Medusa was one of three sisters known as Gorgons. Unlike her other two sisters, she was a mortal. She is famous for having writhing snakes in place of hair. Also, she is said to have boar-like tusks, as well as wings made of gold and hands made of bronze. But what was most terrifying about Medusa was her ability to turn any who beheld her to stone.
Medusa’s Transformation
In book IV of Ovid’s Metamorphosis, Perseus is assigned the task of retrieving the head of Medusa. Upon returning with the head, Perseus recounts Medusa’s former beauty, having been transformed by Minerva after being raped by Poseidon in her sanctuary. From the mouth of Perseus, Ovid writes, “Medusa was astonishingly fair; / she was desired and contended for— / so many jealous suitors hoped to win her. / Her form was graced by many splendors, yet / there was no other beauty she possessed / that could surpass the splendor of her hair—“ (Ovid 4.795-98). Minerva changed Medusa’s hair to snakes as punishment. Minerva also used the snakes as a way to frighten her own enemies by wearing them across her breast.
Perseus Slays Medusa
Perseus was provided assistance for completing his quest. Hermes, the messenger god, gave Perseus the winged shoes that allowed for flight. From Athena, a curved adamant sword, a bag and a cap of darkness, which when used, would render Perseus invisible. By these means, Perseus was able to conquer Medusa while she slept. Using the bronze shield of Athena to protect his gaze, he was prepared for the task set before him.
Perseus killed Medusa in the night by severing her head. She had been pregnant by Poseidon when she was killed, so from the decapitated wound sprang two offspring: Chrysaor and Pegasus, the winged horse. To protect the head from being damaged, Perseus laid weeds, twigs and seaweed on the ground beneath it. Because the seaweed was still living, it absorbed some of Medusa’s power, become like stone above the water. This is how the sea received its coral formations.
While Perseus was on his return journey with Medusa’s head, drops of blood spilled from the wound to the earth. Upon absorbing the blood, snakes sprang from the ground.
The Wrath of Perseus
With the head of the Gorgon safely in his possession, Perseus returns to tell of his adventure. When Perseus is disrespected, however, he becomes enraged and used the head of Medusa to transforme many into stone, including Phineas. Medusa, although having been killed, retained her terrible power to turn those who gaze about her snake-ridden head to stone.
Sources
- March, Jenny. Cassell’s Dictionary of Classical Mythology. Cassell: London, 2001.
- Ovid, The Metamorphoses. Trans Allen Mandelbaum. Harcourt: New York, 1993.
Joshua Benson - As a librarian and student of literature, I delight in the facilitation of knowledge to the eager reader.
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