Medusa

 

**Medusa**

The name Medusa most likely comes from the ancient Greek word meaning "guardian." She is one of the three sisters known as the Gorgons, daughters of the sea deities Phorcys and Ceto, and sisters to the Graeae. All of Medusa's sisters were born as monsters, except for her, but unfortunately, she became the ugliest among them.

Since then, like her Gorgon sisters, Euryale and Stheno, Medusa has been depicted as a creature with bronze hands and golden wings. Poets claimed she had large tusks like a boar's and a tongue hanging between her sharp teeth, with twisted snakes filling her head instead of hair. Her face was hideous, and her gaze was so piercing that a single look could turn any man to stone.

However, it wasn't always this way. Medusa was the only mortal among her Gorgon sisters and was distinguished by her beautiful face. The poet Ovid praised her hair in particular, saying it was "the most wonderful of all her charms." It seems that the great sea god Poseidon was also enamored with her beauty, as he could not resist her allure and raped her in Athena's temple. The virgin goddess Athena, enraged by the desecration of her temple, transformed Medusa's enchanting hair into snakes, turning the youngest Gorgon into the monster described earlier.

Shortly thereafter, Polydectes, the king of Seriphos, sent the great hero Perseus on a seemingly impossible mission to rid himself of her, believing it would be his last task. "Bring me the head of Medusa," commanded Polydectes.

With the help of Athena and Hermes, and after forcing the Graeae (three sisters of the Gorgons who shared one eye and one tooth) to reveal Medusa's location, Perseus finally reached the legendary lands of the Gorgons, where Medusa hid away from people and intruders seeking to harm her. While Medusa was asleep, Perseus cut off her head with a sickle, using the reflection in Athena's bronze shield to guide him (so he would not look directly at the Gorgon and turn to stone).

**Medusa's Fate After Death**

Strangely, Medusa's story does not end with her death. In fact, one might say that the most bizarre parts of her tale come after her demise.

**Medusa's Children and the Lament of the Gorgons:**

Medusa was pregnant at the time of her death, and when Perseus severed her head, her unborn children, Chrysaor and Pegasus, emerged from her neck.

The Gorgons awoke from their slumber upon hearing the commotion and did everything they could to avenge their sister, but they could neither see nor catch Perseus, as he wore Hades' invisibility cap and Hermes' winged sandals. Thus, they returned to their secluded dwelling to mourn Medusa.

Pindar, a great Greek poet, wrote that upon hearing their mournful laments, Athena was so moved that she created the double-reeded aulos in tribute to them.

**The Legendary Head of Medusa:**

Now, with Medusa's head in his satchel,