Medusa was the only Gorgon who was mortal; hence her slayer, Perseus, was able to kill her by cutting off her head. Perseus was quite protective of his mother, with all they had been through, and was cautious about the King. [25], Not all ancient sources interpreted the myth of Medusa literally. Perseus then decapitated her and took her head to use it as a weapon in battle. Hold on to your broomstick as we fly through time to check out the delicious and diabolical witch in art history. Apollodorus, Library, book 1, chapter 1, section 1 Sign up and get your dose of art history delivered straight to your inbox! Athenas association with the acropolises of various Greek cities probably stemmed from the location of the kings palaces there. Polydectes had fallen in love with Danae. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); Gods of Death His son, Merros, then burned the head so that it could never be used again. The men who saw Medusa were so terrified of her beauty that it left them mute and unable to speak. Eventually, it died. Eventually, he turned the head of Medusa upon himself and turned to stone. Among her early depictions were those in horror films from the 1960s. Menu. Athena appears in Homers Odyssey as the tutelary deity of Odysseus, and myths from later sources portray her similarly as helper of Perseus and Heracles (Hercules). She lost all of her looks and found snakes growing in her hair. In post-Mycenaean times the city, especially its citadel, replaced the palace as Athenas domain. But to be honest, her greatest accomplishment is being the owner of Pimpek the Cat. Some say that Zeus and Themis created the Three Fates, or the Morai, while others say they already existed and even attended their divine wedding ceremony. Athena took things a step further. Hesiod, Theogony 280ff; Ovid, Metamorphoses 4.784ff, 6.119ff; Apollodorus, Library 2.4.2; Hyginus, Fabulae 151. She is not only immortalized in stories but also in history. Andromeda had been left chained to a rock as a sacrifice to a sea monster. 1 And having wedded Earth, he begat first the Hundred-handed, as they are The name Medusa was likely derived from the Greek verb medein (to guard, protect). The qualities that lead to victory are found on the aegis, or breastplate, that Athena wears when she goes to war: fear, strife, defense, and assault. As such, the helmet would have been Hades most important object, and to offer it to Perseus was a great symbol of the underworld gods care for his nephew. Medusa With The Head of Perseus will be installed Monday and unveiled the following day in a park across from Manhattan Supreme Court, according to the group Art World The Artist Behind a (Very Questionable) Nude Public Statue of Medusa as a Feminist Avenger Defends His Work The monument has its fair share of [1] Alcmene was the daughter of Electryon, the king of Mycenae and a son of the hero Perseus. In Pompeii, a fresco shows an infant Perseus, holding aloft the Gorgons head, and this pose is replicated in statues and artwork around Greece. Though he used it to save his mother, Perseus then went to Argos and buried her head there. The History of Guns, Greek Mythology: Stories, Characters, Gods, and Culture, Aztec Mythology: Important Stories and Characters, Greek Gods and Goddesses: Family Tree and Fun Facts, Roman Gods and Goddesses: The Names and Stories of 29 Ancient Roman Gods. What had been his head before was the crest on the mountain summit. The fields of Atlas contained the golden fruit, some of which the old Titan had previously given to Heracles. Just as Andromeda had told Perseus her tale, the monster rose from the waters. The gods were well aware of this, and Perseus got help. In one version of the Medusa story, she was a gorgeous young woman who agreed to become one of Athenas priestesses. Medusa represents philosophy, beauty and art. Perseus hunted the King down and showed him the head of the Gorgon literally. In The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina, a Gorgon travels to Sabrinas town. This piece dates back to around 450 BC. The Romans identified her with Minerva. When the will of Themis was ignored, her counterpart Nemesis sought to punish those who chose not to listen to the gods. Leonardo da Vinci did a painting of her using oil on canvas. As a war goddess Athena could not be dominated by other goddesses, such as Aphrodite, and as a palace goddess she could not be violated. London: Nutt, 189496. Perseus was assisted by the gods, who provided him with a mirrored shield, winged sandals, a helmet of invisibility, an adamantine sword, and a magical satchel that could carry Medusas head. The full story of Medusa, taking into account the oldest myths and the younger poems and stories that survived through the Roman empire, is one of tragedy. Th. After Perseus had beheaded Medusa and put her head into his satchel, he used his winged sandals to quickly fly away from the other two vengeful Gorgons. When Elana Dkyewomon released a series of poems and short stories written by and for lesbians, she chose the Gorgon for the cover. While the instrument itself was created by Pallas Athene, Pindar says that she wove into music the dire dirge of the reckless Gorgons which Perseus heard and imitate with musical instruments the shrill cry that reached her ears from the fast-moving jaws of Euryale. Yes, the high-pitched notes of the flute were the screams of the Gorgons as they mourned over the death of their sister. In some traditions, Perseus also met Atlas, the Titan charged with holding up the heavens, during his travels. 5 Most Famous Medusa We love art history and writing about it. While Athena, the goddess of women and knowledge, was often portrayed as holding a shield, the story of Perseus is the only surviving account of it being used. There was also a theory established by Helene Cixous in which she claims that the original story of Medusa was quite different. Perseus as a boy's name is of Greek origin. Get a Britannica Premium subscription and gain access to exclusive content. Hercules then went to Tegea and met with Sterope who was the daughter of Cepheus. Zurich: Artemis, 1988. Pindar wrote in 490 BC that she had fair cheeks. In feminism Medusa is known as a symbol of rage even though she was originally exceedingly beautiful. The Gorgon Sisters Polyidus, frag. The bronze polished shield was quite reflective, which came in very handy. 8 CE). She was widely worshipped, but in modern times she is associated primarily with Athens, to which she gave her name. The Timeless Myth of Medusa, a Rape Victim Turned Into a Monster Despite releasing the winged horse when he killed Medusa, no ancient mythology has Perseus ever riding Pegasus. Perseus was gone before they ever understood what had happened. Many later versions of the myth claimed that she was once a beautiful She claimed that Medusa was the ultimate guardian and protectress of women. WebIo (/ a. She was widely worshipped, but in modern times she is associated primarily with Athens, to which she gave her name and protection. When Ovid wrote her story in Metamopheses, he claimed that she was born beautiful before becoming a snake-haired creature and retained her looks over the years. Medusa is one of the most famous characters of Greek mythology. Medusa was not the only Gorgon, however. WebPerseus Origin and Meaning The name Perseus is boy's name of Greek origin meaning "to destroy". Greek writers never specified why only one Gorgon sister was mortal. Euripedes and Homer each only referred to a single Gorgon, Medusa. In the modern world, feminists use Medusa as an icon that represents female anger and rage. Webdigital intermediate producer: Technicolor (3D version) Jo Stedall post-production coordinator (as Jo Harrop) Dominic Thomson digital intermediate editor (as Dom Thomson) Allen Tracy stereo conform supervisor: Prime Focus World, Los Angeles Matthew Tucker first assistant editor He owned a giant diamond, the gem made stone in the showers of Zeus, which prevented the magic of Medusas head. Articles from Britannica Encyclopedias for elementary and high school students. Perseus is one of the few people besides Hermes to wear the winged sandals. Perseus had no personal grudge against Medusa. She was able to see the future, and because of this, became one of many in a line of Oracles of Delphi (also known as Pythia). At the time of her death, no one knew that the creature was with child, one she hoped to raise with Poseidon. They also had another group of sisters called the Graeae who appeared in Prometheus Bound written by Aeschylus. A lot of focus is put on the Renaissance when learning art history. Her superpower was simple gazers upon her face would turn to stone. Pseudo-Hyginus states, By Joves [Zeus] will, it was borne to the island of Seriphos, and when the fisherman Dictys found it and broke it open, he discovered the mother and child. Giovanni Versace loved the Medusa legend so much that he chose her as the mascot of his clothing brand. Themis was a Titaness (the female version of Titan), which was a generation of gods that came before the Olympians. Zeus came to her in the form of a s Feeling as though his work was done, Perseus tracked down Athena and presented her with the head. Andromeda was a legendary Ethiopian princess who was saved by the Greek hero Perseus from a terrible sea-monster. Together, Perseus and Andromeda lived a happy life until they became constellations in the sky. Perseus and Andromeda, from the imperial villa at Boscotrecase, 1st century BCE, The Met. Many considered the princess as the worlds most beautiful woman. [3] Other authors have proposed still more remote dwelling places, including the obscure Gorgonean Plains near Cisthene in Asia Minor[4] and the island of Sarpedon.[5]. He was conceived when Zeus came to Danae disguised as a shower of gold. Perseus flew into the air like an ancient superhero, drew his sword, and dived at the creature. Popularity: 2996. Then he grew to an immense height in every part (so you gods determined) and the whole sky, with its many stars, rested on him.. Herbert Weir Smyth. Her emergence there as city goddess, Athena Polias (Athena, Guardian of the City), accompanied the ancient city-states transition from monarchy to democracy. Privacy Policy, Marjorie J. Milne, "Perseus and Medusa on an Attic Vase,", http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.04.0104%3Aalphabetic+letter%3DG%3Aentry+group%3D9%3Aentry%3Dgorgo-bio-1. Medusa, the daughter of the sea gods Phorcys and Ceto, was the most feared of the Gorgons. March 08, 2023. It was said that anyone who looked directly at her was immediately turned to stone. Medusas siblings awoke but could not find her killer as he wore the Helm of Hades. Perseus had been traveling home from slaying Medusa when he came across a beautiful woman by the sea. See Marjorie J. Milne, "Perseus and Medusa on an Attic Vase," Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin (New Series) 4 (1946): 12630, at 126. Perseus is the Only Hero to Wear Items From Four Separate Gods. The goddess was so upset over what she saw and the issues she had with Zeus who was her father that she flew into a rage. For Perseus to take his place as King would be considered a good thing for many of the people of Argo. Pindar, Pythian Ode 12.16. The two had three daughters, including Euryale and Stheno. Hyginus: Medusa and her death at the hands of Perseus are described in the Astronomica (2.1213), a poem of the first or second century CE. She believes that the story relates more to Athena than others do. During the French Revolution, those who wanted to defeat the royals used the head of Medusa as a symbol of their freedom. Medusa sculpture to be unveiled across from Manhattan court In Ovids telling, Perseus describes Medusas punishment by Minerva (Athena) as just and well earned. Homer never named Medusa in the Odyssey but did talk about a monsters head that Hades could send o Persephone. Library Also known as Phorkys, he lay with his sister Ceto. Parthenon Legend claims the was a giant who carried a golden sword. She was particularly known as the patroness of spinning and weaving. Ancient Ethiopians considered Perseus and Andromeda the However, those myths which mention three women call them sisters, and say that the other two were punished simply because of Medusas transgressions. Unfortunately for Acrisius, the oracles prophesy eventually came true. [23], Medusas blood was sometimes thought to have magical or medicinal properties. Aeschylus, for example, in his fifth-century BCE tragedy Prometheus Bound, described them as three winged sisters, the snake-haired Gorgons, loathed of mankind, whom no one of mortal kind shall look upon and still draw breath.[6] It was said that anybody who looked upon Medusa (or her sisters) was immediately turned to stone. One swipe of the sword and the Gorgon was beheaded, her snake-covered face quickly placed in a bag. Themis was a Titaness (the female version of Titan), which was a generation of gods that came before the Olympians.This was the Golden Age, a time of peace when the Titan Kronos ruled over all others. Together with Zeus, Themis bore the Horae, or the goddesses of the seasons. Webkaiser covid test reimbursement limit. Through Mortal Bloodlines, Perseus was the Great-Grandfather of Helen of Troy. Priestesses took a vow of chastity and devoted their lives to her. According to Pausanias, they say that the god, having made war on Perseus, afterward laid aside his enmity, and received great honors at the hands of the Argives, including this precinct set specially apart for himself.. 2. After all, mythology is storytelling at its finest. Several authors working on a book interviewed hundreds of women to find out what they knew about the myth. About the first version, the 17th-century poet Gaspare Murtola wrote: Flee, for if your eyes are petrified in amazement, she will turn you to stone. In ancient Greek astronomy, it represented the head of Medusa. And anyone who looked upon the head, even after it was removed, would turn to stone. In some stories, it was only then that he went and killed Proteus, but the chronology is different throughout history. There Perseus killed the current King, Proteus, and took his place on the throne. She wanted to show the Gorgons head in a different way. When I asked why Perseus appeared only to them, and why, unlike all other Egyptians, they celebrate games, they told me that Perseus was by lineage of their city. Unlike other stories that claim she caught them in the throes of passion, this version says that she was upset that her priestess went against her rules. After killing Medusa, Perseus used her severed head as a weapon, turning many of his enemies to stone. Mythopedia. When Percy travels to a garden to find the Pearl of Persephone with his friends, they stumble across statues and realize they were humans she turned into stone. So Zeus and his brothers got together armor and weapons to help Perseus succeed against Medusa. Peter Paul Rubens contemporaries saw in the Medusa more than a horrifying creature. Born centuries after the first appearance of Medusa, Freud later used her in his psychoanalysis. Meaning: Destroyer. This phenomenon can be viewed yearly in early August and is the result of the path of the Swift-Tuttle Comet. Medusa WebAcrisius Grandfather of Perseus. He made armor for Heracles and Achilles, arrows for Appolo and Artemis, and an Aigis (or goat-skin breastplate) for Zeus. Medusa. Mythopedia, 11 Mar. During that time, Medusa was pregnant by Poseidon. No men are allowed to enter the tower, and the bronze nature of the tower also ensures that its walls cannot be climbed. Beth Seeling took a different approach to the Greek legend. In most versions of the story, she was beheaded by the hero Perseus, who was sent to fetch her head by King Polydectes of Seriphus because Polydectes wanted to marry his mother. : In Pompeiis House of the Faun, Medusa was on the breastplate of. The other Greek hero, Bellerophon, tamed the magical beast. Medusa wandered Africa for some time. In Libya, he used Medusas head to kill the monster Cetus and save Andromeda, who became his wife. The Gorgon came out in 1964 and was a Hammer film that told a modern version of her story. The other two Gorgons were named Stheno and Euryale. She may not have been described as a virgin originally, but virginity was attributed to her very early and was the basis for the interpretation of her epithets Pallas and Parthenos. Athena, also spelled Athene, in Greek religion, the city protectress, goddess of war, handicraft, and practical reason, identified by the Romans with Minerva. According to Athenaeus, a Greek author who lived during the late second and early third centuries CE, the Gorgons were long-haired beasts, so terrifying that all who looked upon them were paralyzed and killed. He shut her up in a chest with Perseus and cast it into the sea. Her gaze is not triumphant, exactly, but resolute. From then on she roamed, shamed, shunned and loathed by everyone. And sometimes, shes holding a scale, a symbol for justice and balance. There, he married Andromeda, and she would live to old age, giving Perseus many children. In this way, no man would ever wish to look upon the woman again. Athena, insulted that Medusa was no longer a virgin, punished her by turning her into a monster. Webrescued by Perseus from the sea monster Me-dusa. In the versions that name Perseus, the story is grim. (2023, March 11). The Medusa head is part of fashion designer Gianni Versaces symbol. chops off the head of Medusa during "The Lightning Thief". He then used her severed head as a weapon during his travels, turning his enemies to stone. The stories about Medusa in Greece are unique because they changed quite a bit over the years. Athenas punishment came with great and terrible features. The best-known story of Perseus and Dionysus comes from Nonnus, who wrote an entire biography of the bacchic god. Artists of the Renaissance, including Titian, were also interested in the story of Perseus and Andromeda, and this subject gained popularity once again in the mid-19th century. Both Aeschylus and Hesiod mention Medusa in some of their early stories. While her sisters were immortal gods themselves, Medusa was a mortal woman only. In his eyes, Medusa was only scary because it linked castration to something that a man could see. The two quarreled and Perseus angrily forced Atlas to look upon Medusas head. Perseus Digital Library Learn more about our mission. According to another tale, Perseus lived to old age, founding the city of Tartus and teaching the magi of Persia. Herodotus also records that when Xerxes, the Persian king, came to conquer Greece, he attempted to convince the people of Argos that he was the descendent of Perseus, and, therefore their rightful king already. Perseus Atlas immediately turned to stone, thus becoming the Atlas Mountains. Webtext Epitome. In later artwork, she appears as a more beautiful woman. O Atlas, the oracle said, mark the day a son of Zeus shall come to spoil; for when thy trees been stripped of golden fruit, the glory shall be his. Worried that this son was Perseus, Atlas was always careful. Unlike Medusa, Sthenno and Euryale could not be killed. According to many sources, however, Medusa was beautiful as well as terrifying. Medusa was often depicted as a terrifying winged female with snakes instead of hair. Medusa appeared in dozens of television shows and movies over the years. The nature and purpose of queer art is not something that can be answered with just one article. [15] In another version of the myth, Medusa became the enemy of Athena because she claimed that she could rival the goddess in beauty.[16]. It is from the Perseus Constellation that we also see the Perseid Meteor Shower, which has been documented since 36 AD. London: Routledge, 2003. For this insult, Perseus showed the severed head of Medusa, and the old Titan turned to stone. The director chose to show her as a human woman who only turned terrifying once men looked into her eyes. Perseus By Avi Kapach Last updated on Mar 11, 2023 Overview Perseus, the mortal son of Zeus and the Argive princess Danae, was a Greek hero, king, and Hephaestus, the Greek god of fire and blacksmith to the Olympians, would create armor and weapons for many heroes over the years. The myths of Medusa and Perseus appear in Book 2. Any man who saw her face would turn to stone, and it was considered a feat that Perseus could survive her presence, let alone kill her. He then used the mirrored shield to kill her, looking at Medusas reflection rather than directly at her so that he would not be turned to stone. 837; Ovid, Metamorphoses 4.653ff. The flag and emblem of Sicily also features her head. In House of the Faun from 200 BC, she appears on the plate worn by Alexander the Great. Seneca, Medea 828ff; Nonnus, Dionysiaca 44.198ff. No human-made weapon could pierce the armor of the great blacksmith, and only a weapon he made himself had a chance the sword of Hephaestus. Medusa followed the goddess for many years before she met and fell in love with Poseidon. It is said that the priestesses of Chorea, women who followed Dionysus, were slaughtered by Perseus and his followers and dumped into a communal grave. Representing the intellectual and civilized side of war, she is the divine form of the heroic, martial ideal and personifies excellence in close combat, victory, and glory. The serpentine locks of Medusas hair had an effect very similar to that of the head: while they did not necessarily turn people to stone, they could scatter entire armies. It is said that the priestesses of Chorea, women who followed Dionysus, were slaughtered by Perseus and his followers and dumped into a communal grave. Some historians believe that the story of Medusa has some basis in fact. Herodotus points out that Assyrians believed Perseus to have been from Persia, hence the similar name. H. G. Evelyn-White. Link will appear as Themis Goddess of Order and Justice: https://greekgodsandgoddesses.net - Greek Gods & Goddesses, October 21, 2019, Greek Gods and Goddesses 2010 - 2023 | About | Contact | Sitemap | Privacy, Themis Goddess of Order and Justice: https://greekgodsandgoddesses.net, Goddess of divine order, law, natural law and custom, oracles. By the fifth century BCE, however, Medusa and the Gorgons were increasingly depicted as beautiful women in the visual arts as in literature.[8]. Sky was the first who ruled over the whole world. Many of the women only knew her as a monster and not what she looked like before. While some myths suggest that Perseus volunteered to retrieve the head as a wedding gift, others say he was ordered to as a method of getting rid of the pesky young man. Omissions? deTraci Regula. Hesiod: Medusas lineage and her affair with the sea god Poseidon are outlined in the seventh-century BCE epic Theogony. Perseus - Baby girl name meaning, origin, and popularity The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York has a terracotta jar created by Polygnotos that shows Perseus murdering her in her sleep. WebPerseus was one of the oldest out of all of the Greek mythological heroes. However, other sources gave Scylla different parents. Apollonius of Rhodes Argonautica 4.828ff; Eustathius on Homers Odyssey 12.85; scholia on Apollonius of Rhodes Argonautica 4.828; scholia on Platos Republic 9, 588c. Seeing claims that Athena saw Medusa in her temple and instead of catching her in the midst of consensual intercourse, she found Poseidon raping her. The two decided to marry, which infuriated the goddess. While flying over the vast land, Perseus noticed a woman of astonishing beauty standing naked with her hands bound on a rock. It is not Perseus fault, Hermes told Dionysus, but Hera, who convinced him to fight. One version of his battle with Atlas claims that Perseus turned his opponent into a mountain.
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