MEDUSA: PureITY OR Pure EVIL?

Over the period of time we have seen and read about many legendary women of past and present. A few examples of these could be the divine Goddess Sita, the fearless feminist Draupadi, the woman who cheated death Kundalakesi, the faithful daughter and sister Antigone, the indestructible Mandodari, the exceptional Atlanta, etc. 

Goddess Sita

Draupadi

Kundalakesi

Antigone

Mandodari

Atlanta

This time I am going to talk about another one of these fabulous legendary women, Medusa. From being considered the representation of true evil to now being considered a symbol of femininity, the story of Medusa has been a topic of debate and discussion; both from a woman and a man's point of view. 

Before further getting into the details, I want to say that these thoughts and opinions are purely mine and are not intended to harm another.

Who Was Medusa?

Medusa was one of the three Gorgon sisters in Greek mythology. Gorgons are creatures who have venomous snakes instead of their hair, who also have the power to petrify anyone that looks in their eyes. In Medusa's case she was the only mortal out of the three, considered the most beautiful being at that time, later on cursed by Goddess Athena to look and have powers like her sisters. She was the daughter of Phorkys and Keto and is said to have given birth to Pegasus and Chrysaor at the time of her death, which will be discussed further. 

Medusa, Athena and Poseidon

Medusa was an avid devotee of Goddess Athena who symbolised warfare, wisdom, peace and handicraft. Athena herself being a virgin Goddess, symbolised virginity and expected her devotees and followers to protect their virginity for life. 

But, Medusa had failed to do so. Being one of the most attractive beings on the planet, she was desired by all, therefore making her prone to assaults. She had always succeeded in protecting herself until Poseidon.

Being the God of the sea, earthquakes and horses, Poseidon was one of the most powerful Gods, making taking advantage of others and having things done his way easy for him. Medusa, obviously, resisted and fought him when he made a move on her but failed. Poseidon succeeded in forcefully sexually assaulting Medusa. 

What made the situation even worse was that not only Medusa lost her virginity as a devotee of Goddess Athena but also this act of sin was performed in the Goddess's temple itself.

All of this caused Goddess Athena to lose her temper and curse Medusa to have snakes instead of her hair and eyes that could turn one into stone. 

Medusa and Perseus

Now being cursed and a danger for all, poor Medusa was considered a hideous monster. Those who admired her before, now were too afraid of her. Attempts to kill her were very common now. Killing Medusa was an honour that everybody fought to achieve. At last, Perseus, the legendary founder of Mycenae and the Perseid dynasty, murdered Medusa in her sleep.

Perseus was sent on a quest by Polydectes, the king of Seriphos, to bring him the head of Medusa. With the help of Hermes and Athena, he pressed the Graiae and seized the one eye and one tooth the sisters shared and only returned them when they gave him the winged sandals, invisibility cap of Hades, a curved sword/sickle and a bag to conceal Medusa's head.

He beheaded Medusa while she was sleeping, which led to the Pegasus and the Chrysaor springing out from her head as her children and flew away before her sisters could catch him with the help of Hades' invisibility cap. This act of violence was considered very honourable for Perseus and he was thought of highly by Gods and men alike. 

My Opinion On The Story

We discussed the origin, life and death of Medusa and how she was treated. She became the reason of Perseus' glory and an incident to boost Poseidon's ego. But what about her side of the story?

Did anyone ever wonder how she must be feeling and from where she got the power to go through all the troubles she has been receiving? Is her life fair? Should we accept the way she is represented in mythological texts as her reality?

No! Medusa is not an evil entity. She is not a hideous, monstrous, disastrous being who was on a mission to kill anyone that she saw. She is not one to blame. Rather, she is the victim here herself.

Being stripped of her virginity, her rights, her everything, Medusa is mere representation of how women have been treated throughout the ages. Powerless, fragile, always wrong, isn't that the reason why she was sexually assaulted? Isn't she herself to blame for her misfortune? She is the guilty in this situation, right?

Wrong! No one should ever be blamed due to being powerless. No victim should ever be treated as the wrong one, in this case, a woman such as Medusa. 

Medusa was only taken advantage of by Poseidon due to him being one of the more powerful Gods. She was not able to protect her purity due to the immense power of Poseidon which she had failed to win against. Why?

Because she was only a mere mortal whereas Poseidon was a God, one of top ones if I may say so. And it being not mentioned here doesn't mean that Poseidon was the first to try to take Medusa's advantage. Her being one of the most desired beings, obviously, means her getting unwanted attention all the time, both positive and negative. Various people must've tried to force themselves on her but Medusa being the powerful character she is fought them off and remained true to her identity.

Not so fragile anymore?

Another aspect one must look at over here is how Medusa was the only one who got punished whereas Poseidon was let go off easily. Athena, being the Goddess of wisdom, should've taken care of the situation wisely, but, she let go of the guilty and punished the victim.

Many theories state that Athena was jealous of Medusa due to all the attention she got. Athena wanted to take Medusa's place and be the most admired and appreciated women. Her competitive spirit also played a major role in it. 

Also, things between Goddess Athena and God Poseidon were not so great. One can consider this rift between them as a reason for Poseidon's actions. 

But when going through Medusa's story, one always seems to forget that these were written hundreds of years ago by poets and authors who identify as men. Thus, one must know that this is merely just a representation of how ancient Greek men viewed women.

The way these stories are written show how afraid the men were of women to show them in evil light. Women were taken away of their rights because men feared the control and power they would gain with freedom. Men were afraid of a female dominant environment and thus showed in many ways a woman against a woman.

Therefore, another way an individual can look at the story is that Athena's curse was a blessing in disguise. Athena, being at a much lower level than Poseidon, could not punish him. Cursing Medusa was the safest option that she could think of as the Goddess of wisdom. 

Athena gifted Medusa the powers of petrification as a shield of protection from those who wanted to do her wrong. Her venomous snakes did not make her hideous, rather, they increased her beauty. Medusa was deadly and beautiful, she became a perfect representation of femme fatale. 

Also, talking about Athena and Poseidon's rift, we can analyse that making Medusa a symbol of femininity and not representing her as a damsel in distress was Athena's revenge.

Transition Of Medusa Throughout The Years

A villain, a monster, an attractive desire which when one gets results in his downfall. Over the time major changes have been made in her representation. Who was once a hideous monster has now become the most attractive of beings with the power to petrify others by her beauty.

Now seen in a more sympathetic light, Medusa is a symbol of rage in feminism, femme fatale, and most importantly power and protection. She symbolizes protection against negativity and evil i.e. in her case those who wanted to take her advantage or kill her. Her snakes represent the cycle of life and rebirth. She is beautiful yet tragic figure, terrifying yet appealing at the same time.

A victim of cruelty and injustice, Medusa is a strong character in Greek Mythology, who only harmed those that harm her. In Fact when I go through her story I have made a realisation of how kind hearted she really was. Rather than wanting revenge and trying to wreak havoc around the world, Medusa considered how bad her powers could be for everyone. This led her to residing alone at a island far away from land. She never hurt anyone intentionally, those who intruded on HER island and tried to kill her were the only ones who got harmed, that also for good. 

 Medusa isn’t only a victim, she is a monster, a villain, a maiden, a mother, a symbol of protection and a source of hope all rolled into one. She was also a powerful representation of facing one’s inner demons and how self-reflection can make you into a better person.

And that is how I view Medusa as a person. I consider her my favourite Greek mythological character, in fact, she is my over all favourite. Rather than considering Medusa in a negative light, I consider her as my inspiration and my motivation to move on. Honestly, learning about Medusa's story has changed my perspective on human kind, society and the negative and positive aspects of life.

Medusa is a symbol of hope and her story will always be present in a woman's life as a symbol of light and warmth when darkness hits her.