Pegasus was eventually tamed by the hero Bellerophon.[18]. Legend says that when invaders attacked the city, Sterope used the hair to bring forth a storm that sent them running away in fear. There is no evidence that Poseidon was angry about this action, however, and the god appears to play no other role in the story of the Grecian hero. As she traveled, some of the serpents in her hair fell to the ground and slid away. But Perseus is, without a doubt, the son of the king of the gods, Zeus. Perseus as a boy's name is of Greek origin. If your web page requires an HTML link, please insert this code: . Medusa followed the goddess for many years before she met and fell in love with Poseidon. This interpretation goes on to say that the Three Fates were actually born with Themis in the sea and that they traveled with her to Mount Olympus to meet Zeus. Athena took things a step further. Medusa was the only one of the three who was not immortal. Our editors will review what youve submitted and determine whether to revise the article. Together with Zeus, Themis bore the Horae, or the goddesses of the seasons. Get a Britannica Premium subscription and gain access to exclusive content. In Homers Iliad, Athena, as a war goddess, inspires and fights alongside the Greek heroes; her aid is synonymous with military prowess. WebAthena appears in Homers Odyssey as the tutelary deity of Odysseus, and myths from later sources portray her similarly as helper of Perseus and Heracles (Hercules). In book 47 of the text, Perseus kills Ariadne by turning her into stone, while a disguised Hera warns the hero that, to win, he would also need to kill all the Satyrs. Herodotus also records that when Xerxes, the Persian king, came to conquer Greece, he attempted to convince the people of Argos that he was the descendent of Perseus, and, therefore their rightful king already. WebPerseus was the son of the Greek god Zeus and the woman Danae. Pausanias, Description of Greece: A second-century CE travelogue; like Strabos Geography, an important source for local myths and customs. Only according to the scholia on Apollonius of Rhodes Argonautica 4.1399. Two species of snakes contain her name: the venomous pitviper Bothriopsis medusa and the nonvenomous snake called Atractus medusa. How is Perseus Otherwise Portrayed in Modern Culture? There was also a theory established by Helene Cixous in which she claims that the original story of Medusa was quite different. Pegasus, the famous horse with wings, arose from her dead body. Half,brother and great,grandfather of Heracles, son of Nestor and Eurydice (or Anaxibia) who appears in Homer's The Odyssey, main character in Percy Jackson and The Olympians series, and a main character in The Heroes of Olympus series, both by Rick Riordan. Also in more modern art, the subject of Medusas head became quite popular. There are also references to Medusa in the Fabulae. During that time, Medusa was pregnant by Poseidon. Medusa. Mythopedia, March 11, 2023. https://mythopedia.com/topics/medusa. They manage to escape when Percy beheads her. Fans of mythology might recognize Perseus Perseus was the son of Zeus, and the god of gods wanted to protect him on his quest. This is what they say; and their doings in honor of Perseus are Greek, inasmuch as they celebrate games that include every form of contest, and offer animals and cloaks and skins as prizes. When Perseus beheaded her, Pegasus, a winged horse, and Chrysaor, a giant wielding a golden sword, sprang from her body. Priestesses took a vow of chastity and devoted their lives to her. Harrison further backed up her claims with a translation that said the horror did not come from the woman but that the horror gave birth to the woman. Poseidon took special interest in her, and one day came down to Athenas shrine and raped the poor woman. In Greek mythology, Perseus was the heroic slayer of the Gorgon Medusa (pronounced meh-DOO-suh). Percy trains as a god at Camp Half-Blood and travels America on adventures. Here are just three great ones for you to use. 2023 Nameberry.com.Nameberry is a registered trademark of Nameberry, LLC. WebThe Perseus Digital Library is a partner and supporter of Open Greek and Latin, an international collaboration committed to creating an open educational resource featuring Afterward, locked in a wooden chest, both were thrown into the sea by Danaes father Acrisius, who had known from the From then on she roamed, shamed, shunned and loathed by everyone. Themis was one of the first twelve Titans, direct descendants of Gaea (Mother Earth) and Uranus (Father Sky), the first beings to ever exist in the universe. The Greek hero came to see her on the orders of King Polydectes who ruled over Seriphus. He would then marry the princess, Leda. Sign up and get your dose of art history delivered straight to your inbox! Thence, by Athenas curse anyone she looked upon turned to stone. This version claims that Athena became spiteful and used her powers to turn the woman into a monster that no man would ever want. After Perseus had beheaded Medusa and put her head into his satchel, he used his winged sandals to quickly fly away from the other two vengeful Gorgons. However, those myths which mention three women call them sisters, and say that the other two were punished simply because of Medusas transgressions. They claim that she spent most of her life in Sarpedon, which was close to Cisthene with her Gorgon sisters and also died there. Pausanias, Description of Greece 8.47.4; Apollodorus, Library 2.7.3. Rhianna chose to dress as the Greek mythological figure when she dressed like her on the cover of GQ in 2013. Medusa also appeared in multiple pieces of art from the Renaissance and later. She was widely worshipped, but in modern times she is associated primarily with Athens, to which she gave her name and protection. At this time, Zeus was given his thunderbolts, and Poseidon his famous Trident. Perseus was quite protective of his mother, with all they had been through, and was cautious about the King. Atlas immediately turned to stone, thus becoming the Atlas Mountains. [17], After Medusa was killed, her two children by Poseidon were born from her blood. The blood from her head slowly found its way to the Red Sea where it formed the basis of the red coral seen there today. In Homers Iliad, Athena, as a war goddess, inspires and fights alongside the Greek heroes; her aid is synonymous with military prowess. Homer never named Medusa in the Odyssey but did talk about a monsters head that Hades could send o Persephone. She was essentially urban and civilized, the antithesis in many respects of Artemis, goddess of the outdoors. Cixous urges women to use this story as a way to take back their own power and escape the control that men have over them. Her gaze is not triumphant, exactly, but resolute. Rather than die on the field, she was assassinated during the night. This root also appears in other Greek names, including Medea, Medon, and Diomedes. Giovanni Versace loved the Medusa legend so much that he chose her as the mascot of his clothing brand. Fans of Percy Jackson & the Olympians will find that she pops up in both the original book and the film based on the book. It is pronounced P AH R-Siy-ahS in English . Perseus is of Old Greek origin. Perseus is a form of the English and Greek Persis. See also the related category greek. Perseus is uncommon as a baby girl name. It is not in the top 1000 names. 2023. This he gave to Perseus, and it was only ever used once. 2022 Wasai LLC. o /; Ancient Greek: ) was, in Greek mythology, one of the mortal lovers of Zeus.An Argive princess, she was an ancestor of many kings and heroes, such as Perseus, Cadmus, Heracles, Minos, Lynceus, Cepheus, and Danaus.The astronomer Simon Marius named a moon of Jupiter after Io in 1614.. Because her brother was Phoroneus, Io is also She was widely worshipped, but in modern times she is associated primarily with Athens, to which she gave her name. Gorgo. In A Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology. Though many know the story of Medusa and her powers, not as many know about her sisters. Garber, Marjorie, and Nancy Vickers. While Athena, the goddess of women and knowledge, was often portrayed as holding a shield, the story of Perseus is the only surviving account of it being used. At the time of her death, no one knew that the creature was with child, one she hoped to raise with Poseidon. Athena is associated with birds, particularly the owl, which became famous as the symbol of the city of Athens. The two quickly fell in love and married. Medusa appeared in dozens of television shows and movies over the years. (2023, March 11). Polydectes had been abusing her. Though she has a different name, she has the power to turn people to stone when they look into her eyes. This has been proven because she continues to be portrayed in pop culture. According to Pausanias, they say that the god, having made war on Perseus, afterward laid aside his enmity, and received great honors at the hands of the Argives, including this precinct set specially apart for himself.. Athenas moral and military superiority to Ares derives in part from the fact that she represents the intellectual and civilized side of war and the virtues of justice and skill, whereas Ares represents mere blood lust. In most versions of the story, she was beheaded by the hero Perseus, who was sent to fetch her head by King Polydectes of Seriphus because Polydectes wanted to marry his mother. In ancient Greek religion, Athena was a goddess of war, handicraft, and practical reason. London: Routledge, 2003. Perseus was assisted by the gods, who provided him with a mirrored shield, winged sandals, a helmet of invisibility, an adamantine sword, and a magical satchel that could carry Medusas head. Eventually, he turned the head of Medusa upon himself and turned to stone. In addition to being snake-haired and winged, she was often pictured with fangs and a wide, menacing face. Her birth and her contest with Poseidon, the sea god, for the suzerainty of the city were depicted on the pediments of the Parthenon, and the great festival of the Panathenaea, in July, was a celebration of her birthday. Perseus is a godly Greek hero (he was a son of Zeus) whose ancient name just There, he married Andromeda, and she would live to old age, giving Perseus many children. Themis is often seen holding a sword, which represents her ability to separate, or cut, the truth from the lies. Athena became the goddess of crafts and skilled peacetime pursuits in general. She further claimed that the womans head simply served as a mask for those who later wielded it. Webdigital intermediate producer: Technicolor (3D version) Jo Stedall post-production coordinator (as Jo Harrop) Dominic Thomson digital intermediate editor (as Dom Thomson) Allen Tracy stereo conform supervisor: Prime Focus World, Los Angeles Matthew Tucker first assistant editor While the name Perseus has been given to a number of ships, mountains, and even early computers, the Greek hero doesnt have the same name recognition today as Heracles/Hercules. As for Ariadne, be happy. Perseus was eventually the person to kill his grandfather. Poseidon tempted her into having sexual intercourse with him in a temple to Athena. The Perseus Constellation was cataloged in the 2nd century by the Greek astronomer Ptolemy and has been the source of great study ever since. WebIn one version of the Medusa story, she was a gorgeous young woman who agreed to become one of Athenas priestesses. She turned Medusa into an ugly creature by making her eyes bloodshot and raging and her face haglike. How Did Perseus Save Andromeda From The Sea Monster? Next time there is a trivia night, it might be more interesting to choose questions about Perseus than Hercules, and there are some fun facts that make perfect questions. To make Athena look better, some stories claim that Perseus never gave her Medusas head. Among her early depictions were those in horror films from the 1960s. Harrison believed that there was some evidence that Medusa was simply one woman and that the stories of her sisters came later. Angry at Perseus (instead of the gods that wished her to be sacrificed) he took up arms and started a great fight. She was a monster, a Gorgon, generally described as a winged human female with living venomous snakes in place of hair. They believe that there were events the occurred and that the Greeks simply created a new version of the event. The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York has a terracotta jar created by Polygnotos that shows Perseus murdering her in her sleep. Woodward, Jocelyn M. Perseus: A Study in Greek Art and Legend. The venomous vipers of the Sahara were also sometimes said to have been born from Medusas blood. [15] In another version of the myth, Medusa became the enemy of Athena because she claimed that she could rival the goddess in beauty.[16]. Kapach, Avi. 2. Rather than the father of Perseus, Poseidon is a lover of Medusa, a sea monster who Perseus slew. In later artwork, she appears as a more beautiful woman. For standing by their sibling, she did the same to the other two gorgons. It was interpreted both as a triumph of stoic reason over the foes of virtue and as the possibility of controlling passions and exercising stoical equanimity through implacable realism. To link to this article in the text of an online publication, please use this URL: 3. She was the daughter of Zeus, produced without a mother, so that she emerged full-grown from his forehead. Atlas attempted to fight but saw her head and turned to stone. In the versions that name Perseus, the story is grim. WebAcrisius Grandfather of Perseus. And anyone who looked upon the head, even after it was removed, would turn to stone. Hermes, the messenger of the Greek gods, wore winged sandals that let him fly at supernatural speed around the world to pass messages between gods, and also bring warnings and prophesies to mortals. Just as Andromeda had told Perseus her tale, the monster rose from the waters. 4 (Zurich: Artemis, 1988), 288345. When Perseus sought a place to rest, Atlas refused him. The man who stole her mask then used the story to frighten others. Alcmenes husband, the hero Amphitryon, was from an important family, too, also tracing his lineage to Perseus through his father, Alcaeus. Ovid: The myths of Medusa and her killer Perseus are described in Books 4 and 6 of the epic Metamorphoses (ca. Gorgo, Gorgoneion in Lexicon Iconographicum Mythologiae Classicae, Vol. According to some tellings of the myth, Perseus turned all the kings soldiers and even the entire island to stone. Perseus was attending sporting games (either for competition or part of funeral celebrations), where he was playing quoits (or discus throw). The subject of Perseuss quest, she is one of the most iconic monsters in Greek lore. Another account in the same text says that Procles, a Carthaginian, believed Medusa to be a Wild Woman of Libya, a form of big-foot, who would harass the people in nearby towns. Gorgon head on terracotta tile, South Italy (c. 540 BC). Medusa was killed by the hero Perseus, a son of Zeus and the mortal Argive princess Danae. WebPerseus was one of the oldest out of all of the Greek mythological heroes. Medusa was said to have once been a lover of Poseidon. In the versions that name Perseus, the story is grim. It came out in 2013 as part of a limited edition series.-Many people use an image of her head because they believe it will protect them from others. No, he was sent to kill her by King Polydectes of Seriphos. Medusa was not the only Gorgon, however. But the young Medusa offended Athena and was therefore cursed to be a terrible monster, forever hunted by men. Andromedas mother boasted that she was more beautiful than the Nereids, so Poseidon sent the monster to attack the city. Lucan: The epic Civil War (60s CE) describes how the venomous vipers of the Sahara were born from Medusas blood (9.624ff). Medusa, the daughter of the sea gods Phorcys and Ceto, was the most feared of the Gorgons. There was an alternative story that Zeus swallowed Metis, the goddess of counsel, while she was pregnant with Athena, so that Athena finally emerged from Zeus. The best-known star within the constellation is Algol, Horus, or Beta Persei. It is bordered by Taurus and Ares to the south, Andromeda to the west, Cassiopeia to the north, and Auriga to the east. She was thought to have had neither consort nor offspring. He also wrote a tragedy, now lost, called Phorcides in which he described Perseus quest to hunt down and kill Medusa. Polydectes had fallen in love with Danae. Her parents agreed. Others think that her story likely had roots in historical facts. Diodorus of Sicily, Library of History 3.55. The director chose to show her as a human woman who only turned terrifying once men looked into her eyes. Her blood also led to the creation of the venomous vipers that roam the Sahara. Apollodorus, Library: A mythological handbook from the first century BCE or the first few centuries CE. The Helmet of Hades was one of the gifts of the Cyclopes to the young Olympian gods when they first fought the Titans in the Titanomachy. In one of his poems, Pindar applied the epithet euparaos (fair-cheeked) to Medusa. 837; Ovid, Metamorphoses 4.653ff. This shows that the island has protection from Athena. When Andromedas former fianc Phineus attacked him, Perseus killed him, too, using Medusas head. Medusa was a beautiful young woman, a virgin priestess of the goddess Athena. Her profile is engraved on coins of the reign of Seleceus I Nicator of Syria from 312-280 B.C. While her sisters were immortal gods themselves, Medusa was a mortal woman only. The nature and purpose of queer art is not something that can be answered with just one article. He claimed that both groups of sisters were monsters. She also appeared in the 2010 remake as a monster with a serpentine lower body. Athena is customarily portrayed wearing an aegis, body armor, and a helmet and carrying a shield and a lance. According to Ovid, this is what first got her into trouble: when Medusa slept with Poseidon in a temple of Athena, Athena turned her hair into snakes as a punishment. Webkaiser covid test reimbursement limit. Her long, beautiful hair became a head of snakes. As a war goddess Athena could not be dominated by other goddesses, such as Aphrodite, and as a palace goddess she could not be violated. For some examples, such as the winding snake in the right foreground, Rubens probably also used casts made from nature, which were particularly popular in northern Italy. [1], Medusa and her sisters were called the Gorgons. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); Gods of Death Chrysaor also came from Medusa. While the instrument itself was created by Pallas Athene, Pindar says that she wove into music the dire dirge of the reckless Gorgons which Perseus heard and imitate with musical instruments the shrill cry that reached her ears from the fast-moving jaws of Euryale. Yes, the high-pitched notes of the flute were the screams of the Gorgons as they mourned over the death of their sister. London: Spottiswoode and Company, 1873. Apollonius of Rhodes: The third-century CE epic Argonautica describes the venomous vipers of the Sahara as the offspring of Medusa (4.1505ff). Though he used it to save his mother, Perseus then went to Argos and buried her head there. Learn more about our mission. [1] Alcmene was the daughter of Electryon, the king of Mycenae and a son of the hero Perseus. 1 And having wedded Earth, he begat first the Hundred-handed, as they are Athenas punishment came with great and terrible features. In this perspective, the ravishingly beautiful Medusa is the mother remembered in innocence; before the mythic truth of castration dawns on the subject. Strabo, Geography: A late first-century BCE geographical treatise and an important source for many local Greek myths, institutions, and religious practices from antiquity. Then he grew to an immense height in every part (so you gods determined) and the whole sky, with its many stars, rested on him.. According to author Jane Ellen Harrison, Medusas power came from her head and anyone who carried it gained that power. We love art history and writing about it. Her emergence there as city goddess, Athena Polias (Athena, Guardian of the City), accompanied the ancient city-states transition from monarchy to democracy. He had built a wall around his fields, and protected them with a dragon. Numerous analyses have made us familiar with the occasion for this: it occurs when a boy, who has hitherto been unwilling to believe the threat of castration, catches sight of the female genitals, probably those of an adult, surrounded by hair, and essentially those of his mother. Greek poet Hesiod wrote that Medusa lived close to the Hesperides in the Western Ocean near Sarpedon. Medusa was often depicted as a terrifying winged female with snakes instead of hair. Medusas Head is a study released in 1940 after Freuds death. Medusa. Athena, the daughter of Zeus, was produced without a mother and emerged full-grown from his forehead. Link will appear as Medusa: https://greekgodsandgoddesses.net - Greek Gods & Goddesses, February 7, 2017, Greek Gods and Goddesses 2010 - 2023 | About | Contact | Sitemap | Privacy, Seriphus sent Perseus to return with her head, Medusa: https://greekgodsandgoddesses.net. However, the same text says that Danaes father, Acrisius, was of Egyptian stock, so Perseus may have been the first Greek in the family through both lines. The Origin of Hotdogs, The History of Boracay Island in The Philippines. Hartland, Edwin. In a strange little side-note, an interesting fact about Medusa and her sisters were integral to the invention of the flute. This phenomenon can be viewed yearly in early August and is the result of the path of the Swift-Tuttle Comet.
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