The Story of Medusa

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Why was Medusa Cursed, The real Story of Snake Haired Gorgons, The real story of Medusa, Medusa meaning, Why Athen cursed Medusa, Medusa, and Poseidon relation –

In Stories, Cartoons, or Movies, we have seen monsters of different types. They can be formed as scary in the form of any, no matter how weird they look, but their main aim is to scare people or to put them in evil minds or track.
So this Medusa, according to the Greek Mythology is a famous monster that is mostly called a winged female creature having a head where live snakes are their hair. They have another name which is Gorgons and are sometimes represented as most beautiful. This Medusa was the only mortal creature. Perseus was their slayer, who was able to kill her by cutting their heads.

Medusa’s family are all beasts and she is the daughter of Phorcys and Ceto. They all were considered beautiful mortals except for Medusa until she got the wrath of Athena which was acquired either due to her boasting character or for her love failure with Poseidon. When she was transformed into a monster where hair was of lively snakes. She was later killed by Perseus and later used her snakehead as a weapon before he gifted it to Athena. Whoever tries to hunt Medusa will never return alive.

Miraculous head of Medusa

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Perseus was all willing to get the head of Medusa for a weapon, and last it happened after finishing her. So he kept her head in a bag with him and flew to Libya. During the journey, a few drops of Medusa’s blood fell to the ground and they turned into snakes later this day, Libya abounded with serpents. When he landed at Seriphos, he used her head to change Polydectes and the vicious islanders to stones and it happened. After that, this island was well known for its numerous rocks.
After his wishes were done, he gifted this head of Medusa to his benefactor Athena as a form of a votive gift. Here, Athena used some of her blood for saving people’s lives and some forgetting the dead people alive. The last two drops of her blood, she has given to her adopted son Erichthonius, where one drops cure all illness while the other one is poisonous. She has kept her hair in a jar for locking them up for Heracles. But these did not have the power that medusa used to gaze.

Miraculous head

Where did Medusa come from?

As per the Greek Mythologies, Medusa was born to a family of monsters and she was born like a beautiful girl child lie the normal. But later on, when she grew she got wings and her hair was made of snakes. Other Greek mythologies have different views and facts about Medusa. Other myths say that she s the daughter of Gorgon and Ceto. In others, her story is completely different. Certain said that she was born like a normal girl and had the hair like the others and not of snakes. But She was punished by Athena for getting into a relationship with Poseidon. Her hair changed to snakes as Athena cursed her and also for turning everyone into stones that she sees.

How is Medusa in the form of Art?

As the ancient people know how she looked. It was easy for them to make a sculpture of her face as her hair was a flock of snakes. Her hair is easily pointed out by ancient Greeks for artistic depiction. Her paintings, drawings, and cravings can be found in ancient Greek pottery, architecture, media, and other forms.

When we talk and describe Medusa, it’s her head and hair that is popular to be described. So her head and hair are made of cups, earrings, pendants, and rings. The ancient Greeks believed that the picture of Medusa was used to get them rid of evil. They also believe that Medusa will help them from danger and other evil spirits or acts.

In the later depiction, Medusa has been used for more feminine appearances. Even though she is thought to have beautiful hair. She is shown that she is confrontational and has an almost malevolent look. The snake that is her hair is often depicted and shown as writhing and hissing.

Did Ancient Greeks believe in Medusa?

The ancient Greeks believed that the myths and stories of Medusa have certain relations in their real life and believed to be in the real entity. But we, living in the modern era, know that it is just a story that the ancient people believed and this story of Medusa has become one of the popular and known examples of ancient Greek myths. We all know that the character Medusa was not real and believed to be a cultural and artistic influence. She was in many poets, craftsmen, and certain architecture, which made Medusa one of the most important characters in Greek Mythology.

Powers of Medusa

Medusa had great powers and was considered the most notorious of the Gorgon sisters that were depicted in the Greek mythologies. It was the Greek God Athena who gave her the power to transform anybody into stone that looked at her in evil ways. The reason for this power was the topic of Debate. Many myths said that the power was given to her for her protection from men committing any sins.

With these powers, Medusa’s head was written about and published in several Marvel comics. Her head of snakes was made as paintings for showcases. The statue of her head made in bronze was made by Hubert Gerhard during the year 1950.
After she was killed and her head taken by Perseus, it was later transformed into a winged horse. As she appears in different forms her wings were marked as a symbol of freedom during the French Revolution.

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