Her story has been told and retold by ancient and modern storytellers, writers, and artists. Today we look at one of the most misunderstood characters in greek mythology, medusa. Medusa was considered one of the most lovely in all of greece. The story of medusa is as old as civilization itself. It was decorated with amazing sculptures and paintings. The latin poet ovid writes in book iv of his metamorphoses that poseidon had raped medusa in the temple of athena. Our story takes place long, long ago in the land of ancient greece. Perseus and andromeda onceuponatime,kingacrisiusofargos was toldbytheoracle thathewouldbekilled by his grandson. We examine how she became the monster that she is so widely regarded as. Before being transformed into a gorgon, medusa had lain with poseidon and conceived pegasus and chrysaor, though not yet born. Apr 22, 2012 medusa, a love story quickly rose to the top of my alltime favorite books.
The story and myth of medusa features pictures from mythology and legend. However even in the face of tragedy and disgrace, the medusa was portrayed as. One of my favorites is the medusa story, sometimes referred to as perseus and the gorgon medusa. With a hideous face, and snakes for hair, she is known now as a monster. Medusa traveled throughout the city bragging about her appearance. The north front porch has a halfhipped roof supported by four. She noted the white hue in her skin was as soft as freshly fallen snow, her hair emitted a glow. He raises his sword, taking aim by looking at the monster through the reflection in his shield, and chops off medusas head. His grandfather acrisius, alarmed by an oracle which had told him that his. Or at least, most of them, one day a blind woman by the name of alyx falls into the cave and discovers medusa. The laugh of the medusa helene cixous translated by keith cohen and paula cohen i shall speak about womens writing. Sign in to watch history watch full episodes of your. Medusa was a formidable foe, since her hideous appearance was able to render any onlooker into stone.
The myth of perseus and the medusa the story of perseus and the medusa is featured in the book entitled greek gods, heroes and men by caroline h. I was caught up in the love story of medusa and ariston, and the clever machinations of the gods and goddesses of olympus. Medusa, a love story quickly rose to the top of my alltime favorite books. Acrisius sent away danae and her son because he had heard a prediction that one day perseus would kill him.
But still, the story of medusa is so fascinating to so many women. Ten winners will each receive a copy of iris, messenger by. Medusa was the target to blame, since she was so beautiful and attentiongrabbing. Medusa simple english wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. If ever anyone was to look into her eyes, they would instantly turn into stone. Perseus and medusa myth text bedtime and campfire stories from way, way back in the day heres one version of perseus story, as told by thomas bulfinch in the age of fable. I believe there are at least three narrative layers overlapping in the myth of medusa. Theme of the story conclusion the theme of the story athena and medusa is jealousy because medusa thinks shes prettier than athena and she said they should have build the temple for her because she the prettiest.
The north porch has a half hipped roof supnorted by four square wooden posts. By the time of pindar, in an ode written in 490 bc, he speaks of faircheeked medusa. The story of medusa from ancient mythology read about gods, goddesses and mythical creatures in the myth story of medusa. The most famous story of the gorgons is how the hero. Pdf the character of medusa shifts meaning from the origins of her myth, through the reclamation of medusas narrative by second and. She signified a historical menacethe story of perseus vanquishing and harnessing her energy was not just a story, but a chapter in the shared allegorical and.
Oct 04, 20 the story of medusa, the girl that was turned into a snake monster because she angered athena. Athena never tried to curse him or call him out for what he did to medusa. Devils gate by thea harrison, sweet venom by tera lynn childs, medusa, a love story by sasha summers, the deep end of the sea b. The story of medusa greek mythology explained youtube. On and on medusa went about her beauty to anyone and everyone who stopped long enough to hear heruntil one day when she made her first visit to the. They would put small medusa heads on buildings and doors as a way to try to keep scary things away. The story of medusa and athena by lorenzo moore on prezi. Medusa was a scary character from ancient greek mythology. One day she visits the beautiful temple, built for the great goddess athena with her friends. Medusa, the mortal gorgon, whose head is zeuss symbol the. In the original story, the medusa was a beautiful woman who held a very positive role. Therefore, i decided to make that only a myth from this fakelore story.
Craig to produce his amazing life story into a feature film, i have read many books trying to find the. Aug 20, 20 medusa was a formidable foe, since her hideous appearance was able to render any onlooker into stone. Medusa a suspicion, a doubt, a jealousy grew in my mind. Tragedy fell upon her when she was confronted with endless hardships brought upon by male actions. The user submitted story below is similar to one version of the medusa myth. As an educator and counselor, i often use tales from classic greek mythology as a way of relating common themes that speak to the human condition. Medusa was a beautiful woman who was raped, killed and beheaded by various gods. I omit the miraculous, but give the rational parts of the story about her. She is an idol in many ways for women who have been raped, because she after athena had punished her for being unintentionally involved with poseidon, she worked to protect women by turning many evil men to. The story of perseus long ago, king acrisius of argos learned from an oracle that he would one day be killed by his grandson. Medusa was one of the three gorgons, daughters of phorcys and ceto, sisters of the graeae, echidna, and ladon all dreadful and fearsome beasts. A main theme of this play is that goodness is rewarded and evil is punished. She appears first in flashback, then in costume as part of the fledgling frightful four.
Allow one student through the obstacle course at a time, while everyone watches. Each picture is a photograph of 3dimensional cut paper collages which are sometimes very complicated, like the tangled mess of snakes on medusa s head. The myths team many years ago there was a beautiful women called medusa. The myth of perseus and medusa is one of the best thrillerlike tales in greek mythology with a promising plot that gets more complicated as the story progresses, this myth has a typical hollywoodlike scenario with the main character not being born yet at the moment when his destiny was determined. Perseus sneaks up to medusa, the only gorgon who is mortal. He raises his sword, taking aim by looking at the monster through the reflection in his shield, and chops off medusa s head.
As medusa s head flies from her body, pegasus, the winged horse, and chysaor, a giant with a golden sword, jump out of her neck. The parthenon was the largest temple to the goddess athena in all the land. Their names are euryale, stheno, and medusa, said athena. Discover the myths about the ancient gods, goddesses, demigods and heroes and the terrifying. Stress the importance of walking very slowly so that they do not trip over the desks. I have not come across any other information about medusa having gold or treasures while she lived in that abandoned temple.
They lived, far away by the hesperides beyond oceanus, near their other sisters, the graiai. The story of medusa and athena by kkclark haiku deck. He had one daughter, danae, who he promptly locked away once she reached childbearing age. Strangely enough, medusas story doesnt end with her death. Medusa the short mythical story of medusa is one of the famous legends that feature in the mythology of ancient civilizations. Bedtime and campfire stories from way, way back in the day. Choose one good and one evil character in the play. A tv service provider is the company you pay for your television service. Sep 21, 2018 i believe there are at least three narrative layers overlapping in the myth of 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. Mckee has done an incredible job of assembling the facts of this story into a coherent tale. This character has psychokinetic control over her hair, a power she obtained through terrigenesis. The story of medusa and the greek goddess athena teachers. The story of perseus and medusa does not exist outside of the specific instances in which is it represented.
Medusa was a character that fascinated the ancient greeks, and then later the romans. The goddess was outraged, and changed medusa into a monster with snakes for hair. The story of medusa and the greek goddess athena west ridge. The hateful, sarcastic, cruel gorgon who lives in the depths of a cave. Craig to produce his amazing life story into a feature film, i have read many books trying to find the right story to expose these creeps and this is the main thrust of the upcoming film the medusa file. The first one is a protoindoeuropean myth of a thunder god killing a dragoness. She boasts endlessly about her beauty all the time. She was a very kind and she obeyed her greek gods and. Perseus, the maiden medusa, and the imagery of abduction ascsa. Medusa she is often mistaken and judged based on her horrid appearance but here is her story.
I was riveted from the very beginning of the story as the author took me on an incredibly joyous and tragic ride. She also said she could do a better statue than athena. Transformed into a vicious monster with snakes for hair, she was. The legend of medusa is a story about a lady who is very beautiful to begin with. That is the exact opposite of how i want to portray this story. 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. Anybody who enjoys stories of disaster at sea will enjoy this book. In the myth, medusa is a heartless, dangerous gorgon who turns men to stone. It could be a cable company, a satellite company or a telecommunications company. Heres one version of perseus story, as told by thomas bulfinch in the age of fable. If you are not used to the numerous greek gods and goddesses then go to the last chapter for a quick glossary.
Aug 01, 2000 the wreck of the medusa is a welltold tale of the crew and passengers of the illfated french frigate. As medusas head flies from her body, pegasus, the winged horse, and chysaor. According to the story medusa was the only gorgon who was mortal and. The story above is the pdf version of the myth recorded on the website below. Eventually, in gratitude for her protection, perseus gave medusas head to athena, who placed it on her breastplate to ward off evil. In ancient greek mythology, medusa is the most famous of three monstrous sisters, known as the gorgons. Compare this to the story, explaining that perseus did not want medusa to know that he was coming towards her. Zeus, always on the prowl, found danae, and entered her cell in the form of golden raindrops. This is the version of medusa used in our story of perseus and medusa. Medusa, also the most wellknown of the three sisters, had snakes for hair and was hideously ugly. Perseus craftilly cut off the head of medusa by looking at her reflection in a mirror.
Medusa medusalith amaquelinboltagon is a fictional character appearing in american comic books published by marvel comics. In this poem, duffy retells the story of theseus from the medusas perspective. Harding, published in 1906 by scott, foresman and company. I want to express that medusa was not as guilty as she seemed. Medusa in ancient greek art essay the metropolitan museum of.
The story of medusa, the girl that was turned into a snake monster because she angered athena. The story of medusa from greek mythology guy counseling. This story about darius and medusa is a modern fictional fantasy story i adapted into my own. Her name and aspects of her character are derived from greek mythology as her hair has prehensile attributes like that of medusa the gorgons hair. Youll be asked several questions about medusa, including how she killed people and who was sent to kill her. His mother was princess danae, the beautiful daughter of king acrisius of argos. Medusa was a beautiful woman who was known for her fair, golden locks and lovely features. She hates every single human being and all the gods and goddesses will all her might. She was beautiful and she made sure she told everyone.
In homers story, he acknowledges only one and that is medusa, who later turns into a gorgon by curse of athena. Pdf medusa the victimized monster dhianita kusuma pertiwi. The name of perseus, slayer of medusa, is of obscure origin, but one possibi. The following story of medusa from pausanias description of greece says nothing about snakes. In later myths mainly in ovid medusa was the only gorgon to possess snake. 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. Medusas severed head retained its power to turn people into stone, so perseus carried it on many adventures, using it to defeat his enemies. 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. Each picture is a photograph of 3dimensional cut paper collages which are sometimes very complicated, like the tangled mess of snakes on medusas head. Once upon a beauty the story of medusa think marks. Medusa, the mortal gorgon, whose head is zeuss symbol.
Fearing that, he hid his daughter danae in a chamber underground. The curse of athena comes to be in the story of medusa, whos fate is changed by actions she had no control over. In duffys poem, however, medusa becomes something altogether more human. She was a very kind and she obeyed her greek gods and goddesses. Send a wellorganized paragraph to medusa contest by nov.
Spinner has made the story very accessible to young readers in grade, and the illustrations by ms. Shocked the nation book the medusa amulet the medusa chronicles a new kind of monster. 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. The wreck of the medusa is a welltold tale of the crew and passengers of the illfated french frigate. There were pretty girls there, and medusa was one of them. In greek mythology, medusa is one of the three gorgons medusa, stheno, and.
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