Sections & Primary Sources<\/p>\r\n\r\n<\/header>\r\n
- \r\n \t
- Hesiod,\u00a0Theogony, <\/em>270-294<\/a><\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\nAthena, Poseidon, and Medusa<\/a>\r\n
- \r\n \t
- Ovid,\u00a0Metamorphoses<\/em>, 4.790-803<\/a><\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\n
<\/a>The Gorgons<\/h2>\r\n
There are two mythological origin stories for Medusa. According to one version, she is one of three sisters, called the Gorgons (or Gorgones). These three were monsters, women with snakes for hair, that were born to [pb_glossary id=\"1149\"]Phorcus[\/pb_glossary], a primordial sea god, who is depicted by the Romans as a merman, and his wife, [pb_glossary id=\"1150\"]Ceto[\/pb_glossary], whose name means \u201csea monster.\u201d [pb_glossary id=\"1149\"]Phorcus[\/pb_glossary] and [pb_glossary id=\"1150\"]Ceto[\/pb_glossary] were the parents of several monsters, including Echidna, the Graeae, and Ladon. Echidna, in turn, was the mother of many more monsters with her mate Typhon, including Orthrus, Cerberus, the Lernaean Hydra,\u00a0 the Sphinx, and the Nemean Lion. Medusa was mortal, but her two Gorgon sisters, Sthenno and Euryale, were immortal.<\/p>\r\n \r\n
\r\n<\/a>Hesiod,\u00a0Theogony <\/em>270-294\u00a0(trans. H. G. Evelyn-White, adapted by P. Rogak)<\/h3>\r\n
Greek epic poem, 8th\/7th century BCE<\/h4>\r\n
In this very early version of the myth from Hesiod's Theogony<\/em>, Medusa is born, along with her sisters, from the union of [pb_glossary id=\"1149\"]Phorcus[\/pb_glossary] and [pb_glossary id=\"1150\"]Ceto[\/pb_glossary]. She has sex with Poseidon in a meadow, and the relationship appears to be consensual, which conflicts with other versions of the myth.<\/div>\r\n[270-294] And to [pb_glossary id=\"1149\"]Phorcus[\/pb_glossary], [pb_glossary id=\"1150\"]Ceto[\/pb_glossary] bore the [pb_glossary id=\"1151\"]Graeae[\/pb_glossary], with fair faces and gray from birth. These the gods who are immortal and men who walk on the earth call [pb_glossary id=\"1151\"]Graeae[\/pb_glossary], the gray sisters, Pemphredo robed in beauty and Enyo robed in saffron, and the [pb_glossary id=\"956\"]Gorgons[\/pb_glossary] who, beyond the famous stream of [pb_glossary id=\"216\"]Ocean[\/pb_glossary], live in the utmost place toward night, by the singing [pb_glossary id=\"1396\"]Hesperides[\/pb_glossary]. They are Sthenno, Euryale, and Medusa, whose fate is a sad one, for she was mortal, but the other two immortal and ageless both alike. [pb_glossary id=\"182\"]Poseidon[\/pb_glossary], he of the dark hair, lay with one of these, in a soft meadow and among spring flowers. But when [pb_glossary id=\"1493\"]Perseus[\/pb_glossary] had cut off the head of Medusa, there sprang from her blood great [pb_glossary id=\"1158\"]Chrysaor[\/pb_glossary] and the horse [pb_glossary id=\"1157\"]Pegasus[\/pb_glossary] so named from the springs (pegai<\/em>) of [pb_glossary id=\"216\"]Ocean[\/pb_glossary], where she was born.\r\n\r\n \r\n\r\nTaken from: https:\/\/www.theoi.com\/Text\/HesiodTheogony.html<\/a>\r\n\r\n<\/div>\r\n<\/a>Athena, Poseidon, and Medusa<\/h2>\r\n
[content warning for the following section: sexual assault]<\/h5>\r\n
According to another version of Medusa's myth, she was once a beautiful young woman who was raped by the god Poseidon in a temple of Athena. As retribution for the violation of the virgin goddess' shrine, Athena caused Medusa to be turned into a gorgon and to join the other two gorgons living at the edge of the world. In a variation on this version of the myth, Athena turns Medusa into a gorgon not because she was raped by Poseidon, but because she claimed to be as beautiful as Athena.<\/p>\r\n \r\n
\r\n<\/a>Ovid,\u00a0Metamorphoses<\/em>, Book 4.790-803 (trans. A. S. Kline, adapted by P. Rogak)<\/h3>\r\n
Latin narrative poem, 1st century CE<\/h4>\r\n
[content warning for the following source: sexual assault]<\/h5>\r\n
In this version of Medusa's myth, recounted in Ovid's Metamorphoses<\/em>, she becomes a Gorgon after being raped by Poseidon.<\/div>\r\n[790-803] Next one of the many princes asked why Medusa, alone among her sisters, had snakes twining in her hair. The guest [ [pb_glossary id=\"1493\"]Perseus[\/pb_glossary] ] replied, \"Since what you ask is worth the telling, hear the answer to your question. She was once most beautiful, and the jealous aspiration of many suitors. Of all her beauties none was more admired than her hair: I came across a man who recalled having seen her. They say that [pb_glossary id=\"182\"]Neptune[\/pb_glossary], lord of the seas, violated her in the temple of [pb_glossary id=\"173\"]Minerva[\/pb_glossary]. [pb_glossary id=\"172\"]Jupiter[\/pb_glossary]\u2019s daughter turned away, and hid her chaste eyes behind her [pb_glossary id=\"168\"]aegis[\/pb_glossary]. So that it might not go unpunished, she changed the Gorgon\u2019s hair to foul snakes. And now, to terrify her enemies, numbing them with fear, the goddess wears the snakes, that she created, as a breastplate.\"\r\n\r\n \r\n\r\nTaken from: https:\/\/www.poetryintranslation.com\/PITBR\/Latin\/Metamorph4.php#anchor_Toc64106272<\/a>\r\nTranslated by A. S. Kline \u00a9\u00a0Copyright<\/a> 2000 All Rights Reserved<\/p>\r\n\r\n<\/div>\r\n\r\n
\r\n\r\n<\/a>Conflict and Death<\/h1>\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_1349\" align=\"alignnone\" width=\"1920\"]
![\"Perseus,](\"https:\/\/pressbooks.bccampus.ca\/greekromanmyth\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/1141\/2021\/04\/DP-14887-002-scaled.jpg\")
Perseus beheading Medusa, red-figure pelike, ca. 450 BCE (Metropolitan Museum, New York)[\/caption]\r\nMedusa was killed by the Greek hero Perseus. He was sent to kill her by King Polydectes of Seriphos, under the assumption that he would fail, leaving nobody to object to Polydectes marrying Perseus' mother, Danae. Assisted by Athena and Hermes, Perseus found Medusa in a cave and cut off her head, which Athena showed him using her reflective bronze shield as a mirror.<\/p>\r\n
When Perseus cut off Medusa's head, the winged horse Pegasus and the monster Chrysaor sprang from her bleeding neck. These were the offspring of Poseidon's rape of Medusa.<\/p>\r\nFor further discussion and art of Perseus and Medusa, see chapter 21<\/a>.\r\n\r\n
\r\n\r\nAfterlife<\/h1>\r\n
\r\n Sections & Primary Sources<\/p>\r\n\r\n<\/header>\r\n
\r\n\r\nThe Origin of Vipers<\/a>\r\n- \r\n \t
- Apollonius of Rhodes,\u00a0Argonautica, <\/em>1502-1536<\/a><\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\nThe Origin of Coral<\/a>\r\n
- \r\n \t
- Ovid,\u00a0Metamorphoses,\u00a0<\/em>4.706-752<\/a><\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\nThe Aegis<\/a>\r\n
- \r\n \t
- Pseudo-Apollodorus,\u00a0Bibliotheca<\/em>, 2.4.3<\/a><\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\n
<\/a>The Origin of Vipers<\/h2>\r\n
Perseus put Medusa's severed head into a bag and flew away from the cave of the Gorgons on the winged horse Pegasus. As he was flying back to Polydectes on the Island of Seriphos, he flew over the Libyan desert. It is said that drops of blood from Medusa's severed head fell onto the sand below and spawned poisonous vipers.<\/p>\r\n \r\n
\r\n<\/a>Apollonius of Rhodes,\u00a0Argonautica\u00a0<\/em>(trans. R. C. Seaton, adapted by P. Rogak)<\/h3>\r\n
Greek Epic, 3rd century BCE<\/h4>\r\n
In his epic about the adventures of Jason and the Argonauts, Apollonius of Rhodes explains the origin of the deadly vipers in the Libyan desert.<\/div>\r\n[1502] And then, on the same day, a pitiless fate seized [pb_glossary id=\"2585\"]Mopsus[\/pb_glossary] too, son of Ampycus; and he did not escape a bitter doom by his prophesying; for there is no way to escape death. Now there lay in the sand, avoiding the midday heat, a terrifying serpent, too sluggish of his own will to strike at an unwilling foe, nor yet would he dart full face at one that would shrink back. But into whatever of all living beings that life-giving earth sustains that serpent once injects his black venom, his path to [pb_glossary id=\"211\"]Hades[\/pb_glossary] becomes not so much as a cubit's length, not even if [pb_glossary id=\"2806\"]Paean[\/pb_glossary], if it is right for me to say this openly, should tend him, when its teeth have only grazed the skin. For when godlike [pb_glossary id=\"1493\"]Perseus[\/pb_glossary] Eurymedon (for by that name his mother called him) flew over Libya -- bearing to the king the Gorgon's head newly severed, all the drops of dark blood that fell to the earth, produced a brood of those serpents. Now [pb_glossary id=\"2585\"]Mopsus[\/pb_glossary] stepped on the end of its spine, setting thereon the sole of his left foot; and it writhed round in pain and bit and tore the flesh between the shin and the muscles. And [pb_glossary id=\"1738\"]Medea[\/pb_glossary] and her handmaids fled in terror; but Canthus bravely felt the bleeding wound; for no excessive pain harassed him. Poor wretch! Already a numbness that loosed his limbs was stealing beneath his skin, and a thick mist was spreading over his eyes. Straightway his heavy limbs sank helplessly to the ground and he grew cold; and his comrades and the hero, [pb_glossary id=\"1826\"]Aeson[\/pb_glossary]'s son, gathered round, marvelling at the close-coming doom. And, though dead, he could not lie beneath the sun even for a little time. For at once the poison began to rot his flesh within, and the hair decayed and fell from the skin. And quickly and in haste they dug a deep grave with pick-axe of bronze; and they tore their hair, the heroes and the maidens, bewailing the dead man's piteous suffering; and when he had received due burial rites, thrice they marched round the tomb in full armour, and heaped above him a mound of earth.\r\n\r\n \r\n\r\nTaken from: https:\/\/www.theoi.com\/Text\/ApolloniusRhodius4.html<\/a>\r\n\r\n<\/div>\r\n<\/a>The Origin of Coral<\/h2>\r\nPerseus next came to Red Sea, where he saw the Libyan princess, Andromeda, chained to a rock, a sacrificial victim to the sea monster that had been ravaging the area. After he killed the sea monster and rescued Andromeda, he sat down to rest on the shores of the Red Sea. He set down the head of Medusa down on a bed of seaweed, which immediately hardened because of Medusa's magical ability of petrification. This is the etiological myth<\/em> (that is, the creation story) for the origin of coral.\r\n\r\n \r\n
\r\n<\/a>Ovid,\u00a0Metamorphoses<\/em>, Book 4 (trans. A. S. Kline)<\/h3>\r\n
Latin narrative poem, 1st century CE<\/h4>\r\n
In this section of the\u00a0Metamorphoses<\/em>, Ovid describes the aftermath of Perseus' slaying of the sea monster and his rescue of the Libyan princess, Andromeda. Here we see an\u00a0etiological myth<\/em> for the origin of coral.<\/div>\r\n[706-752] Released from her chains, the girl [ [pb_glossary id=\"1164\"]Andromeda[\/pb_glossary] ] comes forward, the prize and the cause of his efforts. He [ [pb_glossary id=\"1493\"]Perseus[\/pb_glossary] ] washes his hands after the victory in seawater drawn for him and, so that Medusa\u2019s head, covered with its snakes, is not bruised by the harsh sand. He makes the ground soft with leaves, spreads out plants from below the waves and places the head of that daughter of [pb_glossary id=\"1149\"]Phorcus[\/pb_glossary] on them. The fresh plants, still living inside, and absorbent, respond to the influence of the Gorgon\u2019s head, and harden at its touch, acquiring a new rigidity in branches and fronds. And the ocean [pb_glossary id=\"217\"]nymphs[\/pb_glossary] try out this wonder on more plants, and are delighted that the same thing happens at its touch, and repeat it by scattering the seeds from the plants through the waves. Even now corals have the same nature, hardening at a touch of air, and what was alive under the water, above water is turned to stone.\r\n\r\n \r\n\r\nTaken from: https:\/\/www.poetryintranslation.com\/PITBR\/Latin\/Metamorph4.php#anchor_Toc64106271<\/a>\r\n\r\n<\/div>\r\n<\/a>The Aegis<\/h2>\r\n
After completing his adventures, Perseus gave the head of Medusa to Athena as thanks for helping him. Athena wears Medusa's head on a cloak that she pins around her shoulders. This garment, as well as Zeus' shield, is called the Aegis. According to other versions of the myth, Athena also carries the gorgon's head on her shield. Today, people use the term\u00a0aegis<\/em>\u00a0to mean someone's metaphorical sphere of influence or protection: e.g., doing something under someone's\u00a0aegis<\/em>\u00a0means you are doing so with their blessing or on their behalf.<\/p>\r\n \r\n
\r\n<\/a>Pseudo-Apollodorus, Bibliotheca, <\/em>Book 2 (trans. K. Aldrich, adapted by P. Rogak)<\/h3>\r\n
Greek mythography, 2nd century CE<\/h4>\r\n
In this passage from the\u00a0Bibliotheca<\/em>, Pseudo-Apollodorus explains where Athena got the Gorgon's head, which he says that she carries on her shield. The author of this text was originally thought to be Apollodorus of Athens. Over time, however, this attribution became widely considered to be false. Thus, \"Pseudo-\" (meaning 'lie', 'fake') precedes the name Apollodorus.<\/div>\r\n[2.4.3] [[pb_glossary id=\"1493\"]Perseus[\/pb_glossary] gave] the Gorgon's head to [pb_glossary id=\"173\"]Athena[\/pb_glossary] [. . .][pb_glossary id=\"173\"]Athena[\/pb_glossary] placed the Gorgon's head in the center of her shield. It is affirmed by some that Medusa was beheaded because of [pb_glossary id=\"173\"]Athena[\/pb_glossary], for they say the Gorgon had been willing to be compared with [pb_glossary id=\"173\"]Athena[\/pb_glossary] in beauty.\r\n\r\n \r\n\r\nTaken from: https:\/\/www.theoi.com\/Pontios\/Gorgones.html<\/a>\r\n\r\n<\/div>\r\n \r\n\r\n
\r\n\r\n<\/a>Art and Symbolism<\/h1>\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_1330\" align=\"alignnone\" width=\"997\"]
![\"Medusa](\"https:\/\/pressbooks.bccampus.ca\/greekromanmyth\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/1141\/2021\/04\/997px-Gorgoneion_Syrakus.jpg\")
Medusa, terracotta plaque, ca. 700 BCE (Museo Archaeologico Regionale, Syracuse)[\/caption]\r\nMedusa is one of the most popular and most easily recognizable figures in Greek art. She is typically portrayed as a female snake-haired monster with a large mouth showing animal fangs, as well as with a long tongue, wings, and sometimes a belt made of snakes. Her body is usually that of a woman, but in one of the earliest representations of the myth she is shown as a centaur. Even when her body is depicted sideways, her head is always shown as frontal, staring back at the spectator so as to turn them into stone.<\/p>\r\n \r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_1353\" align=\"alignleft\" width=\"344\"]
![\"Two](\"https:\/\/pressbooks.bccampus.ca\/greekromanmyth\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/1141\/2021\/04\/Funerary_proto-Attic_amphora_by_Polyphemos_painter_depicting_Odysseus_and_his_men_blinding_the_cyclops_Polyphemus_from_xxx_flickr_8706777442_b4db371a26_o-scaled-e1619547112529.jpg\")
Gorgons, black-figure amphora, ca. 650 BCE (Archaeological Museum of Eleusis)[\/caption]\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_1329\" align=\"alignright\" width=\"287\"]![\"Two](\"https:\/\/pressbooks.bccampus.ca\/greekromanmyth\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/1141\/2021\/04\/800px-Gorgones_Cdm_Paris_277.jpg\")
Gorgons, black-figure lekythos, ca. 530 BCE (Cabinet des M\u00e9dailles, Paris)[\/caption]\r\n\r\n \r\n\r\n \r\n\r\n \r\n\r\n \r\n\r\n \r\n\r\n \r\n\r\n \r\n\r\n \r\n\r\n \r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_1332\" align=\"alignnone\" width=\"1200\"]![\"Perseus](\"https:\/\/pressbooks.bccampus.ca\/greekromanmyth\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/1141\/2021\/04\/1200px-Dinos_Gorgon_Painter_Louvre_E874.jpg\")
Perseus being pursued by the Gorgons, black-figure dinos, ca. 600 BCE (Louvre Museum, Paris)[\/caption]\r\n\r\nFrom the Classical Period, as artistic standards changed, Medusa stopped being represented as a grotesque monster. She was instead portrayed as a beautiful woman, while still maintaining some unsettling features such as frontality and snakes.\r\n\r\n \r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_1342\" align=\"alignleft\" width=\"318\"]![\"Head](\"https:\/\/pressbooks.bccampus.ca\/greekromanmyth\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/1141\/2021\/04\/Borchia_per_portale_a_forma_di_testa_di_medusa_da_pompei.jpg\")
Medusa, bronze handle (Museo Archaeologico Nazionale, Naples)[\/caption]\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_1334\" align=\"alignright\" width=\"326\"]![\"Head](\"https:\/\/pressbooks.bccampus.ca\/greekromanmyth\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/1141\/2021\/04\/1200px-Museu_dHistoria_de_Valencia_detall_del_mosaic_de_la_Medusa-e1619564306793.jpg\")
Medusa, Roman mosaic, 2nd century CE (Museu de la Hist\u00f2ria de Val\u00e8ncia)[\/caption]\r\n\r\n \r\n\r\n \r\n\r\n \r\n\r\n \r\n\r\n \r\n\r\n \r\n\r\n \r\n\r\n \r\n\r\n \r\nWhen not used as a decoration, Medusa was usually portrayed in art in the scene of her demise, where she is usually shown in the process of being slain by Perseus, who is averting his gaze.<\/p>\r\n \r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_1323\" align=\"alignnone\" width=\"1080\"]
![\"Perseus](\"https:\/\/pressbooks.bccampus.ca\/greekromanmyth\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/1141\/2021\/04\/Perseus_Medusa_Louvre_CA795.jpg\")
Perseus beheading Medusa, terracotta relief, ca. 660 BCE (Louvre Museum, Paris)[\/caption]\r\n\r\n \r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_1335\" align=\"alignnone\" width=\"1200\"]![\"Medusa,](\"https:\/\/pressbooks.bccampus.ca\/greekromanmyth\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/1141\/2021\/04\/1200px-Perseus_killing_Medusa.jpg\")
Perseus beheading Medusa, sarcophagus relief, 2nd century CE (Hungarian National Museum, Budapest)[\/caption]\r\nAnother popular scene to depict was the moment immediately after her death, when Pegasus and the giant Chrysaor were born from Medusa's decapitated body.<\/p>\r\n \r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_1351\" align=\"alignleft\" width=\"285\"]
![\"A](\"https:\/\/pressbooks.bccampus.ca\/greekromanmyth\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/1141\/2021\/04\/DT11652-e1619563007889.jpg\")
Death of Medusa, limestone sarcophagus, ca. 450 BCE (Metropolitan Museum, New York)[\/caption]\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_1325\" align=\"alignright\" width=\"346\"]![\"Perseus](\"https:\/\/pressbooks.bccampus.ca\/greekromanmyth\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/1141\/2021\/04\/Placa_de_terracota_amb_relleu_de_Perseu_i_Gogona_exposicio_La_Bellesa_del_Cos-e1619563039280.jpg\")
Perseus beheading Medusa, terracotta plaque, ca. 490 BCE (Archaeological Museum of Alicante)[\/caption]\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_1348\" align=\"alignnone\" width=\"2560\"]![\"The](\"https:\/\/pressbooks.bccampus.ca\/greekromanmyth\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/1141\/2021\/04\/DP-12737-001-scaled.jpg\")
Death of Medusa, black-figure white-ground lekythos, ca. 500 BCE (Metropolitan Museum, New York)[\/caption]\r\nThe severed head of Medusa, called the gorgoneion<\/em>, was one of the most popular motifs in Greek art from the Archaic Period. It had a life on its own as a decoration or protective symbol on vessels, sculptures, architecture, jewels, and weapons.<\/p>\r\n \r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_1346\" align=\"alignleft\" width=\"323\"]
![\"Head](\"https:\/\/pressbooks.bccampus.ca\/greekromanmyth\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/1141\/2021\/04\/DP-12501-003-scaled-e1619563670224.jpg\")
Gorgoneion, terracotta stand, ca. 570 BCE (Metropolitan Museum, New York)[\/caption]\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_1328\" align=\"alignright\" width=\"317\"]![\"Head](\"https:\/\/pressbooks.bccampus.ca\/greekromanmyth\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/1141\/2021\/04\/800px-Denier_Rep_Romaine_Plautius_Plancus_avers_Gallica_7615.jpg\")
Gorgoneion, Roman coin, ca. 47 BCE (Biblioth\u00e8que Nationale de France, Paris)[\/caption]\r\n\r\n \r\n\r\n \r\n\r\n \r\n\r\n \r\n\r\n \r\n\r\n \r\n\r\n \r\n\r\n \r\n\r\n \r\n\r\n \r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_1322\" align=\"alignleft\" width=\"304\"]![\"Three](\"https:\/\/pressbooks.bccampus.ca\/greekromanmyth\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/1141\/2021\/04\/OlympiaGorgo_retouched.jpg\")
Gorgoneion, shield ornament, ca. 600 BCE (Archaeological Museum, Olympia)[\/caption]\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_1327\" align=\"alignright\" width=\"286\"]![\"Gorgon](\"https:\/\/pressbooks.bccampus.ca\/greekromanmyth\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/1141\/2021\/04\/675px-Gorgon_from_Hekatonpedos_570_BC_ACMA_Acr_701_190723-e1619564114849.jpg\")
Gorgon, antefix from the Hekatompedos, ca. 570 BCE (Acropolis Museum, Athens)[\/caption]\r\n\r\n \r\n\r\n \r\n\r\n \r\n\r\n \r\n\r\n \r\n\r\n \r\n\r\n \r\n\r\n \r\n\r\n \r\nMost notably, the\u00a0gorgoneion <\/em>was also almost always depicted on the aegis, the cloak worn by goddess Athena. The attributes of the gorgoneion<\/em> were very similar to those of Medusa herself: frontality, fangs, protruding tongue, snakes, and sometimes even a beard.<\/p>\r\n \r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_1321\" align=\"alignleft\" width=\"219\"]
![\"Athena](\"https:\/\/pressbooks.bccampus.ca\/greekromanmyth\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/1141\/2021\/04\/Kylix_Theseus_Aison_MNA_Inv11365_n1_Atenea.jpg\")
Athena wearing the Aegis, red-figure kylix, ca. 435 BCE (National Archaeological Museum, Madrid)[\/caption]\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_1331\" align=\"alignright\" width=\"428\"]![\"Achilles](\"https:\/\/pressbooks.bccampus.ca\/greekromanmyth\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/1141\/2021\/04\/1200px-Akhilleus_Memnon_Staatliche_Antikensammlungen_1410.jpg\")
Achilles fighting Memnon, black-figure amphora, ca. 510 BCE (Staatliche Antikensammlungen, Munich)[\/caption]\r\n\r\n \r\n\r\n \r\n\r\n \r\n\r\n \r\n\r\n \r\n\r\n \r\n\r\n \r\n\r\n \r\n\r\n \r\n\r\n \r\n\r\n \r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_1352\" align=\"alignnone\" width=\"1146\"]![\"Ajax](\"https:\/\/pressbooks.bccampus.ca\/greekromanmyth\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/1141\/2021\/04\/Exekias_Suicide_d_Ajax_01_glare_reduced_white_bg-e1619564579238.png\")
Ajax, black-figure amphora, ca. 530 BCE (Ch\u00e2teau-Mus\u00e9e de Boulogne-sur-Mer)[\/caption]\r\n\r\n \r\n\r\n
\r\n\r\nMedia Attributions<\/h1>","rendered":"
![\"The](\"https:\/\/pressbooks.bccampus.ca\/greekromanmyth\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/1141\/2021\/04\/DP-12521-006-scaled-e1619562631241.jpg\")
Gorgon, black-figure kylix, ca. 575 BCE (Metropolitan Museum, New York)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\n<\/a>Origin<\/h1>\n
\n\n Sections & Primary Sources<\/p>\n<\/header>\n
\nThe Gorgons<\/a><\/p>\n
- \n
- Hesiod,\u00a0Theogony, <\/em>270-294<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
Athena, Poseidon, and Medusa<\/a><\/p>\n
- \n
- Ovid,\u00a0Metamorphoses<\/em>, 4.790-803<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
<\/a>The Gorgons<\/h2>\n
There are two mythological origin stories for Medusa. According to one version, she is one of three sisters, called the Gorgons (or Gorgones). These three were monsters, women with snakes for hair, that were born to Phorcus<\/a>, a primordial sea god, who is depicted by the Romans as a merman, and his wife, Ceto<\/a>, whose name means \u201csea monster.\u201d Phorcus<\/a> and Ceto<\/a> were the parents of several monsters, including Echidna, the Graeae, and Ladon. Echidna, in turn, was the mother of many more monsters with her mate Typhon, including Orthrus, Cerberus, the Lernaean Hydra,\u00a0 the Sphinx, and the Nemean Lion. Medusa was mortal, but her two Gorgon sisters, Sthenno and Euryale, were immortal.<\/p>\n
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\n<\/a>Hesiod,\u00a0Theogony <\/em>270-294\u00a0(trans. H. G. Evelyn-White, adapted by P. Rogak)<\/h3>\n
Greek epic poem, 8th\/7th century BCE<\/h4>\n
In this very early version of the myth from Hesiod’s Theogony<\/em>, Medusa is born, along with her sisters, from the union of Phorcus<\/a> and Ceto<\/a>. She has sex with Poseidon in a meadow, and the relationship appears to be consensual, which conflicts with other versions of the myth.<\/div>\n[270-294] And to Phorcus<\/a>, Ceto<\/a> bore the Graeae<\/a>, with fair faces and gray from birth. These the gods who are immortal and men who walk on the earth call Graeae<\/a>, the gray sisters, Pemphredo robed in beauty and Enyo robed in saffron, and the Gorgons<\/a> who, beyond the famous stream of Ocean<\/a>, live in the utmost place toward night, by the singing Hesperides<\/a>. They are Sthenno, Euryale, and Medusa, whose fate is a sad one, for she was mortal, but the other two immortal and ageless both alike. Poseidon<\/a>, he of the dark hair, lay with one of these, in a soft meadow and among spring flowers. But when Perseus<\/a> had cut off the head of Medusa, there sprang from her blood great Chrysaor<\/a> and the horse Pegasus<\/a> so named from the springs (pegai<\/em>) of Ocean<\/a>, where she was born.<\/p>\n
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Taken from: https:\/\/www.theoi.com\/Text\/HesiodTheogony.html<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n
<\/a>Athena, Poseidon, and Medusa<\/h2>\n
[content warning for the following section: sexual assault]<\/h5>\n
According to another version of Medusa’s myth, she was once a beautiful young woman who was raped by the god Poseidon in a temple of Athena. As retribution for the violation of the virgin goddess’ shrine, Athena caused Medusa to be turned into a gorgon and to join the other two gorgons living at the edge of the world. In a variation on this version of the myth, Athena turns Medusa into a gorgon not because she was raped by Poseidon, but because she claimed to be as beautiful as Athena.<\/p>\n
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\n<\/a>Ovid,\u00a0Metamorphoses<\/em>, Book 4.790-803 (trans. A. S. Kline, adapted by P. Rogak)<\/h3>\n
Latin narrative poem, 1st century CE<\/h4>\n
[content warning for the following source: sexual assault]<\/h5>\n
In this version of Medusa’s myth, recounted in Ovid’s Metamorphoses<\/em>, she becomes a Gorgon after being raped by Poseidon.<\/div>\n[790-803] Next one of the many princes asked why Medusa, alone among her sisters, had snakes twining in her hair. The guest [ Perseus<\/a> ] replied, “Since what you ask is worth the telling, hear the answer to your question. She was once most beautiful, and the jealous aspiration of many suitors. Of all her beauties none was more admired than her hair: I came across a man who recalled having seen her. They say that Neptune<\/a>, lord of the seas, violated her in the temple of Minerva<\/a>. Jupiter<\/a>\u2019s daughter turned away, and hid her chaste eyes behind her aegis<\/a>. So that it might not go unpunished, she changed the Gorgon\u2019s hair to foul snakes. And now, to terrify her enemies, numbing them with fear, the goddess wears the snakes, that she created, as a breastplate.”<\/p>\n
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Taken from: https:\/\/www.poetryintranslation.com\/PITBR\/Latin\/Metamorph4.php#anchor_Toc64106272<\/a><\/p>\n
Translated by A. S. Kline \u00a9\u00a0Copyright<\/a> 2000 All Rights Reserved<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
\n<\/a>Conflict and Death<\/h1>\n
Perseus beheading Medusa, red-figure pelike, ca. 450 BCE (Metropolitan Museum, New York)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n Medusa was killed by the Greek hero Perseus. He was sent to kill her by King Polydectes of Seriphos, under the assumption that he would fail, leaving nobody to object to Polydectes marrying Perseus’ mother, Danae. Assisted by Athena and Hermes, Perseus found Medusa in a cave and cut off her head, which Athena showed him using her reflective bronze shield as a mirror.<\/p>\n
When Perseus cut off Medusa’s head, the winged horse Pegasus and the monster Chrysaor sprang from her bleeding neck. These were the offspring of Poseidon’s rape of Medusa.<\/p>\n
For further discussion and art of Perseus and Medusa, see chapter 21<\/a>.<\/p>\n
\nAfterlife<\/h1>\n
\n\n Sections & Primary Sources<\/p>\n<\/header>\n
\nThe Origin of Vipers<\/a><\/p>\n
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- Apollonius of Rhodes,\u00a0Argonautica, <\/em>1502-1536<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
The Origin of Coral<\/a><\/p>\n
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- Ovid,\u00a0Metamorphoses,\u00a0<\/em>4.706-752<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
The Aegis<\/a><\/p>\n
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- Pseudo-Apollodorus,\u00a0Bibliotheca<\/em>, 2.4.3<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
<\/a>The Origin of Vipers<\/h2>\n
Perseus put Medusa’s severed head into a bag and flew away from the cave of the Gorgons on the winged horse Pegasus. As he was flying back to Polydectes on the Island of Seriphos, he flew over the Libyan desert. It is said that drops of blood from Medusa’s severed head fell onto the sand below and spawned poisonous vipers.<\/p>\n
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\n<\/a>Apollonius of Rhodes,\u00a0Argonautica\u00a0<\/em>(trans. R. C. Seaton, adapted by P. Rogak)<\/h3>\n
Greek Epic, 3rd century BCE<\/h4>\n
In his epic about the adventures of Jason and the Argonauts, Apollonius of Rhodes explains the origin of the deadly vipers in the Libyan desert.<\/div>\n[1502] And then, on the same day, a pitiless fate seized Mopsus<\/a> too, son of Ampycus; and he did not escape a bitter doom by his prophesying; for there is no way to escape death. Now there lay in the sand, avoiding the midday heat, a terrifying serpent, too sluggish of his own will to strike at an unwilling foe, nor yet would he dart full face at one that would shrink back. But into whatever of all living beings that life-giving earth sustains that serpent once injects his black venom, his path to Hades<\/a> becomes not so much as a cubit’s length, not even if Paean<\/a>, if it is right for me to say this openly, should tend him, when its teeth have only grazed the skin. For when godlike Perseus<\/a> Eurymedon (for by that name his mother called him) flew over Libya — bearing to the king the Gorgon’s head newly severed, all the drops of dark blood that fell to the earth, produced a brood of those serpents. Now Mopsus<\/a> stepped on the end of its spine, setting thereon the sole of his left foot; and it writhed round in pain and bit and tore the flesh between the shin and the muscles. And Medea<\/a> and her handmaids fled in terror; but Canthus bravely felt the bleeding wound; for no excessive pain harassed him. Poor wretch! Already a numbness that loosed his limbs was stealing beneath his skin, and a thick mist was spreading over his eyes. Straightway his heavy limbs sank helplessly to the ground and he grew cold; and his comrades and the hero, Aeson<\/a>‘s son, gathered round, marvelling at the close-coming doom. And, though dead, he could not lie beneath the sun even for a little time. For at once the poison began to rot his flesh within, and the hair decayed and fell from the skin. And quickly and in haste they dug a deep grave with pick-axe of bronze; and they tore their hair, the heroes and the maidens, bewailing the dead man’s piteous suffering; and when he had received due burial rites, thrice they marched round the tomb in full armour, and heaped above him a mound of earth.<\/p>\n
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Taken from: https:\/\/www.theoi.com\/Text\/ApolloniusRhodius4.html<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n
<\/a>The Origin of Coral<\/h2>\n
Perseus next came to Red Sea, where he saw the Libyan princess, Andromeda, chained to a rock, a sacrificial victim to the sea monster that had been ravaging the area. After he killed the sea monster and rescued Andromeda, he sat down to rest on the shores of the Red Sea. He set down the head of Medusa down on a bed of seaweed, which immediately hardened because of Medusa’s magical ability of petrification. This is the etiological myth<\/em> (that is, the creation story) for the origin of coral.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\n<\/a>Ovid,\u00a0Metamorphoses<\/em>, Book 4 (trans. A. S. Kline)<\/h3>\n
Latin narrative poem, 1st century CE<\/h4>\n
In this section of the\u00a0Metamorphoses<\/em>, Ovid describes the aftermath of Perseus’ slaying of the sea monster and his rescue of the Libyan princess, Andromeda. Here we see an\u00a0etiological myth<\/em> for the origin of coral.<\/div>\n[706-752] Released from her chains, the girl [ Andromeda<\/a> ] comes forward, the prize and the cause of his efforts. He [ Perseus<\/a> ] washes his hands after the victory in seawater drawn for him and, so that Medusa\u2019s head, covered with its snakes, is not bruised by the harsh sand. He makes the ground soft with leaves, spreads out plants from below the waves and places the head of that daughter of Phorcus<\/a> on them. The fresh plants, still living inside, and absorbent, respond to the influence of the Gorgon\u2019s head, and harden at its touch, acquiring a new rigidity in branches and fronds. And the ocean nymphs<\/a> try out this wonder on more plants, and are delighted that the same thing happens at its touch, and repeat it by scattering the seeds from the plants through the waves. Even now corals have the same nature, hardening at a touch of air, and what was alive under the water, above water is turned to stone.<\/p>\n
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Taken from: https:\/\/www.poetryintranslation.com\/PITBR\/Latin\/Metamorph4.php#anchor_Toc64106271<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n
<\/a>The Aegis<\/h2>\n
After completing his adventures, Perseus gave the head of Medusa to Athena as thanks for helping him. Athena wears Medusa’s head on a cloak that she pins around her shoulders. This garment, as well as Zeus’ shield, is called the Aegis. According to other versions of the myth, Athena also carries the gorgon’s head on her shield. Today, people use the term\u00a0aegis<\/em>\u00a0to mean someone’s metaphorical sphere of influence or protection: e.g., doing something under someone’s\u00a0aegis<\/em>\u00a0means you are doing so with their blessing or on their behalf.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\n<\/a>Pseudo-Apollodorus, Bibliotheca, <\/em>Book 2 (trans. K. Aldrich, adapted by P. Rogak)<\/h3>\n
Greek mythography, 2nd century CE<\/h4>\n
In this passage from the\u00a0Bibliotheca<\/em>, Pseudo-Apollodorus explains where Athena got the Gorgon’s head, which he says that she carries on her shield. The author of this text was originally thought to be Apollodorus of Athens. Over time, however, this attribution became widely considered to be false. Thus, “Pseudo-” (meaning ‘lie’, ‘fake’) precedes the name Apollodorus.<\/div>\n[2.4.3] [Perseus<\/a> gave] the Gorgon’s head to Athena<\/a> [. . .]Athena<\/a> placed the Gorgon’s head in the center of her shield. It is affirmed by some that Medusa was beheaded because of Athena<\/a>, for they say the Gorgon had been willing to be compared with Athena<\/a> in beauty.<\/p>\n
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Taken from: https:\/\/www.theoi.com\/Pontios\/Gorgones.html<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n
<\/p>\n
\n<\/a>Art and Symbolism<\/h1>\n
Medusa, terracotta plaque, ca. 700 BCE (Museo Archaeologico Regionale, Syracuse)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n Medusa is one of the most popular and most easily recognizable figures in Greek art. She is typically portrayed as a female snake-haired monster with a large mouth showing animal fangs, as well as with a long tongue, wings, and sometimes a belt made of snakes. Her body is usually that of a woman, but in one of the earliest representations of the myth she is shown as a centaur. Even when her body is depicted sideways, her head is always shown as frontal, staring back at the spectator so as to turn them into stone.<\/p>\n
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Gorgons, black-figure amphora, ca. 650 BCE (Archaeological Museum of Eleusis)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n Gorgons, black-figure lekythos, ca. 530 BCE (Cabinet des M\u00e9dailles, Paris)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n <\/p>\n
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Perseus being pursued by the Gorgons, black-figure dinos, ca. 600 BCE (Louvre Museum, Paris)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n From the Classical Period, as artistic standards changed, Medusa stopped being represented as a grotesque monster. She was instead portrayed as a beautiful woman, while still maintaining some unsettling features such as frontality and snakes.<\/p>\n
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Medusa, bronze handle (Museo Archaeologico Nazionale, Naples)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n Medusa, Roman mosaic, 2nd century CE (Museu de la Hist\u00f2ria de Val\u00e8ncia)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n <\/p>\n
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When not used as a decoration, Medusa was usually portrayed in art in the scene of her demise, where she is usually shown in the process of being slain by Perseus, who is averting his gaze.<\/p>\n
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Perseus beheading Medusa, terracotta relief, ca. 660 BCE (Louvre Museum, Paris)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n <\/p>\n
Perseus beheading Medusa, sarcophagus relief, 2nd century CE (Hungarian National Museum, Budapest)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n Another popular scene to depict was the moment immediately after her death, when Pegasus and the giant Chrysaor were born from Medusa’s decapitated body.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
- Pseudo-Apollodorus,\u00a0Bibliotheca<\/em>, 2.4.3<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
- Ovid,\u00a0Metamorphoses,\u00a0<\/em>4.706-752<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
- Apollonius of Rhodes,\u00a0Argonautica, <\/em>1502-1536<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
- Ovid,\u00a0Metamorphoses<\/em>, 4.790-803<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
- Hesiod,\u00a0Theogony, <\/em>270-294<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
- Pseudo-Apollodorus,\u00a0Bibliotheca<\/em>, 2.4.3<\/a><\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\n
- Ovid,\u00a0Metamorphoses,\u00a0<\/em>4.706-752<\/a><\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\nThe Aegis<\/a>\r\n
- Apollonius of Rhodes,\u00a0Argonautica, <\/em>1502-1536<\/a><\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\nThe Origin of Coral<\/a>\r\n
- Ovid,\u00a0Metamorphoses<\/em>, 4.790-803<\/a><\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\n