Such an act would be a violation of the sanctity of any temple, but it was particularly insulting for Athena. The sea god found her in a temple of Athena and assaulted her on the spot. In Medusa’s case, it was Poseidon who was drawn to her. While they were immortal monsters, she was renowned as one of the most beautiful women in Greece.Īs was usually the case in Greco-Roman mythology, her beauty attracted the attention of a god. In Ovid’s version of the tale, Medusa had been born with much different features than her sisters. Many were ancient tales, while others seem to have been rewritten or entirely created by Ovid. This collection of myths brought together many stories of characters who changed forms as part of their stories. Ovid, one of the era’s most prolific writers, included her in his Metamorphoses. The real change in Medusa’s character came in the Roman era. As early as the 4th century BC, Pindar referred to her as “fair-cheeked,” a term associated with traditional feminine beauty rather than a grotesque monster. There are some indications in classical literature that the story of Medusa was not always seen in such simple terms, however. The only difference between Medusa and the other Gorgons was that she could be killed while they were immortal. In the oldest stories of the Gorgon, she had been born just as monstrous as her sisters. Medusa is remembered as a horrible monster, but in some later versions of the myth she had not always been so hideous. For this infraction, Medusa was transformed into the most terrible looking monster the world had ever seen and eventually hunted down and beheaded by one of Athena’s favored champions. Her supposed crime was an assault by Poseidon in the goddess’s temple. According to him, Medusa had been cursed by Athena. The Roman poet Ovid included Medusa in his epic collection of Metamorphoses. In fact, she had once been a great beauty. She was so hideous that the mere sight of her could cause a man to be petrified into solid stone.Īccording to one famous writer, however, Medusa was not always the most grotesque of the three monstrous sisters. While her sisters were immortal man-eaters, Medusa was the only one of the three who could be killed.ĭespite her mortality, Medusa was the deadliest of the three. Medusa was one of three Gorgon sisters who lived in a cave at the edges of the known world.
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