She believes that Medusa was originally a beautiful woman with power and that men adapted her story to turn her into a monster because they did not appreciate powerful women. 8 CE). No, he was sent to kill her by King Polydectes of Seriphos. Legend says that Medusa was one of three children born to Phorcys. Perseus hunted the King down and showed him the head of the Gorgon literally. WebPerseus was one of the oldest out of all of the Greek mythological heroes. According to Athenaeus, a Greek author who lived during the late second and early third centuries CE, the Gorgons were long-haired beasts, so terrifying that all who looked upon them were paralyzed and killed. Caravaggio, Medusa, 1595-1596, Uffizi Gallery, Florence, Italy. Only according to the scholia on Apollonius of Rhodes Argonautica 4.1399. Let us know if you have suggestions to improve this article (requires login). As she traveled, some of the serpents in her hair fell to the ground and slid away. Nameberry is a registered trademark of Nameberry, LLC. There are also references to Medusa in the Fabulae. Versace still uses a log of a woman with terrifying features and serpents coming from her head as its brand logo. Aeschylus, Prometheus Bound 798800, trans. The story behind the Medusa statue that has become the perfect His bones became stones. This phenomenon can be viewed yearly in early August and is the result of the path of the Swift-Tuttle Comet. She was particularly known as the patroness of spinning and weaving. From Athena to Zeus: Basics of Greek Mythology. For some examples, such as the winding snake in the right foreground, Rubens probably also used casts made from nature, which were particularly popular in northern Italy. It was said that anyone who looked directly at her was immediately turned to stone. When she found them together, Athena transformed her into a woman with serpents in her hair and a cold stare. Medusas Head is a study released in 1940 after Freuds death. Hesiod, Theogony 280ff; Ovid, Metamorphoses 4.784ff, 6.119ff; Apollodorus, Library 2.4.2; Hyginus, Fabulae 151. She claimed that Medusa was the only real Gorgon and that her sisters were mere additions to her story. If your web page requires an HTML link, please insert this code: Perseus: The Argive Hero of Greek Mythology. The other Greek hero, Bellerophon, tamed the magical beast. The best-known story of Perseus and Dionysus comes from Nonnus, who wrote an entire biography of the bacchic god. The coat of arms of the Dohalice village from the Czech Republic depicts Medusas head. The Medusa head is part of fashion designer Gianni Versaces symbol. As for Ariadne, be happy. Pausanias, in his Description of Greece, offers a historical version of Medusa that may be worth mentioning. Chrysaor also came from Medusa. Also known as Phorkys, he lay with his sister Ceto. The head of Medusa is used as the logo of the Italian fashion company Versace. Acrisius in Greek Mythology According to Greek mythology, Mycenaes story goes back to the hero Perseus, the demigod son of Zeus and Danae, who was said to have founded the city of Mycenae. Eventually, it died. A magazine from 1986 also used this idea and claimed that feminists could learn how to channel their rage through her story. The subject of Perseuss quest, she is one of the most iconic monsters in Greek lore. In a late version of the Medusa myth, related by the Roman poet Ovid, Medusa was originally a ravishingly beautiful maiden, the jealous aspiration of many suitors, but because Poseidon had raped her in Athenas temple, the enraged Athena transformed Medusas beautiful hair to serpents and made her face so terrible to behold that the mere sight of it would turn onlookers to stone. Next time there is a trivia night, it might be more interesting to choose questions about Perseus than Hercules, and there are some fun facts that make perfect questions. A tepidarium from the Roman era has a mosaic floor with her head at the center. 2023. For standing by their sibling, she did the same to the other two gorgons. No men are allowed to enter the tower, and the bronze nature of the tower also ensures that its walls cannot be climbed. WebPerseus Origin and Meaning The name Perseus is boy's name of Greek origin meaning "to destroy". Modern linguists, however, dismiss this etymology as a coincidence. Dionysus could not be turned to stone, however. Athena was probably a pre-Hellenic goddess and was later taken over by the Greeks. In Egypt, there was a city called Khemmis, which Herodotus records had a temple to Perseus: The people of this Khemmis say that Perseus is seen often up and down this land, and often within the temple, and that the sandal he wears, which is four feet long, keeps turning up, and that when it does turn up, all Egypt prospers. A lot of focus is put on the Renaissance when learning art history. Perseus then headed to Ethiopia to rest and set her head down on the ground. Her superpower was simple gazers upon her face would turn to stone. According to author Jane Ellen Harrison, Medusas power came from her head and anyone who carried it gained that power. Hesiod: Medusas lineage and her affair with the sea god Poseidon are outlined in the seventh-century BCE epic Theogony. Hesiod used her in Theogony. The Myth of Perseus and Medusa Explained story behind the Medusa statue that Though many of these pieces made her more beautiful, they also showed that she was terrifying. When Perseus found the Gorgons, he used the helmet of invisibility to sneak up on Medusa. So maybe its a good time to say what Sigmund Freud in his Das Medusenhaupt (Medusas Head) thought of her. After her death, Perseus immediately left to fight Atlas. In addition to being snake-haired and winged, she was often pictured with fangs and a wide, menacing face. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); Gods of Death 1600. 1. Greek poet Hesiod wrote that Medusa lived close to the Hesperides in the Western Ocean near Sarpedon. Pausanias, Description of Greece 2.21.6, 5.12.2. Io (mythology Menu. One of her works said that similar stories focused on sister trios and that authors likely added Medusas sisters. Athenas association with the acropolises of various Greek cities probably stemmed from the location of the kings palaces there. Unlike other stories that claim she caught them in the throes of passion, this version says that she was upset that her priestess went against her rules. Athenas punishment came with great and terrible features. Perseus is a godly Greek hero (he was a son of Zeus) whose ancient name just [27] The antiquarian Diodorus of Sicily claimed that they were wiped out by Heracles when he traveled through Libya.[28]. To make Athena look better, some stories claim that Perseus never gave her Medusas head. Harrison further backed up her claims with a translation that said the horror did not come from the woman but that the horror gave birth to the woman. [3] Other authors have proposed still more remote dwelling places, including the obscure Gorgonean Plains near Cisthene in Asia Minor[4] and the island of Sarpedon.[5]. Medusa: In the Mirror of Time. His son, Merros, then burned the head so that it could never be used again. After killing Medusa, Perseus used her severed head as a weapon, turning many of his enemies to stone. These children of Poseidon would go on to have their own stories in Greek mythology. o /; Ancient Greek: ) was, in Greek mythology, one of the mortal lovers of Zeus.An Argive princess, she was an ancestor of many kings and heroes, such as Perseus, Cadmus, Heracles, Minos, Lynceus, Cepheus, and Danaus.The astronomer Simon Marius named a moon of Jupiter after Io in 1614.. Because her brother was Phoroneus, Io is also There is no evidence that Poseidon was angry about this action, however, and the god appears to play no other role in the story of the Grecian hero. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2000. Art Historian, founder and CEO of DailyArtMagazine.com and DailyArt mobile app. Rather than die on the field, she was assassinated during the night. Of this, Ovid said, Now his hair and beard were changed into trees, his shoulders and hands into ridges. In some stories, it was only then that he went and killed Proteus, but the chronology is different throughout history. But Perseus is, without a doubt, the son of the king of the gods, Zeus. The Helmet of Hades was also used by Athene in the battle of Troy and Hermes when he fought Hippolytus, the giant. Herodotus, Histories 2.91; Diodorus of Sicily, Library of History 3.52.4; Pausanias, Description of Greece 2.21.6. The Perseus Constellation was cataloged in the 2nd century by the Greek astronomer Ptolemy and has been the source of great study ever since. Origin: Greek. In feminism Medusa is known as a symbol of rage even though she was originally exceedingly beautiful. Greek writers never specified why only one Gorgon sister was mortal. Some vases have also been found that depict the story of the golden shower, in which Danae is locked away. The French military created a special belt during World War I that had her face on it. Andromeda was said to be an Ethiopian princess. Krauskopf, Ingrid. Looking at the forbidden mother stiffens the subject in illicit desire and freezes him in terror of the Fathers retribution. While her sisters were immortal gods themselves, Medusa was a mortal woman only. Heracles was the son of Zeus, the king of the Greek gods, and a mortal woman named Alcmene. Subscribe to DailyArt Magazine newsletter, A Very Florentine Story: Perseus and the Head of Medusa by Benvenuto Cellini, Greek Mythological Creatures That Combine Female Beauty and Beastly Ugliness, scariest creatures that Greek mythology created, Proto-Renaissance 101: From Guilds to Giotto, Hags and Slags? Now she is in heaven with the other great women, like Elektra, my mother Maia, and your mother Semele., Dionysus calmed and let Perseus live. Dohalice, which is a small village in the Czech Republic also uses her head in its coat of arms. The terror of Medusa is thus a terror of castration that is linked to the sight of something. Diodorus of Sicily, Library of History 3.55; Pliny, Natural History 4.31. This work is privately owned, signed, and now known as Murtola. Perseus is the Only Hero to Wear Items From Four Separate Gods. Mythopedia. Popularity: 2996. 126ff. While no longer as famous as Heracles or Odysseus, the Argive king and Greek hero Perseus has just an interesting story. She has been featured in movies, books, cartoons and even video games. She is not only immortalized in stories but also in history. What Do We Know About Historical Perseus? Updates? Rather than the father of Perseus, Poseidon is a lover of Medusa, a sea monster who Perseus slew. [19], According to Ovid, the corals of the Red Sea were formed when Perseus set Medusas head down in the seaweed after saving Andromeda. Despite releasing the winged horse when he killed Medusa, no ancient mythology has Perseus ever riding Pegasus. The Timeless Myth of Medusa, a Rape Victim Turned Into a Monster Zurich: Artemis, 1988. Hesiod, Theogony 29597 (though the reading of these lines is disputed). After their wedding, he headed to Seriphos for his mothers wedding. Kapach, A. She was usually represented as a winged female creature having a head of hair consisting of snakes; unlike the Gorgons, she was sometimes represented as very beautiful. Hartland, Edwin. chops off the head of Medusa during "The Lightning Thief". Garber, Marjorie, and Nancy Vickers. In this perspective, the ravishingly beautiful Medusa is the mother remembered in innocence; before the mythic truth of castration dawns on the subject. Medusas blood caused the seaweed to harden and become beautiful coral.[20]. Athena appears in Homers Odyssey as the tutelary deity of Odysseus, and myths from later sources portray her similarly as helper of Perseus and Heracles (Hercules). Two species of snakes contain her name: the venomous pitviper Bothriopsis medusa and the nonvenomous snake called Atractus medusa. It is from the Perseus Constellation that we also see the Perseid Meteor Shower, which has been documented since 36 AD. Medusa appeared in dozens of television shows and movies over the years. Legend says while she was there baby snakes dropped from her head and this is why there are plenty of snakes in Africa. The Artist Behind a (Very Questionable) Nude Public Statue of Bremmer, Jan. Gorgo/Medusa. In The Oxford Classical Dictionary, 4th ed., edited by Simon Hornblower, Antony Spawforth, and Esther Eidinow, 62223. Uma Thurman took on the film role and was in a pivotal scene. Perseus After all, mythology is storytelling at its finest. No female character, however, is perhaps as popular as Medusa, the monster who could turn men to stone with a single glance. Both Herodotus and Pausanias wrote passages about what they could discover about this king, including his possible connections in Egypt and Persia. This version claims that Athena became spiteful and used her powers to turn the woman into a monster that no man would ever want. This idea first appeared in a journal in 1978. However, the same text says that Danaes father, Acrisius, was of Egyptian stock, so Perseus may have been the first Greek in the family through both lines. The myths of Medusa and Perseus appear in Book 2. He claimed that both groups of sisters were monsters. However, those myths which mention three women call them sisters, and say that the other two were punished simply because of Medusas transgressions. Gorgons, or Gorgones, were three winged daimones, or phantoms of Hades. Called Medousa (Medusa), Sthenmo and Euryale, only Medusa was mortal. He had built a wall around his fields, and protected them with a dragon. Apollodorus, Library, book 1, chapter 1, section 1 Her name in Ancient Greek means guardian, protectress. Polydectes had fallen in love with Danae. Thanks to it, we will be able to sustain and grow the Magazine. Pindar wrote in 490 BC that she had fair cheeks. It is also said that Perseus built the towns of Mideia and Mycenae, and fought to stop the Dionysian mysteries. Medusa grew wings, tusks, and long claws. [21], Perseus eventually gave Medusas head to Athena, who placed it on her breastplate or shield, called the aegis. She was thought to have had neither consort nor offspring. WebIo (/ a. It is said that the priestesses of Chorea, women who followed Dionysus, were slaughtered by Perseus and his followers and dumped into a communal grave. Though she has a different name, she has the power to turn people to stone when they look into her eyes. If you use any of the content on this page in your own work, please use the code below to cite this page as the source of the content. Medusa also appeared in multiple pieces of art from the Renaissance and later. Seeing claims that Athena saw Medusa in her temple and instead of catching her in the midst of consensual intercourse, she found Poseidon raping her. Gorgo. In A Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology. Perseus - Baby girl name meaning, origin, and popularity The best-known star within the constellation is Algol, Horus, or Beta Persei. Athena removed a lock of the womans hair and gave it to Hercules. Zeus came to her in the form of a s Numerous analyses have made us familiar with the occasion for this: it occurs when a boy, who has hitherto been unwilling to believe the threat of castration, catches sight of the female genitals, probably those of an adult, surrounded by hair, and essentially those of his mother. The gods were well aware of this, and Perseus got help. He is best known in Greek mythology as the slayer of Medusa, one of three female creatures, or Gorgons, Perseus was eventually the person to kill his grandfather. [24] Medusas blood was also used for witchcraft by some mythical figures. When Elana Dkyewomon released a series of poems and short stories written by and for lesbians, she chose the Gorgon for the cover. Caravaggio painted two versions of Medusa, the first in 1596 and the other around 1597. Perseus, in Greek mythology, the slayer of the Gorgon Medusa and the rescuer of Andromeda from a sea monster. Perseus was the son of Zeus and Dana, the daughter of Acrisius of Argos. As an infant he was cast into the sea in a chest with his mother by Acrisius, to whom it had been prophesied that he would be killed by his grandson. And sometimes, shes holding a scale, a symbol for justice and balance. Accessed on 28 Apr. Perseus | Encyclopedia.com The full story of Medusa, taking into account the oldest myths and the younger poems and stories that survived through the Roman empire, is one of tragedy. She inspired three of Phidiass sculptural masterpieces, including the massive chryselephantine (gold and ivory) statue of Athena Parthenos once housed in the Parthenon; and in Aeschyluss dramatic tragedy Eumenides she founded the Areopagus (Athenss aristocratic council), and, by breaking a deadlock of the judges in favour of Orestes, the defendant, she set the precedent that a tied vote signified acquittal. 2023 Nameberry.com.Nameberry is a registered trademark of Nameberry, LLC. Greek Mythology is known for its many fearsome beasts such Mantikhoras and Cyclopes. Though both were marine deities, their children were chthonic monsters. Perseus - Baby Name Meaning, Origin, and Popularity Medusa was a beautiful young woman, a virgin priestess of the goddess Athena. Virgil: In the epic the Aeneid (19 BCE), Medusa and the Gorgons are included among the monsters living at the outskirts of the Underworld (6.287ff).
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