Story of medusa – Medusa Gorgon is a famous creature of ancient Greek legends.
The Story of Medusa
We are used to representing the story of Gorgon Medusa as a terrible monster. This is how most famous ancient Greek legends tell about her, but for some reason the myths about her origin and transformation faded into the background. Can you imagine that Medusa was once one of the most beautiful girls in Greece? But this is exactly so.
As often happens, the gods intervened in her fate, which mortal man is unable to resist. What does the life story of this strange heroine evoke: pity or contempt? Why did Medusa Gorgon take on her terrible appearance?
Gorgon Sisters
When the gods did not yet rule the world, the titans were powerful rulers over all living things. They lived both on land and in the depths of water. The last were Phorcys and Keto, who had six children. Three of them already from birth resembled old people, they received the nickname Phorkids.
The other three daughters were distinguished by their unearthly beauty and were nicknamed Gorgons. Two of the beautiful sisters were immortal, and the youngest, Medusa, was the only mortal among the daughters of the titans.
Despite her peculiarity, which related her to mortal people, Medusa was the most beautiful among the sea maidens. Her eyes shone like the summer sky, and her hair resembled sparkling waves of gold. It is not surprising that the voluptuous Poseidon immediately drew attention to the girl.
Why was medusa cursed?
With his persecution, the sea lord drove Medusa to despair. She did not know where to escape from God, who was not nice to her. And so, during the next chase, the girl decided to take refuge in the temple of Athena.
She thought that the sacred place would stop Poseidon, obsessed with passion, but, alas, this did not bother him. Having mastered Medusa by force, Poseidon desecrated the altar of Athena. Oddly enough, the goddess did not become angry with her “colleague”, but directed all her rage at the unfortunate girl.
Angry Athena turned the beauty into a terrible monster. She grew wings, and instead of wonderful hair, balls of poisonous snakes appeared. In addition, the goddess gave Medusa a deadly look – one look was enough to turn a person to stone.
In my opinion, it is quite logical that the resentment and sense of injustice hidden in the souls of the unfortunate girls eventually turned into anger and hatred that the “monsters” felt towards all humanity and the gods.
Some myths say that all three Gorgons were punished. Trying to hide from the eyes of people, they moved to a distant island, lost in the sea.
How did Medusa get defeated?
We return to the fate of Medusa with the myth of Perseus, which gave the cursed woman a monstrous appearance. At that time, many centuries had passed since Medusa’s appeal, but Athena was still unable to curb her anger. When Prince Perseus receives the task of bringing the head of Medusa the Gorgon, the goddess of war actively helps him and also attracts other gods
Athena’s gift to the hero was a sparkling shield that resembled a mirror, as well as a magic sickle with which Perseus could cut off the monster’s head. The goddess told him about the murderous power of the eyes of the Gorgon Medusa, and along the way Perseus received winged sandals, a magic cap and a bag for his trophy from other deities.
As you might guess, the hero easily found the Gorgon Medusa on the island, dealing with her without a fight. Perseus cut off the head of the sleeping monster with a donated sickle. Rising on winged sandals, the hero dropped a few drops of the Gorgon’s blood into the sea.
At that moment, mixing with sea foam, they turned into the beautiful Pegasus – a snow-white horse with wings, the embodiment of strength and inspiration. Later, the monster’s head, hidden in a bag, once again served Perseus by turning his enemies into stone statues.
Medusa greek mythology
In some retellings of myths, I noticed references to the healing power of the blood of Medusa the Gorgon. Athena collected it in two different vessels. The blood of a sea maiden could become both poison and medicine.
Only one person could correctly use such an ingredient – Asclepius , who was revered no less than the gods for his skills. Perhaps it was thanks to the blood of the Gorgon that he was able to bring the dead back to life. True, for this he was severely punished by Zeus
Ancient depictions of the Gorgon Medusa are truly creepy. From them a woman’s face, framed by “hair”-snakes, looks at us. In the frescoes, her eyes seem burning or even crazy, which is understandable, given the fate of the character.
Despite the deadly power of the Gorgon, people considered amulets with her images as amulets. They were called gorgoneions. Such talismans were a mask with the image of the face of Medusa the Gorgon, which was made of metal or clay and painted on clothes or jewelry.
Interestingly, Alexander the Great is also associated with the myths about the Gorgon. In ancient times, people attributed to him the possession of the magic head of a monster, because the commander’s victories were so brilliant and glorious that it was difficult to believe in his human abilities.
Ancient images of Macedon also indicate the veneration of Medusa the Gorgon. On his armor you can almost always see the head of a sea monster that was once a beautiful girl.
Agree, Medusa the Gorgon is worthy of pity rather than the disgust that was felt for this terrible monster. Unfortunately, the story of her life remained a minor myth, and the legends about the victory of Perseus gained enormous popularity.
Even in medieval star charts, the ancient Greek hero was depicted with a trophy head in his hands. Today, the face of the Gorgon Medusa can be seen on the flag of Sicily, where, as legends say, the beauty turned monster met her death.
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