary, some saying it was Zeus, others Poseidon, god of the seas and Zeus's brother.
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.
There is a version of Medusa's story that states she was cursed by Athena as a punishment for being raped by Poseidon in the temple. As Athena could not confront Poseidon, she held Medusa accountable for bringing dishonor to her temple despite the fact that it was not her fault.
Medusa and Poseidon engaged in a love affair and would have two children together, but not before Athena discovered the illicit affair.
'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.
Trivia. Athena was infected by evils with greed, as she presumably became ambitious to rule over the world, and possibly became jealous of Zeus' authority over the Greek pantheon. She also allowed her ambition cloud her judgment, as she manipulated Kratos to kill the Olympians.
According to the Roman poet Ovid's version of the myth, Medusa, as a mortal had taken an oath of chastity, however Poseidon, lusting after her, forced himself upon her and raped her inside the temple of Athena.