Poseidon and medusa7/6/2023 In one of his poems, Pindar applied the epithet euparaos (“fair-cheeked”) to Medusa. This root also appears in other Greek names, including Medea, Medon, and Diomedes. The name Medusa was likely derived from the Greek verb medein (“to guard, protect”). Medusa’s head was finally given to the goddess Athena, becoming part of the armor she wore into battle. He then used her severed head as a weapon during his travels, turning his enemies to stone. With the help of several gods, Perseus tracked Medusa down to her remote lair and beheaded her. Medusa was eventually killed by Perseus, one of Zeus’ heroic sons. But the young Medusa offended Athena and was therefore cursed to be a terrible monster, forever hunted by men. Many later versions of the myth claimed that she was once a beautiful maiden loved by Poseidon. Medusa was often depicted as a terrifying winged female with snakes instead of hair. It was said that anyone who looked directly at her was immediately turned to stone. Close by the museum, in the main plaza of Firenze (Florence) there is a sculpture of Perseus.Medusa, the daughter of the sea gods Phorcys and Ceto, was the most feared of the Gorgons. It is exposed in the Uffizi museum in Florence. One of the most known art work is the Medusa shield by Caravaggio, painted at the end of the 16th century. Paintings and sculptures of the moment of beheading or Medusa’s portrait itself are famous all over the world. The myth of Perseus and Medusa was one the most powerful inspiration for many artists in the ancient times, but it hasn’t lost its artistic significance to the present day either. Later, Perseus used Medusa’s head as a weapon in many occasions until he gave the head to Athena to place it on her shield. In any case, once he accomplished his task Perseus flew back and escaped Medusa’s sisters who tried to reach him. It’s believed that those two were Medusa’s children with Poseidon. When he cut Medusa’s head off, from the drops of her blood suddenly appeared two offspring: Pegasus, a winged horse, and Chrysaor, a giant or a winged boar. The latter was the most important tool Perseus had, since it allowed him to see a reflection of Medusa’s face and to avoid being turned into stone. He asked Athena and Hermes for help and two of them, together with the nymphs, provided winged sandals to fly him to the end of the world where gorgons lived, a cap that made him invisible, a sword and a mirrored shield. And whoever dared to look into her face ended up being turned into stone. Medusa kept her beautiful face but everything else was so monstrous. Medusa was so beautiful that Poseidon was crazy about her, but she didn’t care about him Poseidon turned her and her sisters into monsters with live snakes covering their heads. Some versions say all three were born as monsters, but the predominant myths had them as gorgeous maidens. Medusa was one of three sisters, the gorgons, but she was the only mortal one. Polydectes told Perseus to bring him the head of the gorgon Medusa. Knowing that he wouldn’t have the woman for himself as long as Perseus was there to protect her, the king made a plan to send Perseus not only far away but also to a dangerous mission. When Perseus grew up to a handsome and strong young man, one more time he found himself in the way of one king, this time King Polydectes, who wanted Danae to become his wife. They eventually came to the shores of Serifos island, where they were saved and adopted by a local couple, the man being the brother of the king of the island, Polydectes. Hearing the news but not believing that Zeus was the father of the newborn, Acrisius let his daughter and grandchild out to the open sea on an ark. However, as the legend says, Zeus came to her in the form of golden rain, pierced through the walls of chamber, and Danae’s body. Scared of the upcoming future and his destiny, King Acrisius decided to deprive his daughter of any possible intercourse, mating and child bearing, so he built a room beneath the earth and imprisoned Danae there. This grandson would be the child of his daughter Danae. Here, we will present just a short version of the myth of Perseus and Medusa – until the moment when Perseus beheaded Medusa.Īcrisius, the king of Argos, was told by the oracle of Delphi that his own grandson would kill him one day. With a promising plot that gets more complicated as the story progresses, this myth has a typical Hollywood-like scenario with the main character not being born yet at the moment when his destiny was determined. The myth of Perseus and Medusa is one of the best thriller-like tales in Greek Mythology.
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