Perseus was able to see Medusa from the reflection in the mirrored shield, making it possible for him to kill her without looking directly at her. Perseus attacked Medusa with a mirrored shield (from Athena), winged sandals (from Hermes), a sword (from Hephaestus), and invisibility (from Hade). In order to avoid the forced marriage Perseus (son of Zeus and Danaë) agreed to bring the king Medusa's head. King Polydectes of Seriphus wanted to marry Perseus' mother Danaë but she had no interest in him. This is the reason for the high number of poisonous snakes in Africa according to the myth. Medusa left her home and wandered in Africa.Īncient Greek mythology states that Medusa dropped baby poisonous snakes as she wandered through Africa. When she fell in love with Poseidon and married him she went against her vows as a priestess.Īthena punished Medusa by cursing her with the horrid face and poisonous snakes for hair. Medusa was originally a priestess of Athena. Medusa was the only one of the three sisters who was not immortal and in the end Medusa was killed by the hero and demigod Perseus. Athena turned Medusa's face into a horrible sight and turned her hair to venomous snakes. Medusa was rumoured to have once been a beautiful young woman, but Athena became jealous when Poseidon turned his attentions to Medusa. Medusa and her two sisters Euryale and Stheno, were the children of Phorcys and his sister Ceto. Medusa was a Gorgon - one of three sisters with venomous snakes for hair and the ability to turn people to stone. Paying attention to dreams, and exploring the deep meanings behind them will help to shed light on a current situation that has its roots in the past.Medusa is an ancient Greek mythological character known for her ability to turn one into stone if they looked at her (even by accident), and for her head of snakes (instead of hair) and winged human female form.
Likewise Poseidon was said to have seduced Medusa in the guise of either a bird or a horse, and Medusa's parents were both sea Deities.ĭrawing this card in a reading indicates old tales, and intuiting out the truth behind them. An epithet of Athena, Sthenia, meaning "strong," shares its root meaning with the name of one of Medusa's Gorgon sisters, Sthenno.
Athene, as a sky Goddess, is associated with birds, especially the wise owl and She also is linked to the chthonic serpent, as seen in links to Erekhtheus and Erikhthonios (who were often confused) and in the snakes that fringe Her aegis. In these legends, Medusa shares many symbols with Athene and with Poseidon. Her blood was then taken by Athene who gave it to Asklepios, or in some stories, Erikhthonios (the half-serpent, half-human Who was claimed as ancestor by the early Athenians the Erechtheum, a temple shared by Athene and Poseidon on the Akropolis, is named for Erechtheus, his adopted grandson), who used it to kill or cure. When Medusa's blood fell to the earth, the hero Khrysaor and the winged horse Pegasos were born, for Medusa had been pregnant from Her encounter with Poseidon. It is said that Perseus was guided by Athene's hand as he killed Medusa, or even that Athene Herself slew Medusa as She slept. Poseidon was sometimes said to have been Athene's father, from Whom She got Her blue eyes, and They were long rivals, as can be seen in Their competition for patronage of Athens. Some legends say Medusa was given Her fearsome aspect by Athene as punishment for winning a beauty contest against Her or that the punishment was given because the sea God Poseidon had sex with Medusa in Athene's temple. Medusa's legends are very tangled with those of Athene, and Medusa may originally have been Her sexual and destructive aspect. Sometimes She is shown as an ugly woman, burly and muscular, with large fangs. Often She has wings, either large bronze ones sprouting from Her back, or a small pair on Her forehead.
There are many different representations of Medusa, some ugly, some not, and not all showing Her with Her famous snaky hair. Thereafter Athene wore it on Her aegis or breastplate that symbolized the storm clouds. The hero Perseus killed Her on a dare, decapitating Her and making off with Her head, which he gave to Athene. Snakes then replaced Her beautiful tresses, and Her gaze was so terrible it would turn men to stone. She was said to have once been a beautiful maiden, famous for Her lovely hair, who was turned to a hideous monster by the Goddess Athene. Medusa was one of the three Gorgons ("the Terrible Ones"), the daughters of Keto ("Whale," daughter of Gaea and Pontos, the outer sea) and her brother Phorkys (also a sea Deity). You look in my eyes and are not turned to stone.
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