The real story of medusa

The timeless myth of medusa, a rape victim turned into a monster. The earliest known record about the story of medusa and the gorgons can be found in hesiods theogony. The wreck of the medusa is a welltold tale of the crew and passengers of the illfated french frigate. Medusa was a beautiful woman who was raped, killed and beheaded by various gods. This was a trick, as polydectes desired perseus mother, danae, and wished to. The medusa story has also been interpreted in contemporary art as a classic case of rapevictim blaming, by the goddess athena. The myth of perseus and medusa is one of the most known myths of the greek mythology. The real story of medusa, a greek mythology fanfic. She was a very kind and she obeyed her greek gods and. Oct 22, 2018 the post medusa history and the gorgons head story on mystery category.

She was the first feminist and was cast out of society for standing up in a mans world and declaring i will not be subjected to your rules. Later authors such as herodotus and pausanias place the gorgons abode in libya. The myths team many years ago there was a beautiful women called medusa. The story of perseus and medusa began in ancient greece. Medusa the real story of the snakehaired gorgon medusa was one of the three gorgons, daughters of phorcys and ceto, sisters of the graeae, echidna, and ladon all dreadful and fearsome beasts. There were pretty girls there, and medusa was one of them.

The story and myth of medusa features pictures from mythology and legend. There remains at the heart of the real story of medusa, the pivotal act without which there would be no story of the medusa at all. Dec 06, 2012 in either story, medusa had annoyed athena one way or another and medusa was basically pushed over the edge and made medusa ugly. Tragedy fell upon her when she was confronted with endless hardships brought upon by male actions. Medusa was one of three sisters born to phorcys and ceto known as the gorgons. Using a double investigationone contemporary, carried out by a passionate historian, and one from the past, carried out by gericault for the creation of his workthe real story of the raft o f the medusa invites the viewer on a voyage to rediscover piece by piece this astonishing page in french colonial and maritime history. The myth story of how medusa became really ugly with snake hair.

She was given chicken legs, giant metal wings, cracked skin, madness, and her signature snake hair and stone eyes. Around 700 bc, the poet hesiods theogony offered the first written cosmogony, or origin story, of greek mythology. The user submitted story below is similar to one version of the medusa myth. The story of medusa is about european fear of african. According to hesiods theogony, the gorgons were the. Medusa was a monster, one of the gorgon sisters and daughter of phorkys and keto, the children of gaea earth and oceanus ocean. Was the original medusa an african goddess with dreadlocks. Medusa in ancient greek art essay heilbrunn timeline of art history. We examine how she became the monster that she is so widely regarded as.

She was usually represented as a winged female creature having a head of hair consisting of snakes. The story of medusa in greek mythology continued briefly after her decapitation. Medusa is an instantly recognizable figure from ancient greek art. The goddess was outraged, and changed medusa into a monster with snakes for hair. The myth of perseus and medusa greek myths and greek.

The story of medusa and the greek goddess athena your. Perseus, in greek mythology, the slayer of the gorgon medusa and the rescuer of andromeda from a sea monster. In the original story, the medusa was a beautiful woman who held a very positive role. Oct 26, 2016 the real story of medusa may not be what you think it is. Medusa and sexual stigma the stigmatization of female sexuality and the blaming of women for the consequences of male lust is still widespread in our society today. Once upon a time, a long time ago there lived a beautiful maiden named medusa. The death of medusa edward burnejones 18331898 pdart100. Girl does the do with a god in sacred temple, girl gets punished by yours truly, girl becomes hideous, snakehaired creature, girl retires to cave until she is. Anybody who enjoys stories of disaster at sea will enjoy this book. The two unslain sisters are mere appendages due to custom.

According to hesiod s theogony, the gorgons were the sisters of the graiai and lived in the utmost place towards the night by the hesperides beyond oceanus. Medusa simple english wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. A beautiful mortal, medusa was the exception in the family, until she incurred the wrath of athena, either due to her boastfulness or because of an illfated love affair with poseidon. Medusa was sent to a faraway island and was cursed so that no man would want her. Real story of the raft of the medusa, the archaeology. Medusa is the mortal one of the three gorgon sisters and is often called gorgon medusa. Freud hypothesized that the myth could symbolize the reaction of a young boy who has, up until a certain point in time, refused to entertain the idea of castration as a real possibility. Her hair held the same powers as her head so that when it was exposed it caused a storm which chased away the foes. One of the messages in the myth, the real story of medusa, is her powerlessness as a woman. Medusa is one of the bestknown characters in greek mythology. I had to write a free verse poem on greek mythology, and this was extremely helpful.

Mckee has done an incredible job of assembling the facts of this story into a coherent tale. Protective powers from a snakehaired gorgon in ancient greek mythology, medusa is the most famous of three monstrous sisters known as the gorgons. Hunted by many warriors that wished to claim the prize of her head, many tried, and many have failed. Perseus was the son of zeus and danae, the daughter of acrisius of argos. The latin poet ovid writes in book iv of his metamorphoses that poseidon had raped medusa in the temple of athena. Medusa the short mythical story of medusa is one of the famous legends that feature in the mythology of ancient civilizations. Unlikely, it is possible that the character of medusa may have derived from some form of early snake goddess worship, with possible relations to an early form of athena. In ancient greek mythology, medusa is the most famous of three monstrous sisters known as the gorgons. According to this ancient author, the three sisters, sthenno, euryale, and medusa, were the children of phorcys and ceto and lived beyond famed oceanus at the worlds edge hard by night. Medusa was banished from civilization to an island by herself. In either story, medusa had annoyed athena one way or another and medusa was basically pushed over the edge and made medusa ugly. The real story of medusa and athena chapter 1, a greek. Medusa lived in the city of athens in a country named greece and although there were many pretty girls in the city, medusa was considered the most lovely. The story of medusa greek mythology explained youtube.

She was alone and only saw men chase her, trying to kill her. I got the whole nectar in the face thing from glee, which, unfortunately, i dont own. Today we look at one of the most misunderstood characters in greek mythology, medusa. Printable version of this story greek index greek coloring pages athena craft medusa craft perseus craft on and on medusa went about her beauty to anyone and everyone who stopped long enough to hear her until one day when she made her first visit to the parthenon with her friends. Medusa was a priestess to the goddess athena, the virgin goddess of wisdom and battle.

Dec 18, 2018 medusa and athena ancient greek goddesses greek mythology in later myths mainly in ovid medusa was the only gorgon to possess snake locks because they were a punishment from athena. How russian children are coping with life under quarantine and continuing to do their favorite things. The myth of perseus and medusa is one of the best thrillerlike tales in greek mythology. Medusa, monstrosity, and the patriarchy the real story of medusa may not be what you think it is. The grand scale of the canvas, the treatment of the subjects, and the fact that its capturing a true story makes the raft of the medusa seem an awful lot like it would be categorized as. The mythological greek hero perseus performed a service to mankind by ridding the world of her fearsome power. Perseus return journey to seriphos was a long one, and stopping off in aethiopia perseus discovered that andromeda was to be sacrificed to a sea.

The horse was pure white, with a lustrous mane and fine hooves. The display caption tells us that the only hero in this poignant story is humanity. She was a very kind and she obeyed her greek gods and goddesses. Aethiopia perseus return journey to seriphos was a long one, and stopping off in aethiopia perseus discovered that andromeda was to be sacrificed to a sea monster. The story of medusa takes place in athens, greece, many years ago. The story of perseus and medusa in the last 15 years, the percy jackson series has become one of the most popular book and movie franchises of our time. Medusa was one of the three gorgons, daughters of phorcys and ceto, sisters of the graeae, echidna, and ladon all dreadful and fearsome beasts. Fans of the series will know that percys adventures mirror many of the deeds of the greek hero perseus, the inspiration for his character.

Medusa in ancient greek art essay the metropolitan. In some variations of the myth, medusa was born a monster like her sisters, described as girded with serpents, vibrating tongues, gnashing their teeth, having wings, brazen claws, and enormous teeth. Whispers ran through all the people in the temple who quickly began to leave for everyone knew that athena enjoyed watching over the people of athens and feared what might happen if the goddess had overheard medusas rash remarks. This is why i think the real story about medusa was really about creating a mythology to deter men specifically caucasian males from wanting to reproduce with the melanated woman. The earliest known record about the story of medusa and the gorgons can be found in hesiods. Using a double investigationone contemporary, carried out by a passionate historian, and one from the past, carried out by gericault for the creation of his workthe real story of the raft of the medusa invites the viewer on a voyage to rediscover piece by piece this astonishing page in french colonial and maritime history. The machine that was the name given to the raft of the medusa by those whose sorry task was to build and launch it at the height of the storm. 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. Medusa was the most infamous female fiend in greek mythology, whose look turned every living thing to stone. I remember reading the story of medusa, or at least one version of it, in my fathers edition of bullfinchs mythology when i was a child. Medusa is a deadly and cryptic other, but she is also ubiquitous, with an undeniable energy that inspired artists to repeat her semblance and story in diverse.

The story of medusa and the greek goddess athena a myth submitted to the site by shainuja many years ago there was a beautiful women called medusa. The story of medusa greek mythology medusa is one of the most well known and talked about beings from ancient greek mythology that we have ever heard of. Learn more about the traditional story of perseus in this article. Medusa is known as a woman with snakes for hair and a gaze that turns men into stone. According to ovid, medusa was once a beautiful young maiden, the only mortal of three sisters known as the gorgons. Medusa was one of three sisters, the gorgons and perseus beheaded her. In the medusa story of perseus, the hero is sent by polydectes, the king of seriphus, on a probe to bring him the head of medusa.

Everyone thinks they know the story of the girl turned gorgon. Her head was crowned with snakes, and one look from her turned people into stone, but her real story was one of violence and abuse. Unlike other figures of greek mythology, most of us know medusaeven if we cant recall the details of her myth. However this would have likely derived from the indoeuropean roots from whic. In mythology there are loads of doubleexplanations for stuff e. He took great interest in the story of medusa and what it may symbolize in terms of the psychology of young men. One day, poseidon, the god of the sea and rival to athena, saw medusa and decided to humiliate athena by raping the priestess on the steps. Medusa is one of the most famous characters of greek. Eventually everyone got tired of her lurking out there giving teenage girls bad ideas about equality and strength, so perseus went and. In ancient greek mythology, medusa is the most famous of three monstrous sisters, known as the gorgons. His family line was descended from zeus and he wanted a son to carry on the family line.

One night while medusa was taking a walk along a beach near the temple, she came upon a magnificent horse. Apr 18, 2019 the earliest known record about the story of medusa and the gorgons can be found in hesiods theogony. The story of medusa from ancient mythology read about gods, goddesses and mythical creatures in the myth story of medusa. Now some tell of how perseus turned that sea monster into stone with the head of medusa, but older myths have perseus stabbing the monster.

Medusa, in greek mythology, the most famous of the monster figures known as gorgons. The timeless myth of medusa, a rape victim turned into a. She was usually represented as a winged female creature having a. Her story has been told and retold by ancient and modern storytellers, writers, and artists. Medusa was a patron goddess of the libyan amazons, prior to. I dont know which one is real mainly because its a myth. She has no choice but to submit to the hand of fate.

Aug 20, 20 medusa was a formidable foe, since her hideous appearance was able to render any onlooker into stone. You can write your opinion about medusa summary and gorgons story in the comment box, and dont forget to share this post along with your friend. Medusa was a young and beautiful priestess under the god athena, at a temple in athens. Her face, whether fierce and grotesque or feminine and composed, appears in virtually all media in varying contexts. A new camrecorded photo series and the russian women of silicon valleys mans world. In those days, there were relatively few caucasians in relation to the melanated masses and genetic survival was a major point of focus for early european societies. Greek mythology medusa, in greek mythology, the most famous of the monster figures known as gorgons. In later myths mainly in ovid medusa was the only gorgon to possess snake locks, because they were a punishment from athena. In neither her rape or its consequences does she have any agency. I got the idea from a conversation i had with my friend. The exhibition was sponsored by louis xviii and featured nearly 1,300 paintings, 208 sculptures and numerous other engravings and architectural designs. Her head was crowned with snakes, and one look from her turned people into stone, but her real story.

With a promising plot that gets more complicated as the story progresses, this myth has a typical hollywoodlike scenario with the main character not being born yet at the moment when his destiny was determined. Mar 24, 2020 medusa is one of the bestknown characters in greek mythology. The myth of medusa and poseidon and the punishment of athena. I glanced over the story again when studying ovids metamorphoses in classics at school. In greek mythology, medusa also called gorgo, was one of the three monstrous gorgons.