Who is Medusa in Greek Mythology

The monster, the woman with snakes in her hair, the one who petrifies with her eyes... You have surely heard many different stories about Medusa in Mythology and that all of them have surprised you. Of all the characters in the myths of Ancient Greece, Medusa has always been one of the most popular and one of the most imprinted have left both then and in the history of our culture and our art influencing artists of the stature of Rubens or Kimt.

In this lesson from a teacher we are going to discover you who is Medusa in Greek Mythology so that you know her history, the characteristics that define her so much and, also, the influence that this character and her myth have had throughout our history.

Index

1. Who was Medusa in Greek Mythology
2. History of Medusa in Greek Mythology
3. Characteristics of Medusa in Greek Mythology
4. Importance of Medusa in Greek Mythology

Medusa in Mythology she was the only mortal woman of the three gorgons, that is, the three daughters of Forcis and Ceto. Its about

To know who Medusa was in Greek Mythology we must first explain who the Gorgons were. They lived in the West of the world, in an area very close to what the Greeks considered to be the kingdom of the dead and, for this reason, the link of her with the world of darkness and death is a constant is the legends.

They were monsters very feared by both humans and gods since they had snakes in their hair and long fangs wild boar; In addition, their eyes released sparks that were capable of petrifying anyone who looked directly at them.

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She is one of the characters that have attracted the most attention from the entire set of characters in Greek legends. The story of Medusa in Mythology is surprising since she was a woman-monster that showed the duality that can exist between the maximum beauty and the evil.

Summary of the history of Medusa

We have already commented that Medusa was the only mortal of the Gorgons but, in addition to this, she was the most beautiful of all. Such was her physical attractiveness that a god like poseidon fell in love madly of her and ended up seducing her in the temple of Athena; there are texts that tell us that, more than a process of seduction, she was a full-blown violation.

Let us remember that Athena (mother of Perseus) and Poseidon were strong rivals and, therefore, this act made the Goddess of Wisdom ended up punishing Medusa and equated her to the same rank as hers, two sisters of hers, is say, she turned her into a soulless monster, with large fangs, metallic hands and eyes full of a light capable of petrifying anyone who looks at them. Aphrodite, the Goddess of Love, envied Medusa's precious mane and therefore took it off and replaced it with snakes.

In this way, all the natural beauty of Medusa was transformed and turned into a true monster that could only live in the most distant lands, next to Hades or the Underworld.

But this was not all: Medusa becomes pregnant because of her sexual relationship with Poseidon, something that angers Athena even more so she ends up ordering Perseus to kill Medusa. The young hero had a very difficult mission to fulfill because, let's not forget, that with a simple glance Medusa was capable of killing anyone who got in her way.

Finally, legend has it that Perseus managed to kill her thanks to sandals that helped him to fly from her and allowed him to behead her while she slept. Therefore, if you wanted to know who killed Medusa in Mythology, the answer is that Perseus did it, forced by Athena.

The story of Medusa in Mythology does not end here because, from her neck, beheaded by her, came out of her two children of her (the ones she was carrying) and who were none other than Pegasus and Chrysaor, the giant. Her head cut off from her was left by Athena to use as a shield during her battles.

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Now we are going to focus in detail on the physical appearance of this mythological character as well as some peculiarities that deserve to be mentioned. So that, Medusa in mythology has a number of characteristics that make it unique and very recognizable:

• Instead of hair, she has head covered with snakes: Well, as we have seen previously, Aphrodite, jealous, decided to snatch her hair because it is a clear sign of beauty and femininity
• She can kill with just one look: Athena, angered by the relationships of Medusa and Poseidon in her temple, endowed him with a light in his eyes that she is able to petrify whoever looks at her and, therefore, kills him instantly.
• He turns people to stone: the look of this character has the characteristic that he can turn anyone to stone.
• Her blood was used as poison: the gods of Olympus kept Medusa's blood and kept it as a powerful poison to be able to kill any enemy
• Her head was used as a shield: Athena was left with Medusa's head because, although she was dead, her eyes continued to petrify people; so the goddess decided to use her as a powerful shield
• The head ended up as an amulet: Due to the use that Athena made of Medusa's head, in the end, it became a protective amulet among the Greek civilization

These are the characteristics of Medusa in the legend of Greece that stand out the most and make this character unforgettable.

Ywhy Medusa is so important in Greek Mythology and in our culture? It is clear that, among all the characters of Ancient Greece, the myth of Medusa is one of those that has left the greatest mark on our civilization and that it has made that great artists and painters of the stature of Leonardo, Rubens or Klimt end up being inspired by this mythological story for the elaboration of some of their paintings.

Medusa draws our attention to her fateful and unfair story in which, due to a sexual relationship (consensual or not, it is not known for sure) she was cursed throughout her life until she was beheaded. The fury of the Gods is once again present in this Greek myth that, once again, shows us that before the divine force, there is nothing and no one who can fight.

A beautiful woman like Medusa was relegated to a horrible monster that couldn't even look around her without killing him. A conviction that ended up turning her into a symbol of a dangerous, independent and strong woman.

For this reason, the myth of Medusa has deeply penetrated our culture current since, in addition to the initial label of "evil woman", if we investigate about the myth of her we find that she is still a victim of divine fury. However, her iconography has survived to this day representing her as the lady of the beasts, the mediator between heaven and heaven. hell, the one that reflects the cycle of life (life, death and rebirth) and, above all, the representative of the mysteries female.

The myth of Medusa in our culture

In the Renaissance and Baroque periods, the head of Medusa was considered a symbol of reason, the triumph of the mind and intellect over passions and emotions. Caravaggio painted on this subject Due to the request of the Cardinal del Monte and that is how, the painter of the world of darkness, put the Greek monster inside a shield with a gesture of fury and unprecedented pain.

Scholars on the subject question that this painting by Caravaggio, perhaps, is under the influence from an earlier creation by Leonardo da Vinci who also decorated a wooden shield with this myth Greek. However, what the new painter achieves is to humanize the mythological figure and give it a strong realism and feeling. Years later, painters like Rubens or sculptors like Bernini also gave their own point of view of this myth creating different works of art that are preserved today.

In the 19th century, the legend of Medusa in Mythology was a favorite among Symbolists like Klimt and, for this reason, we can see a reinterpretation of the classic made from a more decadent and avant-garde prism. In this century, the role of women acquired more force and, for this reason, we can see pieces that reflect a Medusa conceived as a "femme fatal".

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