Medusa - The Misunderstood and Raped Gorgon

in #story6 years ago (edited)

Ever since I was a child I have always been fascinated by Greek Mythology.

One of my favorites is Medusa but there are many misconceptions about her.

I would like to take this opportunity to let everyone know the story of the beautiful Medusa who according to me is the most misunderstood character in Greek Mythology.

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EARLY LIFE

There is little whereabouts about her earlier days but she was the most beautiful and was desired by many men

She was the only mortal among the 3 sisters born to Phorcys and Ceta, two of the primary seagods.

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THE PRIESTESS

She possessed great beauty and many men lusted for Medusa but no one could acquire her

She had sworn service to Goddess Athena and was required to remain pure and eventually became the priestess of Athena's temple

Thousands visited Athena's temple just for a glance of Medusa's beauty

They even claimed that her hair rivaled that of the Goddess Athena

It was not long before Athena started to become jealous of Medusa

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THE RAPE

One day when Medusa was walking across the shore, she caught the attention of Poseidon - The God of the Sea

He instantly fell for Medusa's beauty but she rejected him numerous times

If Medusa wished to remain the priestess of Athena's temple she must stay a virgin

Poseidon was in the middle of a conflict with Athena and he saw Medusa as a possession which he could take away from Athena

Eventually Poseidon grew tired of Medusa's rejections and decided to take Medusa by force

Medusa in fear of Poseidon ran into Athena's temple in the hopes that Athena would protect her

That evening there was no protection given to Medusa and Poseidon had his way with Medusa in Athena's temple itself

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A SERPANT IS BORN

When Poseidon had finished, Athena did appear in rage because Medusa lost her virginity

She decided that she would punish Medusa, as punishment to one of the powerful god's like Poseidon was considered unthinkable

Athena cursed Medusa and put her in an isolated island.The hair of Medusa, of which Athena was once envyous off was turned into the head of venomous snakes

Moreover, anyone who would look into Medusa's eyes would be turned into stone

Word spread of the monster Medusa had become and she became the target for warriors who wished to kill and add her head to the list of their trophies, but all who tried were turned into stones

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THE KILLING OF MEDUSA

Perseus son of Zeus(The most powerful Greek god) was given the task of killing and bringing back Medusa's head

Inorder to complete the task Perseus needed aid from the gods

He was given helmet from Hades which made him invisible to Medusa and her sisters

Was given wings from Hermes allowing him to reach Medusa

Athena herself gave him a bronze shield allowing him to reflect the gaze of Medusa's eyes

And lastly given a sword sharp enough to cut the head of Medusa

With all these gifts Perseus was able to behead the head of Medusa while she was asleep and later gifted her head to Goddess Athena

At the time of her death Medusa was pregnant with the offspring of Poseidon and as soon as the head was severed the two unborn children Chrysaor and Pegasus suddenly sprang out from her neck

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THE MISUNDERSTANDING

She is often regarded as the cruel monster but she only had the best intentions and placed her trust in Goddess Athena who ultimately failed her and punished her for actions beyond her control

Medusa is always considered the monster but infact it's quite the opposite

She was often blamed for turning people into stones but she had been cursed to be this way

Most of the people whom she turned into stones were warriors who wanted to cut her head off to add to their trophy collection

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THE CONCLUSION

In the end this is a very sad and tragic story

She wanted to remain a virgin and serve the Goddess Athena for the rest of her life but was raped

Goddess Athena did not protect her and was infact cursed by her to become a monster

I hope people now know the truth about the beautiful Medusa and change their mind set about her

Let me know in the comment section if you knew about Medusa and what you think about her tragic life

Lots of Love
Alice

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Great write-up... I've always loved greek methodology as well

Thanks..me too love it :)

Medusa was innocent. Look at the GODs in Greek Mythlogy it is not a good example to people 😨😨😨

I know..I can't believe they treated her with such cruelty :(

Yeah, Greek mythology is full of jealous perverted gods. Great post, do more like this Alice. I've been on steemit for a whole year now! If you have the time please check out my anniversary post -https://steemit.com/anniversary/@kenentertainment/i-ve-been-on-steemit-for-little-over-a-year-it-s-been-a-great-journey-great-friends-and-great-platform
One love

Thanks..I will check it out now :)

Cool, i'll meet you there! lol

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At first when I read the story of Medusa, I had thought that she was unfairly treated. Now that I am older, I am under the impression that the people of those days did know and understand how evil the "gods" they prayed to really were and that some did try to warn others by writing stories of their evil in a way that wouldn't bring them retaliation.

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SOOOO SHES NOT BAAAAD?

No..not at all..they made her that way..

This post has received a 16.32 % upvote from @boomerang.

I never knew this ... thanks for the knowledge and story.

Your welcome..it was a pleasure writing about her...

Wow amazing story, and you told it so well! I loved it. I don't know much about Greek gods, but always love to learn more. My favorite misunderstood goddess is the goddess Hel. She is a goddess of the underworld but Christian monks wrote her story and made her out to be evil and it's not the case. She cares for dead children and women who die in childbirth and has a beautiful hall. She is one of my favorite goddesses. Oh did I mention she is the daughter of Loke! Anyways again, great story I can help but feel bad for this mortal goddess.

Yeah..she's in Thor Ragnarok movie as well... apparently more powerful than Thor...

I want to watch it, but I don't want to get pissed off lol. I still follow the old gods and of course Hollywood can do whatever they want to European gods and no one cares.

Haha...Hel in the movie is completely evil...you will surely get pissed haha..

That settles it! I'm going to do a VR post to about Hel. Of course, I will link this post if that's okay? :)

Ofcourse..
I would love to read it :)