Medusa

Medusa
Classical Greek gorgoneion featuring the head of Medusa; fourth century BC
Genealogy
ParentsPhorcys and Ceto
SiblingsThe Hesperides, Stheno, Euryale, The Graeae, Thoosa, Scylla, and Ladon
ConsortPoseidon
ChildrenPegasus and Chrysaor

In Greek mythology, Medusa (/mɪˈdjzə, -sə/; Ancient Greek: Μέδουσα, romanizedMédousa, lit.'guardian, protectress'),[a] also called Gorgo (Ancient Greek: Γοργώ)[b] or the Gorgon, was one of the three Gorgons. Medusa is generally described as a woman with living snakes in place of hair; her appearance was so hideous that anyone who looked upon her was turned to stone.[4] Medusa and her Gorgon sisters Euryale and Stheno were usually described as daughters of Phorcys and Ceto; of the three, only Medusa was mortal.

Medusa was beheaded by the Greek hero Perseus, who then used her head, which retained its ability to turn onlookers to stone, as a weapon[5] until he gave it to the goddess Athena to place on her shield. In classical antiquity, the image of the head of Medusa appeared in the evil-averting device known as the Gorgoneion.

According to Hesiod and Aeschylus, she lived and died on Sarpedon, somewhere near Cisthene. The 2nd-century BC novelist Dionysios Skytobrachion puts her somewhere in Libya, where Herodotus had said the Berbers originated her myth as part of their religion.

  1. ^ The American Heritage Dictionary Of The English Language By Editors Of The American Heritage Dictionaries.
  2. ^ OED 2001 revision, s.v.; medein in LSJ
  3. ^ Harper, Douglas. "gorgon". Online Etymology Dictionary.
  4. ^ Brill's New Pauly, s.v. Gorgo.
  5. ^ Bullfinch, Thomas. "Bulfinch Mythology – Age of Fable – Stories of Gods & Heroes". Archived from the original on 2011-07-07. Retrieved 2007-09-07. ...and turning his face away, he held up the Gorgon's head. Atlas, with all his bulk, was changed into stone.


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