The medusa reader, edited by marjorie garber and nancy j. Mythology a to z greek and roman mythology a to z third edition 8 kathleen n. So acrisius straightaway stuck daughter and infant into a chest and pushed it out to sea. Without it, the symbolic significance of medusa would no longer make sense. Hamiltons scholarly work singlehandedly renewed an interesting the classical world in american schools. Medusa is a deadly and cryptic other, but she is also ubiquitous, with an undeniable. The graiai, who combine youth and age in a hideous mix, have only one eye. Modern american poetry medusa in myth and literary history. All three were so hideous, the shock of seeing them would turn anyone to stone.
Medusa s excessive pride or insolence in the face of the divine was ultimately her downfall and something that minervaathena was, by her own honor, obligated to act upon. The first one is a protoindoeuropean myth of a thunder god killing a dragoness. This profound essay, fundementally calling women in order to bring. The three gorgons, of whom only medusa was mortal, were of terrifying aspect, and those who looked upon their faces were turned to stone. Upon learning this, tessential monsterslayer of greek mythology.
Arguably medusa is the most famous villainess and monster of greek mythology, for medusa was the monster with hair of snakes and a stony gaze encountered by the hero perseus. Medusa 1854, marble sculpture by harriet hosmer, collection of the detroit institute of art. Over the years, many famous artists have taken on the subject. Its fairly clear that the culture from which the myth of medusa derives was. It was the realm of king atlas, whose bulk surpassed that of all other men. She was usually represented as a winged female creature having a head of hair consisting of snakes. If you would like to participate, please visit the project page, where you can join the discussion and see a list of open tasks. The main character in this epic, who is sent to kill medusa. Dangerous beauty medusa in classical art the metropolitan museum of art bulletin.
Some of them settled in the land we now call greece, taking with them their quaint stories of the sky and the clouds, of father dyaus. For years i have found freuds reflections fascinating and fertile, even if at points they seem weak anthropologically and excessively ideological. Vickers, is a comprehensive anthology of excerpted references to medusa in literature and art, beginning with homer in books 5 and 11 of the iliad and concluding with gianni versaces selection of her image as the symbol for the house of versace. Medusa a suspicion, a doubt, a jealousy grew in my mind. This video i tried to keep as much to the myth as possible. While her sisters stheno and euryale were immortals medusa was a. But acrisius had a streak of jealousy that ran through his soul and tainted everything that he touched. In the medusa file the reader will learn the hidden secrets of the highest levels of government. In some variations of the myth, medusa was born a monster like her sisters, described as girded with serpents, vibrating tongues, gnashing their teeth, having wings, brazen claws, and enormous teeth. She was the beautiful one in a family of ugly monsters.
Greek mythology and medusa essay topics, sample papers. And in a flash the goddess athena and the god hermes appeared before him. Use library books or the internet to help you match these gods and goddesses to their duties. Perseus and the legends of argos 549 gorgon and came bearing the head with hair of writhing snakes, for the islanders a stony death. The ancient greeks prayed to the gods and goddesses in times of need.
Their bodies were covered with impenetrable scales. Medusa and athena, a greek play to perform at your school. Mingle with myth the story of perseus long ago, king acrisius of argos learned from an oracle that he would one day be killed by his grandson. Their teeth were giant boar tusks, their hands were made of bronze and they had wings of gold. Medusa, the daughter of phorcys and ceto is a famous gorgon in greek mythology.
Surely this ignorant young man had no idea what he was taking on, they thought. They were daughters of the ancient pretitan gods phorcys and ceto. In this poem, duffy retells the story of theseus from the medusas perspective. The story of medusa and the greek goddess athena a myth submitted to the site by shainuja many years ago there was a beautiful women called medusa. The archers drew back their bowstrings, men raised their spears ready to strike down perseus. The adventures of perseus have been told, and retold, over the millennia, and even today his story regularly appears on the big screen.
Perseus hid the medusas head in his leather bag and strode into the great hall. In the myth, medusa is a heartless, dangerous gorgon who turns men to stone. Pdf the head of medusa in paintings and symbols roly. There were pretty girls there, and medusa was one of them. When the oracle tells the human king, acrisius, that his grandson will kill him, the old miser locks his daughter, danae, up in a tower guarded by savage dogs. Surrounded by spears, swords and shields, perseus stood quite still. Text only version acrisius eyes widened in horror as the ancient pythia priestess hissed, king of argos, listen well. Once upon a time, on the island of seriphus there was an evil king named polydectes. Medusa was one of three gorgon sisters born from ancient marine gods phorcys and ceto, the offspring of oceanus and gaia. One myth says medusa lived in the far north and had never seen the sun. Of the three, only medusa was mortal and could be killed. In later myths mainly in ovid medusa was the only gorgon to possess snake. Sep 21, 2018 i believe there are at least three narrative layers overlapping in the myth of medusa. Antonio canova, benvenuto cellini, edward burne jones, paul reubens, and more have created paintings or sculptures based on the story of perseus and medusa.
Fascination with perseus battle with medusa continued long after ancient greek and roman times. To free the one man she trusts, she must work more. Perseus is one of the greatest heroes spoken of in greek mythology, for perseus was the famed vanquisher of the gorgon medusa. In classical antiquity the image of the head of medusa appeared in the evilaverting device known as the gorgoneion. Medusa s mother ceto was the daughter of gaia and pontus. During the period of 1940 to the present power brokers, working from positions of trust, have committed and covered up the most heinous crimes known to man. Just as the medusa was powerless to fight against the repressive actions forced upon her, so too was she powerless against the continual metamorphosing of the myth which resulted in the more popular medusa myth commonly known today. The editors of encyclopaedia britannica this article was most recently revised and updated by adam augustyn, managing editor, reference content. Dhianita kusuma pertiwi 110222406201 medusa, the victimized monster medusa, in modern and popular literature and culture is mostly represented as what susan. She was a very kind and she obeyed her greek gods and goddesses. Betterlessons unique formula allows us to bring you highquality coaching, a professional learning lab, and a learnbydoing process that. Pdf the character of medusa shifts meaning from the origins of her myth. 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.
Olympus in the form of a stream of gold, which poured through the roof of the chamber, and soon danae had a baby named perseus. You will read his case files on such subjects as the japanese devil unit 731 who experiments on american pows in wwii with germ warfare weaponsand what happened when the war ended and the commanding officer was hired by the. First, build the control by joining the two strips of wood at right angles as. The story of how medusa was killed by perseus is one of the most thrilling stories in greek mythology. To this selfeffacing, mergertype bisexuality, which would conjure. The three female gorgons were monstrous and deadly creatures that guarded the entrance to the underworld. The gorgons of ancient greek myth were three monsters, the sisters stheno, eurayle and medusa. Government, 1996, craig roberts, 0963906240, 9780963906243, consolidated press international, 1996.
Perseus turned to atlas for help and when denied the guest friendship bond, perseus turned atlas into stone. In the british writer iris murdochs novel a severed head 1961, the heroine is a medusa figure. Medusa was beheaded by the hero perseus, who thereafter used her head, which retained its ability to turn onlookers to stone, as a weapon until he gave it to the goddess athena to place on her shield. In this way, the beheading of medusa becomes a fundamental element for the constitution of her. Medusa s head retold by olivia coolidge 1 king acrisios of argos was a hard, selfish man. Most myths have her as the black sheep of the family. He was eaten by the father cronus at birth and it was his brother zeus who, after coming of age, tricked his father to disgorge him. He presented the head of the medusa to his divine protector athena, who placed it in the center of her shield. A beautiful mortal, medusa was the exception in the family, until she incurred the wrath of athena, either due to her boastfulness or because of an illfated love affair with poseidon. C this article has been rated as cclass on the projects quality scale. Here are some famous myths weve featured in storytime magazine. She was then shut in a box with percius and thrown out to sea. Edith hamilton students who enjoy reading greek and roman mythology as part of their english classes have edith hamilton to thank. Nevertheless he had himself looked at the dread form of medusa reflected in a circular shield of polished bronze that he carried on his left arm.
In fact, one can argue that the most peculiar fragments of her biography are all posthumous. Perseus turning phineas and his followers to stone, early 1680s long ago in greece there lived a king called acrisius who had just one daughter, a beautiful girl named danae. They washed up on the sandy shores of the isle of lemnos. The legend of medusa also held that anyone who saw her face.
Medusa in ancient greek art essay the metropolitan museum of. A time came when many tribes of this aryan race moved on to other lands. Favorite greek myths the darkness of night was a serpent, slain by their sungods arrows. Helios thought his son was the brightest and bravest kid in the world.
As night came on, he reached the western limit of the earth, where the sun goes down. Fearing that, he hid his daughter danae in a chamber undergroun. According to this ancient author, the three sisters, sthenno, euryale, and medusa, were the children of phorcys and ceto and lived beyond famed oceanus at the worlds edge hard by. She and her two sisters, sthenno and euryale, lived with their parents phorcys and.
In this popular version the medusa is a monster with hair of a thousand snakes. As soon as perseus was inside the room, phineas called to his men. He hated his brother, proitos, who later drove him from his kingdom, and he cared. But the god zeus got in, disguised as a shower of gold, with the result that perseus was born. Both father and son had curly golden hair and sparkling bright eyes. In 1922 freud wrote a brief sketch that takes up only two pages in his collected papers for a longer essay on medusa, the greek version of the frightening female. In ancient greek mythology, medusa is the most famous of three monstrous sisters, known as the gorgons. Perseus was born to the god, zeus, and mortal woman, danae, making him a demigod with great strength and intelligent ingenuity. In the oldest greek mythological tales, there were three gorgons, of which medusa was but one. Polydectes had taken perseuss mother and told perseus the only w. Aug 20, 20 medusa was a formidable foe, since her hideous appearance was able to render any onlooker into stone.
The gorgon medusa from the perseus legend exhibits a remarkable evolution from. As the next item in our list of mythical creatures, medusa is another addition from greek mythology. In a late version of the medusa myth, related by the roman poet ovid metamorphoses 4. All the powers that constitute the character of medusa are born from her head. The myths team many years ago there was a beautiful women called medusa. A fisherman opened the box and out came percius and his mother.
Harding, published in 1906 by scott, foresman and company. King acrisius of argos was warned by an oracle that he would be killed in time by a son born to his daughter danae. The imaginative narratives that myths provide have a significant place in. The adventures of perseus 2 story of the play in pageant, verse and fearsome argument the gods on olympus present themselves. In ancient greek mythology, medusa is the most famous of three monstrous sisters known as the gorgons. At the age of sixtythree, hamilton began a second career retelling the ancient myths of greece and rome. In duffys poem, however, medusa becomes something altogether more human. Perseus in greek mythology greek legends and myths. The anthology traces medusas evolution from a beauty turned monster into a feminist. Mythical creatures the ultimate list of mythological. According to legend, anyone who looked directly at medusa would turn to stone. This article is within the scope of wikiproject womens history, a collaborative effort to improve the coverage of womens history and related articles on wikipedia. Just as medusa herself, an innocent beautiful maiden from ovids story.
Edith hamilton students who enjoy reading greek and. Mythic warriors guardians of the legend perseus the search. A close look at her role in greek mythology and art reveals a nuanced and. Japanese mythology a to z greek and roman mythology a to z native american mythology a to z norse mythology a to z south and mesoamerican mythology a to z mythology a to z. The user submitted story below is similar to one version of the medusa myth. Perseus and the legends of argos oxford university press. In the fields and along the paths, here and there, he saw the shapes of men and animals changed from their natures to hard stone by medusas gaze. Perseus and medusa greek, issue 1 thors stolen hammer norse, issue 3 the hero twins mayan, issue 4. The story of medusa as a world renowned beauty says she offended athena, the beautiful goddess. The gorgon medusa in the oldest greek mythological tales, there were three gorgons, of which medusa was but one. Medusa, in greek mythology, the most famous of the monster figures known as gorgons. How is perseus able to avoid the deadly gaze of medusa.
Many great heroes were descended from perseus and andromeda, including heracles, their greatgrandson. He received help from athena and hermes who gave perseus a sword, a mirrored shield, and winged sandals, these gifts were used to escapes medusas sisters. Medusa was a formidable foe, since her hideous appearance was able to render any onlooker into stone. She was a very kind and she obeyed her greek gods and. The pythia smiled knowingly through the swirling vapours that rose. The tale of perseus and medusa free stories online. Medusa is one of the gorgon sisters, but unlike her two sisters stheno, eeryale medusa was born mortal. Perseus, in greek mythology, the slayer of the gorgon medusa and the rescuer of andromeda from a sea monster. Perseus, a slayer of monsters, beheaded medusa with a mirror given to him by the greek gods so that he would not have to look at her. The earliest known record about the story of medusa and the gorgons can be found in hesiods theogony. Many of the ancient myth stories, like the legend of medusa, incorporate tales with morals that provided the old storytellers with short examples of exciting tales for kids and children of how to act and behave and reflected important life lessons. However, psychoanalytic writings on the myth of medusa do not. Whispers ran through all the people in the temple who quickly began to leave for everyone knew that athena enjoyed watching over the people of athens and feared what might happen if the goddess had overheard medusa. Medusa was asleep and perseus, using the reflection in athenas bronze shield as a guide so as to not look directly at the gorgons and be turned into stone, managed to cut off her head with his sickle.
Medusa remained a common theme in art in the nineteenth century, when her myth was retold in thomas bulfinchs mythology. Along with his siblings, poseidon then helped zeus overthrow their father. David tee depending on the myth version you read, medusa was not always a monster. Word eventually got to percius that the gorgon medusa was terrorising. The story and myth of medusa features pictures from mythology and legend. Medusa, who represented female wisdom, was the eldest of two other gorgon sisters, stheino, who represented strength, and the last sister, euryale as universality. Medusa was one of the three gorgons, daughters of phorcys and ceto, sisters of the graeae, echidna, and ladon all dreadful and fearsome beasts. The story of perseus long ago, king acrisius of argos learned from an oracle that he would one day be killed by his grandson. Fearing that, he hid his daughter danae in a chamber underground.
Sep 10, 2008 this video is based on the greek myth of medusa the gorgon. Oct 27, 2016 an examination, from a feminist perspective, of the myth of the medusa and her true story. In another version of the myth, minervaathena retaliated by changing the young woman who had been medusa into a gorgon. In greek mythology, medusa was a monster, a gorgon, generally described as a winged.
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