The myth of Medusa - Laura Aitken-Burt

Before, her hair was a writhing nest of snakes and her eyes had the power to petrify, Medusa was a young woman who worshipped at the temple of Athena, the goddess of wisdom and war. But all the while, as Medusa tended to Athena’s shrine, Poseidon, god of the seas and horses, was watching her. And one night, he crept into the temple as Medusa prayed, and assaulted her.

Athena reacted swiftly to the desecration of her shrine. But instead of punishing Poseidon, she focused her wrath on Medusa. The young woman felt her body transform until she was a monstrous Gorgon, her face framed by coils of hissing snakes.

No man could freely look upon her again, for if they met her eyes, they'd instantly turn to stone. Medusa sought refuge in a hidden cave inhabited by the world’s two other Gorgons, Stheno and Euryale. However, unlike Stheno and Euryale, who could never die, Medusa remained mortal.

Time passed and would-be heroes journeyed to the cave to make their names by murdering Medusa— but fell to her gaze every time. This was the way of things until another young man, named Perseus, began his quest for glory— Medusa his intended trophy. Perseus was born of the mortal princess Danae after Zeus impregnated her in the form of golden rain.

However, Danae’s father had received a prophecy foretelling that her son would kill him, so he locked Danae and Perseus in a chest and threw it into the sea. Safeguarded by the gods, they survived. But the king of their new land, Polydektes, lusted after Danae.

She tried turning King Polydektes away to no avail, and Perseus grew protective. To distract Perseus, Polydektes feigned that he’d finally given up on Danae and would be wedding another. When Perseus offered Polydektes whatever wedding gift he desired, Polydektes saw the opportunity to be rid of Perseus, and suggested that he prove his manhood by fetching a Gorgon's head.

Perseus accepted the foolhardy mission, gathered a crew, and set sail towards Graeae, three ancient sisters. They shared a single eye and tooth and harbored numerous secrets. As one sister passed their eye to another, Perseus grabbed it and forced them to reveal the locations of the nymphs of the River Styx and the cave of the Gorgons.

With the nymphs’ help, he obtained Hermes’ winged sandals, Hades’ cap of invisibility, and a special satchel. And he accepted a gleaming sickle from Hermes, and a shield that shone like a mirror from Athena herself, the goddess who'd cursed Medusa with her monstrous form to begin with. Then, one night, Perseus approached and Medusa fell asleep.

Perseus entered, crept towards the Gorgons’ slumbering forms, guiding his way with the reflections on Athena’s shield. When he came upon Medusa resting peacefully, he bore his sword down upon her neck. From the wound sprung Medusa and Poseidon’s hybrid offspring: a winged horse named Pegasus and a warrior called Chrysaor.

As Perseus stuffed Medusa's head in his satchel, Stheno and Euryale awoke to the horrific scene and attacked. But donning the cap of invisibility and winged sandals, Perseus escaped unscathed, reached only by Euryale’s pained cry of despair echoing through the cave. Perseus was met by his crew’s adulation.

And because death had failed to dim the power of Medusa’s gaze, Perseus used her severed head to kill Polydektes, then gave it to Athena, who placed it on her shield. But Athena’s wasn’t the only shield emblazoned with Medusa’s face. Ancient Greek and Roman artists committed Medusa’s image to everything from armor and paintings to ceramics and mosaic floors.

And while it was customary for ancient Greek subjects to appear in profile, Medusa was almost always facing directly outwards. She was an apotropaic symbol, one that imbued both fear and protection at once. Her story reverberated through time.

In many versions, including the earliest, she was always a Gorgon; in others, like the ancient Roman poet Ovid’s, she had a sympathetic, human backstory— as a woman who’d experienced cruelty and injustice, not just a simple monster to slay.