Why medusa became a monster

In the ancient world, Medusa was equally multidimensional. Early vases and carvings depict her as having been born a Gorgon, but that slowly changed. The first to properly explore her origin story in literature was the Roman poet Ovid, who detailed her transformation in the Metamorphoses circa 8 A. According to Ovid, Medusa was once a beautiful young maiden, the only mortal of three sisters known as the Gorgons.

Her beauty caught the eye of the sea god Poseidon, who proceeded to rape her in the sacred temple of Athena. Furious at the desecration of her temple, Athena transformed Medusa into a monster with the deadly capacity to turn whoever looked upon her face to stone. Popular retellings of the myth, however, focus on what happens next—and Perseus the starring role. The demigod is sent by Polydectes, the king of Seriphos, on a quest to bring back the head of Medusa.

Using a reflective bronze shield to protect his eyes, Perseus decapitates Medusa, releasing a winged horse, Pegasus, from her severed neck. Mosaic Floor with Head of Medusa, about A. Paul Getty Museum, Los Angeles. If we go back to Greek antiquity, Medusa was a mighty force endowed with the power to both kill and redeem. Sculptors and painters would use the Medusa head as an apotropaic symbol to ward off evil spirits.

But her tragic beauty was even more inspiring. Her head peers out from the center of the mosaic, a protective talisman offset by a shield of concentric circles. The reason why her followers also needed to remain virginal is so they could pour all their energies into serving the goddess without worrying about their husbands and children.

Since she had taken a vow to serve Athena, she was considered off limits to the men who pursued her. Instead of honor the fact that Medusa took a vow of chastity in service to Athena, Poseidon, the god of the sea, he rapes her. Now that she is rapes, she can no longer serve Athena. So how does Medusa become a monster? It happens shortly after Poseidon ravaged her.

When Athena found out what had happened, she cursed Medusa. Her transformation began shortly after that.

The myths depict her transformation into the monster as incredibly painful. She tore at her flesh and screamed while she was transformed into a beautiful maiden with smooth, youthful skin into a monster whose flesh became cracked and withered. After hearing their anguished and furious cries, Athena was inspired to invent the flute to mimic them.

When the goddess played the flute, however, she discarded it after seeing her reflection; her face distended and became ugly as she played While she purposefully and successfully mimicked the wails of the Gorgons, she also unwittingly imitated their wide and dreadful features. The snake-haired Medusa does not become widespread until the first century B. The Roman author Ovid describes the mortal Medusa as a beautiful maiden seduced by Poseidon in a temple of Athena.

While these stories sound fantastical today, to the ancient Greeks they were quasi-historical. Myths, as well as the stories recorded by Homer and Hesiod, were considered part of a lost heroic past when men and women interacted with heroes, gods, and the supernatural. Tales from this period were repeated in every medium; the evidence from Greece presents a world saturated with heroes and monsters in poetry, prose, and art.

As such, Medusa was not just a fantastical beast, but part of a shared past and present in the minds of ancient viewers. She signified a historical menace—the story of Perseus vanquishing and harnessing her energy was not just a story, but a chapter in the shared allegorical and historical record of the Greeks. Just as Medusa exists in multiple types of stories in the mythological record, she is also portrayed in multiple ways in ancient art.

Her appearance changes drastically through the centuries, but she is always recognizable due to her striking frontality. It is rare in Greek art for a figure to face directly out, but in almost all representations of Medusa, despite style and medium, she stares ahead and uncompromisingly confronts the viewer. The term gorgoneion refers to the head and face of Medusa, which was used often as a decorative motif.

It is a prolific symbol of her particular power that appears in architecture , vase painting , and metalwork. The gorgoneion was a pervasive image in temple decoration of the Archaic period ca. Perhaps the largest example comes from Temple C built ca. In Sicily, southern Italy, and mainland Greece, temples were decorated with numerous antefixes ornamental terracotta roof tile covers that bore gorgoneia During this time, Medusa is depicted as a monster; she has a round face, wide eyes, a beard, and a gaping mouth with an extended tongue and gnashing, sharp teeth Medusa remains a popular image on later architectural components, but her form is more specifically human and female.

She loses the frightful teeth and beard, but is still recognizable Greek vases, cups, and related terracotta objects sometimes included a decorative gorgoneion as well. In some cases it was painted at the bottom of a drinking vessel Pieces from the seventh and sixth centuries B. The circular shape of many of these ceramics offers a particularly appropriate space to depict the rotund face of the Archaic Gorgon; it is outrageous, with oversized features that combine the feminine curled hair and earrings with the masculine beard.

She is present as the central decoration on many vases Just as in architecture , these late fourth- and third-century B. Gorgons evolve from the grotesque to the feminine but retain their specific frontal quality. The fifth century B. Perfection and beauty became the standards of this new Classical style, and Medusa, despite her role as a monster, was not exempt. Medusa is truly ubiquitous—she is represented not only in architecture and pottery, but also in metalwork.

Her head is a common ornament on the handles of bronze vessels The circular shape and protective qualities of her countenance also lend themselves to jewelry; she appears on earrings, pendants, and rings The Gorgon is also reproduced on armor. More commonly, the gorgoneion is the central motif on the aegis of Athena. Depictions of the goddess in both vase painting The most renowned sculpture of Athena, the gold and ivory Athena Parthenos that once stood in the Parthenon, included two gorgoneia: one on her aegis and one on her shield.