We explain who Medusa was in Greek mythology and how she was represented. Also, the myth of her and how it can be interpreted.
Who was Medusa?
In the Greek mythologyMedusa was a monstrous female creature, capable of turning anyone who looked directly into her eyes into stone. It was a chthonic being (that is, linked to the depths and the underworld) and the most famous of the gorgons (Medusa, Esteno and Euríale), creatures spawned by Forcis and Ceto in some versions, or by Typhoon and Echidna in others. . Of the gorgons, Medusa was the only mortal.
Medusa was described and represented in Ancient Greece as a monster with the face of a woman (who often appears with her tongue sticking out) and snakes for hair, sometimes winged and with other animal features.
According to the mythological story, the monster was decapitated by the mythical hero Perseus, who then used her head to defeat his enemies. For this reason, the image of her severed head was used as a symbol of protection and defense against evil (called gorgoneion), at the entrance to temples and palaces, on banners and flags.
The myth of Medusa is perhaps one of the most popular and has been most versioned and represented in Greek mythology, as well as studied from a symbolic and psychoanalytic point of view.
According to scholars of Greek culture classic, like Robert Graves, the origin of this myth could be located in the confrontation between the Greeks and the Carians in the Mediterranean, since in the colonies of the latter there was a worship lunar whose priestesses wore masks similar to the description of the appearance of the gorgons. Other theories point to the encounter with the religion matriarchal of the Berbers in the north of present-day Libya.
The myth of Medusa
The origin of Medusa in Greek mythology is uncertain. The poet Hesiod (c. 700 BC) mentions it for the first time in his theogony, where he explains the origin of the cosmos and of the gods of the greeks, and there he says that Poseidon lay with her "in a soft meadow, among spring flowers." She is also described by Pindar (circa 490 BC) as "the fair-cheeked one."
In any case, the best known version of the myth comes from the Roman Ovid and his famous narrative poem the metamorphoses (completed 8 AD), where she is described as a beautiful maiden and priestess of the temple of Athena, whose beauty won her numerous suitors. Among them was the terrible god of the seas, Poseidon, who kidnapped and raped her, and left her pregnant.
Thus stripped of her purity, Medusa was then punished by Athena, furious at the desecration of her temple. The goddess transformed her hair into snakes and made those who looked at her face turn to stone.
Medusa and Perseus
Medusa lived with her sisters in a cave in the last place where the night went. There she went to look for the hero Perseus, grandson of Zeus and son of Danae, by order of King Polydectes. The latter wanted Perseus's mother as his wife, but the hero did not approve of the union, so the king sent him to bring him the head of Medusa as a wedding gift, in order to get rid of him.
Perseus, however, received help from different gods.Among them, Athena gave him a bronze mirror so perfectly polished that it served as a mirror, so that he could observe Medusa's reflection and thus not turn to stone; and also the famous invisibility helmet of Hades, with which she could later escape.
In this way, the hero infiltrated the monster's cave and with an accurate cut he cut off Medusa's head, kept it in a sack and, becoming invisible, escaped in a hurry from the gorgons' revenge. From the blood spilled by Medusa, the giant Chrysaor and the winged horse, Pegasus, were born.
Armed with the monster's head, Perseus undertook various adventures: he turned the titan Atlas, who held the vault of heaven, into stone, rescued the princess Andromeda from the sea monster Cetis, and finally took revenge on King Polydectes. Finally, the hero gave Medusa's severed head to Athena herself, who thereafter placed it on her shield, as a protective emblem of her.
Interpretations of the myth
The myth of Medusa has received numerous interpretations and readings over the centuries. Some see the myth as the narrative representation of female punishment and the rule of law. patriarchal, since Medusa is a woman raped and then punished by a virginal goddess, as if it were her fault for having been outraged.
In other senses, the myth is understood from the severed head of the monster, which serves the hero to fulfill his destiny, which means that in the difficulties and challenges of life lie the keys to the future success of the individual. .