Medusa / Medusa
Gorgon whose gaze turned men to stone
Medusa is the most famous monster in Greek myth: a woman with living snakes for hair, whose gaze turned anyone who looked at her to stone. Her story is a tragedy as much as a monster tale — in the version told by the Roman poet Ovid, she was once a beautiful young woman, punished by a goddess for a crime committed against her.
How they were born
In the oldest version, told by the poet Hesiod, Medusa was born a Gorgon, one of three sisters — Stheno, Euryale and Medusa — daughters of the sea gods Phorcys and Ceto. Her two sisters were immortal, but Medusa alone was mortal, which is why a hero could one day kill her. In the later version told by Ovid, Medusa was born a beautiful human woman, a priestess of Athena, and only became a monster when Athena transformed her: her hair turned to snakes and her face became so terrible that one look at it turned a person to stone.
The greatest stories
Medusa and Athena
In Ovid's telling, Medusa was a beautiful young priestess who served in the temple of Athena, goddess of wisdom. Poseidon, god of the sea, desired her and assaulted her inside Athena's own temple. Athena was furious at the desecration of her shrine, but she did not punish Poseidon — instead she turned her anger on Medusa. She transformed the young woman into a Gorgon, turning her lovely hair into a nest of writhing snakes and making her face so dreadful that anyone who met her gaze was turned to stone. Medusa fled to a hidden cave at the edge of the world, where she lived alone with her two sisters, and every hero who came to kill her and win fame became another stone statue at her door.
Perseus and the Beheading
King Polydectes of Seriphos wanted to marry Perseus's mother Danae, and to get the young hero out of the way he demanded an impossible wedding gift: the head of Medusa. Perseus set out with gifts from the gods — winged sandals and a curved sickle from Hermes, and a polished bronze shield from Athena to use as a mirror. Guided by the Graeae, three grey sisters who shared one eye, he found the Gorgons asleep in their cave. Watching Medusa's reflection in his shield so he would not meet her eyes, he crept up and struck off her head with a single blow. He dropped it into a magic satchel and flew away on his winged sandals while her sisters woke and screamed after him.
The Head That Still Turned Men to Stone
Even dead, Medusa's head kept its terrible power. Perseus used it as a weapon on his journey home. When the sea monster Cetus threatened the princess Andromeda, chained to a rock as a sacrifice, Perseus killed the beast and freed her. When he returned to Seriphos, he found Polydectes threatening his mother, and held up Medusa's head — the king and his whole court turned to stone on the spot. He gave the head to Athena, who set it in the centre of her shield, the aegis, where the Gorgon's face would frighten her enemies forever after. Artists ever since have painted Medusa's head on shields and armour as a protective emblem.
Pegasus and Chrysaor Are Born
When Perseus cut off Medusa's head, something extraordinary sprang from her neck: two children, fathered by Poseidon. The first was Pegasus, the winged white horse, who flew up to Olympus and became the bearer of Zeus's thunderbolts. The second was Chrysaor, a giant warrior carrying a golden sword, who later became the father of the three-bodied giant Geryon. So even in death, Medusa gave birth to wonders — and Pegasus, the horse that sprang from her blood, became one of the best-loved creatures in all of Greek myth.
Family & connections
Symbol, animal & weapon
Fun facts
- Medusa's head, called the Gorgoneion, was painted on Greek shields and armour as a protective symbol — the idea was that her terrifying face would scare away enemies.
- The fashion house Versace uses Medusa's head as its logo, chosen because Medusa's beauty was said to be so striking that no one could look away from her.
- In the oldest stories Medusa was born a monster, but the version most people know — the beautiful priestess punished by Athena — comes from the Roman poet Ovid, writing some 700 years later.
- Medusa is the only mortal Gorgon: her sisters Stheno and Euryale were immortal, which is why Perseus could kill her but not them.
- Coral was said to have been created when Perseus laid Medusa's head on seaweed: the drops of her blood turned the seaweed to stone, and the sea nymphs scattered the pieces across the ocean.
Gallery — sculpture & art
