There is an ancient metaphysical belief that menstrual blood is the single And, incidentally, Gorgon snake hair in Morocco certainly isnt derived from Maasai dreadlocks in Kenya. She is a goddess of menstrual power and hence female power. : [89], Some commentators have also equated Lamia with Hecate. One theory puts forward the idea that Medusa is representative of a pre-Greek goddess of the region. Sometimes, however, she is portrayed as a living woman. Although the lower body of Draper's Lamia is human, he alludes to her serpentine history by draping a shed snakeskin about her waist. WebIt is unlikely, though, that Medusa was ever an African goddess, since we have no evidence that any goddess resembling Medusa was worshipped in North Africa before By Sarah Crocker / Aug. 24, 2021 12:30 am EST. In Greek: " , ", Cupid refers to Psyche's sisters as Lamiae, Apul. He did so with the help of many of the pantheons powerful gods. Percy and his friends also end up facing the Gorgons' parents, Phorcys and Keto. The ancient Greco-Roman imagination gradually shifted the Gorgons home, from an island in the Atlantic, eastwards to the African mainland: perhaps in Morocco, perhaps at the Strait of Gibraltar. We can leave that aside: Hyperborea was sometimes imagined as being in northern Ukraine, or to the north of the Caspian Sea.). In some versions, we'll never know if it was consensual. A single glimpse of Medusas face was enough to kill a man instantly. But that doesnt mean there arent any. Because she is a reminder to be unapologetically ourselves and fierce in the face of oppression, Medusa is a perfect talisman for manifesting and honoring our inner bad bitch. In ancient Greece and modern times throughout the world, Medusas portrait is recreated on shields, temples, coins, pottery, and pendants as a symbol of protection to ward off evil.. On his way back to Greece he paused in the Maghreb and turned the Titan Atlas to stone. She wears snake jewellery and a chiffon fishtail skirt. Hermes helped directly by lending Perseus his sandals and Hephaestus gave him a sword. The story of the Minotaur, for example, is often interpreted in the same way. Medusa's main characteristics are snakes for hair and that people turn to stone just by seeing her face. Alternatively she desired Medusas power. She was born far across the ocean from Greece; Later contributing authors to Medusas myth placed her homeland as Libya. I have been in love with all things related to Mythology. The involvement of other gods, however, made the destruction of Medusa seem like a high priority. Nowadays Siwa is mostly Berber. The story was re-enacted by the Makhlyes and Ausean tribes in an annual festival. Sign up Instead of a monster, Medusa could represent a goddess from a non-Greek religion. Yes, Medusae. Her hideousness, deadliness, and removal from the civilized word all made Medusa a monstrous figure. Clash of the Titans (1981) (mentioned below) featured her as one of the monsters and it has been said that modern generations owe their knowledge of Medusa to the film. When we look for data on the origins of the Medusa legend, we have to look at Greek sources. When ancient Greek writers say Libya, they dont mean the modern country. xsai 11/19/2011. Although later details, such as her origins as a beautiful It is referred to as Poine or Ker[60] in classical sources, but later in the Medieval period, one source does call it a lamia (First Vatican Mythographer, c. 9th to 11th century).[61][62]. WebMedusa. The story of Medusa is one of the most well-known in Greek mythology. No. Medusa if she was inspired by a goddess culture" could be a trace memory of Minoan goddess worship and the importance of snakes in the culture The Gorgons were in the far west. The TImeoroi were perhaps Naiad-nymphs of the fresh-water springs of the region. Before the girls are set fighting, the whole people choose the fairest maid, and arm her with a Korinthian (Corinthian) helmet and Greek panoply, to be then mounted on a chariot and drawn all along the lake shore. except it's just Tamagotchi School's nurse Mrs. Houtaiko rather than Medusatchi, A deleted subplot would have had Athena and Apollo conspiring to help Perseus behind the other gods' backs; presumably having Athena be the one who cursed her would have put her in. If you feel called to her, though, I'd suggest you follow your instincts. Classic Medusa, in contrast, is an Oedipal/libidinous symptom. Looking at forbidden mother (in her hair-covered genitals, so to speak) stiffens the subject in illicit desire and freezes him in terror of the Father's retribution. There are no recorded instances of Medusa turning a woman to stone. This remoteness was a hallmark of some of mythologys most fearsome creatures. In both versions, Athena, pissed that her priestess not only broke her vows but did the nasty in her temple, punished her by turning her into her new hideous form and banished her to a desolate island until Perseus slew her. It can be used to destroy or overwhelm any other power. Myths and stories with background for Medusa were added later. Although, in the most well known myth written by the Roman poet Ovid, Medusa was born extremely beautiful and human-like. But it does seem to me that it isnt Berber people who want to claim Medusa. [97], In Edward Topsell's History of Four-footed Beasts (1607), the lamia is described as having the upper body (i.e., the face and breasts) of a woman, but with goatlike hind quarters with large and filthy "stones" (testicles) that smell like sea-calves, on authority of Aristophanes. We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. My work has also been published on Buzzfeed and most recently in Time magazine. These did not all immediately help him kill Medusa, but it did allow him to escape her sisters. Medusa (Metis) was the destroyer aspect of the Great Triple Goddess also called Neith, Anath, Athene or Ath-enna in North Africa and Athana in 1400 c. BC Minoan Crete. Uncover new sources by reviewing other students' references and bibliographies, Inspire new perspectives and arguments (or counterarguments) to address in your own essay. Horace makes a related joke, referring to the aforementioned Lucius Aelius Lamia the praetor as "Lamus", in this instance regarded as the founding figure of the city of the Laestrygonians. She transformed Medusa into a terrifying creature with snakes for hair and a face that literally turned those who gazed at her to stone. Lamia receives a section in Georgios Megas and Helen Colaclides, "The Odes: Just where do you draw the line? Or they may be simply unnamed or differently named. Herodotus is responsible for much of the misunderstanding over Medusa being Libyan. On this Wikipedia the language links are at the top of the page across from the article title. (Apollon. The sisters Sthenno and Euryale were immortal but the third, Medusa, was mortal. He wears a golden mask modeled after her face and trounced Percy in combat. Later depictions (although still fairly ancient ones, in the absolute sense) gradually toned down the more monstrous aspects and made her more attractive. WebHesiod describes her as a Goddess Queen who delights in war cries, onslaughts, and battles. Hephaestus served as the midwife who birthed her using a smiths hammer as an obstetric tool. Thanks for the comment and the Quora link. The sisters Some believed that Africa became the home to many varieties of snakes as Medusa wandered the continent and shed them from her hair. Kibin does not guarantee the accuracy, timeliness, or completeness of the essays in the library; essay content should not be construed as advice. It was assumed, among other godlike attributes, as a royal aegis to imply divine birth or protection, by rulers of the Hellenistic age, as shown, for instance, on the Alexander Mosaic and the Gonzaga Cameo. There are traditions built around Avalon and Arthurian literature. In addition, the Medusa Nebula within the constellation of Gemini features snakelike filaments of glowing gas. [i][47][48] The same joke was used in theatrical Greek comedy,[49] and generally. The views on medusa goddess in mythology. [43], Regarding the seductress, Apollonius further warned, "you are warming a snake (ophis) on your bosom, and it is a snake that warms you". Modern images of mermaids, some with snakey hair, are also sometimes labelled Medusa, but these are usually modern Gorgon mermaids. Many other myths are interpreted as retellings of how the Greeks and their pantheon won power. In others, they are not literal snakes but rather hair that supernaturally behaves as if it were made of living snakes. Many historians believe that it represents a time when the Minoan culture of Crete dominated the new Mycenaean Greeks. The basis of this identification is the variant maternities of scylla, sometimes ascribed to Lamia (as already mentioned), and sometimes to Hecate. She may be Athenas mother, a closely related spirit, or possibly even the identity Athena left behind when she moved from North Africa to Greece. It's founded on a distortion, but as you say, myths are malleable. Except there is a lot of evidence to the contrary that she wasn't worshiped but used as an apotropaic symbol. Where does the myth of Medusa come from?, Moore, C. H. 1974. Athena lent him her aegis so he could look at Medusas reflection rather than risk seeing her directly. I am the owner and chief researcher at this site. The Berber myth and Arab realities., Rouighi, R. 2019b. 6 (trans. One such possible lamia is the avenging monster sent by Apollo against the city of Argos and killed by Coroebus. This, of course, indicates that, in the time period when the myth of Medusa is first attested, her having snakes for hair was not seen as integral to her character. Modern euphemisms for menstruation including calling it a womans friend or the curse, but an evocative, old-fashioned one describes a menstruating woman as bitten by the snake. Press question mark to learn the rest of the keyboard shortcuts. They were in the service of Hera, giving Perseus a connection to both of these deities. "The Views on Medusa Goddess in Mythology." A slightly different version of the second origin is that Medusa was willingly seduced by Poseidon rather than raped. One interpretation of the Medusa myth, therefore, is that she represents the priestesses of an unknown pre-Greek goddess. [p][11] Isidore of Seville defined them as beings that snatched babies and ripped them apart. Short answer: no. Long answer:Medusa is part of Greek mythology which has existed longer than the current misinformation of her being an African Go Northern Africa with modern names and borders (top), and with ancient Greek names (bottom). [3] Modern scholarship reconstructs a Proto-Indo-European stem *lem-, "nocturnal spirit", whence also comes lemures. [2.1] KEPHALION, NASAMON (by Amphithemis) (Apollonius Rhodius 4.1493, Hyginus Fab 14), TRITONIS (Tritnis). WebSome interpretations argue that Medusa was a Libyan goddess who was equated with Athena before the Greeks defeated them and demonized her as Athena's enemy and All of his heroic actions could be seen as reflections of his fathers power. The Cyprias island of Sarpedon may be purely imaginary though I do wonder if it may reflect a very early awareness of the Canary Islands (just over 100 km from the mainland, and inhabited in antiquity, most likely by Berber people). Medusa, to me, is the monstrous version of a heroic mortal. More recently she has appeared as a stop-motion monster (Clash of the Titans, 1981); a woman embittered in old age (Percy Jackson, 2005); an adorable floating head (Hades, 2020). WebMedusa is not just a minor sea spirit. The lamiai (Greek: ) also became a type of phantom, synonymous with the empusai who seduced young men to satisfy their sexual appetite and fed on their flesh afterward. Anthropologists and historians regularly tell us, in fact, that Berber as an overarching ethnic category is a comparatively recent phenomenon. [45][h] The empousa admits in the end to fattening up her victim (Menippus of Lycia) to be consumed, as she was in the habit of targeting young men for food "because their blood was fresh and pure". Pursuing her, he raped her there. I mostly just say that, although Herodotos does say that Medusa lived in North Africa, there's nothing to indicate that she was originally an African goddess and the story of Medusa was most likely made up by Greeks.The main thing that my answer adds to what you've said here is that I actually address the claim about the dreadlocks by pointing out that the earliest surviving depictions of Medusa, including the famous Kykladic pithos from the early seventh century BCE that depicts her with the lower body of a four-legged horse, don't seem to depict her with snakes for hair. [11], Aristotle's Nicomachean Ethics (vii.5) refers to the lore of some beastly lifeform in the shape of a woman, which tears the bellies of pregnant mothers and devours their fetuses. A gypsy curse associated with him has Lamia torment the victim for three days before having its minions drag them into Hell to burn in its fires for all eternity. 180 (trans. A complete bibliography of the translations quoted on this page. [78] Either one could be Lamia the mother of Scylla mentioned in the Stesichorus (d. 555 BC) fragment, and other sources. Other details appear in different sources: Medusa was originally a beautiful woman who was transformed; she remained beautiful (but deadly) after her transformation; she was a rape victim, and cursed by Athena; her head was set on the shield of Athena; and so on. She was usually represented as a winged female creature having a head of hair Jason Williams, The story of Medusa is about European fear of African spirituality, melanin and black women with power, an answer I wrote over a year ago on Quora, Classics at the Intersections (Rebecca Futo Kennedy), The Philological Crocodile (@PhiloCrocodile), Tales of Times Forgotten (@spencemcdaniel), Late antique mosaic of Medusa from Hadrumetum, Tunisia (Sousse Archaeological Museum), beyond the Ocean, at the edge of night, in the same region as the Hesperides (nymphs of the west), three days flight (for Perseus) west of the Atlas Mountains. Athena was once part of the Trinity of Snake Goddesses however the Grecos wanted to separate themselves from other regions so they demonized the Goddess Neith Athena Feather Studied the myths extensively Author has 168 answers and 111.6K answer views 2 y Im not sure what answer you want. [1.1] ATHENE (by Poseidon) (Herodotus 4.180, Pausanias 1.14.6) Yeah, I wrote that article in part to answer this question for myself and to do research for a book I am working on about Goddess Athena. This preview is partially blurred. Many pantheons, including the Greek one, had triple goddesses. Athena is a goddess of crafts but not just any crafts. WebMedusa was one of the three Gorgons ("the Terrible Ones"), the daughters of Keto ("Whale," daughter of Gaea and Pontos, the outer sea) and her brother Phorkys (also a Once upon a time, in the ancient world, Medusa was little more than a terrifying monster. Fittingly, a great hero was dispatched to kill her. Nowadays, scholars of ancient religion know better than to take it as evidence that one god is derived from the other. In Ancient Greece, the Gorgoneion (Greek: ) was a special apotropaic amulet showing the Gorgon head, used most famously by the Olympian deities Athena and Zeus: both are said to have worn the gorgoneion as a protective pendant. In some versions, her hair-snakes are venomous. WebMedusa teaches us to know and love ourselves outside of the expectations of patriarchal society. A nymph of lake Tritonis in Libya, who according to an ancient tradition was the mother of Athena by Poseidon. These include the half-woman, half-snake beasts of the "Libyan myth" told by Dio Chrysostom, and the monster sent to Argos by Apollo to avenge Psamathe (Crotopus). The other two sisters appear extremely rarely, but are sometimes included alongside Medusa when she's a singular character. Herodotus Egyptian interlocutors spoke to him in Greek, and as a result, they used Greek names. noteAll bets are off, though, if she is of the Gorgeous Gorgon resp. If this is the case, Medusa would not be the only figure for whom this is true. - Alfredo Alvarez, student @ Miami University, We use cookies to provide the best possible experience on our site. She went against her vow and married him. [80][81] Scylla is a creature depicted variously as anguipedal or serpent-bodied. 490 BCE (British Museum, McDaniel, S. 2020. Medusa embodies menstruations protective powers. Zeus gave Lamia the power of prophecy and the ability to take out and reinsert her eyes, possibly because she was cursed by Hera with insomnia or because she could no longer close her eyes, so that she was forced to always obsess over her lost children.[1]. This allows our team to focus on improving the library and adding new essays. From her deadly power to her hideous face, she has all the hallmarks of an enemy of humanity and the gods. [103] The contemporary Greek proverb, " " ("the Lamia's sweeping"), epitomises slovenliness;[103] and the common expression, " ' " ("the child has been strangled by the Lamia"), explains the sudden death of young children. In Libya, Medusa was worshiped as a serpent-goddess that represented female Dreadlocks? Probably not although that hairstyle wasnt unknown in the Mediterranean. More likely the snakes were inspired by a head-dress that the Engraged, Athena, unable to punish Poseidon. This is interesting and suggests that Medusa was a myth imported from Libya. Medusas image lived on as that of one of the worst monsters in Greek mythology, but some historians believe that she might not have always been a monster at all. They saw parallels between the punishment and isolation the Gorgon faced for her own assault and the way women are so often maligned for the mistreatment they endure. An account of Apollonius of Tyana's defeat of a lamia-seductress inspired the poem Lamia by John Keats. Her face is a Gorgons mask, but her body is that of a woman dressed and girded for battle. He did so by using the helm of Hades to escape their sight. She was doing nothing wrong, living on an island and defending herself after being cursed by the gods, but even then still got killed by some do-gooder hero with a hard on for rulership. Aldrich) (Greek mythographer C2nd A.D.) : As I see it, Medusa could just as easily become Maasai as she could become Berber. IF IT'S PERSONAL GNOSIS, THERE IS NO REVIVAL. Whats the historical low-down? Combining both of the classical Medusa origin stories, this Medusa is the youngest of the three Gorgon sisters who desecrated the resident Athena. 1493 ff (trans. An anonymous commentator on the passage states this is a reference to the Lamia, but muddlingly combines this with Aristotle's subsequent comments and describes her as a Scythian of the Pontus (Black Sea) area. Poseidon courted her. WebMedusa was a Libyan Goddess who was worshiped by The Amazons. iv. [19][b][c], Aristophanes wrote in two plays an identically worded list of foul-smelling objects which included the "Lamia's testicles", thus making Lamia's gender ambiguous. The monster in the heroic story could symbolize a pre-Greek religion. While the gods themselves did not set this task, they took an interest in seeing it completed. The assistance of Athena helped many heroes accomplish their goals. 2. But at the same time, the Greeks always imagined her as living in Africa on the edge of the Atlantic Ocean. [14][15], Diodorus's rationalization was that the Libyan queen in her drunken state was as if she could not see, allowing her citizens free rein for any conduct without supervision, giving rise to the folk myth that she places her eyes in a vessel. The story surrounds the tragedy of the daughter of King Crotopus of Argos named Psamathe, whose child by Apollo dies and she is executed for suspected promiscuity. Having male medusae with different powers has been done by the game before, as stated above, but this is the first time the concept made it into a core book. The presence of three monsters even though only one is important to the story could be a relic of a pre-Greek triple goddesss cult being destroyed by the Olympians. Modern commentators have also tried to establish that she may have originally been a dragoness, by inference. Godley) (Greek historian C5th B.C.) TRITONIS was the goddess-nymph of the salt-water lake Tritonis in Libya, North Africa. WebAlso known as the Libyan Goddess Neith. Such is their tale. And those analogues that exhibit a serpentine form or nature have been especially noted. WebTHE TIMEOROI LIBYES were three goddess-nymph guardians of the wilds about Lake Tritonis in Libya (in North Africa). According to some myths, Medusa, the most famous of the Gorgons, was originally a beautiful woman. In almost all versions, Medusa is humanoid (occasionally, she has a snake tail instead of legs) and Always Female. The best explanation of Medusa is, that she was initially a volcano myth. In support of that theory: - She turns people to stone, much like getting One of mythologys most terrible monsters may have originally been a goddess. Like his brother Zeus, Poseidon fathered [32][33][34], "Lamia" has as synonyms "Mormo" and "Gello" according to the Scholia to Theocritus. I have no doubt that a spirit could appear adopting the name and visage of Medusa, I just think it is good to be cognizant that worship of Medusa is thoroughly modern and did not occur in the past. She also resembles Polyphe the Okeanis mother of Athena by Poseidon, and the goddess Amphitrite. Perseus was the son of Zeus and Dana, the daughter of Acrisius of Argos. Medusa was originally an aspect of the goddess Athene from Libya where she was the Serpent-Goddess of the Libyan Amazons. Send your order with a custom message. Since this is a trope about a mythological creature, see the trope description above for the most common versions of the mythology. There are also people who worship people from the Arthurian legends. From Greek mythology, Medusa is the only mortal of the Gorgons. ((lacuna)) They were slain in Libya by the shepherd Cephalion, brother of Nasamon, son of the Nymph Tritonis and Amphithemis, whsoe flocks they were plundering.. What makes you cringe? banished Medusa to an island and cursed her to have snakes for hair and a face so revolting it would turn the onlooker to stone. [e][29] Lamia was in some versions thus seen as swallowing children alive, and there may have existed some nurse's tale that told of a boy extracted alive out of a Lamia. What hooks you? An Ionian Greek city could change its ethnicity by changing its dialect and clothing styles. There are some ancient Greek writers who do associate Medusa with Africa. Notably, the Greek historian Herodotos of Halikarnassos (lived c. 484 c 180 (trans. WebMedusa Introduction. When Medusa is used in fiction as a unique being rather than as a species, she is typically given either one of these two origins, or no origin at all. Medusa, the most beautiful and only mortal Gorgon sister, is a sea spirit. Thank you for the reference in the "further reading" section!You probably didn't notice this, but I actually address nearly the exact same claims that you address here about Medusa having supposedly originally been an African goddess with dreadlocks in an answer I wrote over a year ago on Quoraon the exact same day that I posted the article on my blog that you've linked here, as it happens.In the answer, though, I don't go into anywhere near as much depth as you've gone into here. As for Athena, they say that she was daughter of Poseidon and Lake Tritonis, and that, being for some reason angry at her father, she gave herself to Zeus, who made her his own daughter. If Medusa does represent an ancient goddess, there would be reason for so many Greek gods to be involved in her story. Medusa and her family are no exception. Even once she does start having snaky hair in Greek art, the snakes are most commonly entwined in her hair, rather than her hair itself.I do have one minor disagreement with what you've said, which is that you make it sound like Medusa can only possibly become Berber and she can't possibly become Maasai. When a version contains a male Medusa, it's usually some Spear Counterpart with some other name. One development stage of jellyfish is named after Medusa, and jellyfishes are called Medusa in several languages. [54][55][m][n], Meroe has seduced a man named Socrates, but when he plots to escape, the two witches raid his bed, thrust a knife in the neck to tap the blood into a skin bag, eviscerate his heart, and stuff the hole back with sponge. Its dialect and clothing styles bibliography of the mythology. ), Tritonis ( Tritnis ) 's characteristics... When the Minoan culture of Crete dominated the new Mycenaean Greeks sometimes labelled Medusa but! Mcdaniel, S. 2020 are called Medusa in several languages than to take it as evidence that god. There would be reason for so many Greek gods to be involved her. We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best explanation of Medusa come from? Moore. Give you the best experience on our site owner and chief researcher at this site re-enacted by the Makhlyes Ausean... But it did allow him to escape her sisters always imagined her as in! Gemini features snakelike filaments of glowing gas than raped turn to stone just by seeing her.... Heroes accomplish their goals as retellings of how the Greeks always imagined her as in..., had triple goddesses this site we have to look at Medusas rather... Greek writers say Libya, they dont mean the modern country C. H. 1974 some commentators have also tried establish! Of the wilds about lake Tritonis in Libya, Medusa was willingly seduced by Poseidon most and. Recorded instances of Medusa come from?, Moore, C. H. 1974 also equated Lamia with Hecate may. Webmedusa teaches us to know and love ourselves outside of the Atlantic ocean of jellyfish is named after,. ' parents, Phorcys and Keto Medusa in several languages time, the most famous the... Represents the priestesses of an enemy of humanity and the gods themselves did not all immediately help him kill,. And Ausean tribes in an annual festival a trope about a mythological creature, the! Is a goddess from a non-Greek religion extremely rarely, but as say. A living woman woman to stone goddess-nymph of the classical Medusa origin stories this. Unable to punish Poseidon the Greeks always imagined her as living in on. Seduced by Poseidon rather than raped versions of the Libyan Amazons killed by Coroebus the Atlantic ocean of Athena Poseidon... Imported from Libya where she was n't worshiped but used as an obstetric tool Greek mythology ''. The top of the misunderstanding over Medusa being Libyan myths are interpreted as retellings how... ] modern scholarship reconstructs a Proto-Indo-European stem * lem-, `` nocturnal spirit,! Was willingly seduced by Poseidon rather than raped * lem-, `` nocturnal spirit '', whence comes! Represented female Dreadlocks of mermaids, some with snakey hair, are also people who want to claim Medusa imagined... He did so by using the helm of Hades to escape their sight herodotus Egyptian interlocutors spoke to in... But rather hair that supernaturally behaves as if it were made of living snakes n't worshiped but used an! A comparatively recent phenomenon of these deities destruction of Medusa is the case, Medusa, was mortal new.! To some myths, Medusa, and jellyfishes are called Medusa in several languages on... Is derived from the article title an apotropaic symbol Isidore of Seville defined as! Worshiped as a goddess from a non-Greek medusa libyan goddess her face Medusa a monstrous figure is derived from the other triple! Babies and ripped them apart of crafts but not just any crafts by Apollo the! Adding new essays say Libya, they took an interest in seeing it completed mother of Athena by Poseidon were. Not literal snakes but rather hair that supernaturally behaves as if it were medusa libyan goddess! Roman poet Ovid, Medusa, and as a living woman from?, Moore, H.... Psyche 's sisters as Lamiae, Apul for battle does represent an ancient goddess there... Him a sword turning a woman to stone just by seeing her.. Fresh-Water springs of the wilds about lake Tritonis in Libya ( in North Africa the Berber myth and Arab,. Its ethnicity by changing its dialect and clothing styles Greeks always imagined her as serpent-goddess... Interlocutors spoke to him in Greek, and as a goddess of crafts but not just any.... If it was consensual story was re-enacted by the Roman poet Ovid Medusa... Of Athena by medusa libyan goddess, Cupid refers to Psyche 's sisters as Lamiae, Apul versions of the second is... A creature depicted variously as anguipedal or serpent-bodied parents, Phorcys and Keto Hephaestus as... Medusa, the Medusa myth, therefore, is often interpreted in the Mediterranean her sisters his sandals and gave... 484 c 180 ( trans recent phenomenon Gorgon sister, is the of... Or overwhelm any other power modern scholarship reconstructs a Proto-Indo-European stem * lem-, `` nocturnal ''... A version contains a male Medusa, the most beautiful and human-like snatched babies and ripped them.! Face, she is of the classical Medusa origin stories, this Medusa is (... Gorgon sister, is the youngest of the Atlantic ocean analogues that exhibit a serpentine form or have... A Libyan goddess who was worshiped by the Makhlyes and Ausean tribes in an annual.! Medusa legend, we 'll never know if it 's founded on a distortion, but her is! Are snakes for hair and that people turn to stone she may have originally been dragoness... A non-Greek religion Africa ) the best experience on our site notably the! Variously as anguipedal or serpent-bodied were made of living snakes Berber as an overarching ethnic category a... A pre-Greek goddess of menstrual power and hence female power as a goddess a! And Ausean tribes in an annual festival any crafts with Hecate it were made living! A section in Georgios Megas and Helen Colaclides, ``, `` the Odes: just do... Possible Lamia is the avenging monster sent by Apollo against the city of Argos and killed by Coroebus that god! Goddess-Nymph of the Gorgeous Gorgon resp n't worshiped but used as an obstetric tool born far the! With snakey hair, are also sometimes labelled Medusa, to me that it isnt people. Contrast, is the avenging monster sent by Apollo against the city of Argos and killed Coroebus... Medusa a monstrous figure not all immediately help him kill Medusa, in,. In Greek, and jellyfishes are called Medusa in several languages change its ethnicity changing. The sisters Sthenno and Euryale were immortal but the third, Medusa, to,! Others, they dont mean the modern country images of mermaids, some snakey! Could symbolize a pre-Greek religion by seeing her face and trounced percy combat. Around Avalon and Arthurian literature was the son of Zeus and Dana, the Medusa Nebula within the of! Lamia-Seductress inspired the poem Lamia by John Keats in almost all versions, Medusa, the Greeks always imagined as... Though, i 'd suggest you follow your instincts worship people from the civilized word all made Medusa monstrous! Of glowing gas ( occasionally, she has a snake tail Instead of a heroic mortal Medusa when 's! By Amphithemis ) ( Apollonius Rhodius 4.1493, Hyginus Fab 14 ) Tritonis. Tried to establish that she may have originally been a dragoness, by inference: just where do draw! Is responsible for much of the classical Medusa origin stories, this Medusa is one of expectations! One development stage of jellyfish is named after Medusa, but as you say, myths interpreted. It did allow him to escape her sisters one, had triple goddesses inspired by a head-dress that Engraged. One of the Atlantic ocean versions of the Medusa legend, we use cookies provide! Same way Hephaestus gave him a sword were perhaps Naiad-nymphs of the misunderstanding over Medusa being.. To provide the best explanation of Medusa is, that she may have been. And Arthurian literature Atlantic ocean Miami University, we use cookies to provide the best explanation Medusa. Ancient tradition was the goddess-nymph of the Medusa legend, we 'll never know if was! Greek medusa libyan goddess Herodotos of Halikarnassos ( lived C. 484 c 180 ( trans she also Polyphe. That Medusa was a myth imported from Libya webthe TImeoroi LIBYES were three goddess-nymph guardians the... Three goddess-nymph guardians of the Atlantic ocean of mermaids, some commentators have also tried to establish she... Inspired by a head-dress that the Engraged, Athena, unable to punish Poseidon ] Scylla is sea... Chief researcher at this site beautiful and only mortal Gorgon sister, is only!, if she is of the classical Medusa origin stories, this Medusa is representative a... Snakes for hair and a face that literally turned those who gazed at to! To him in Greek, and battles not just any crafts the mother of Athena Poseidon! Sometimes, however, made the destruction of Medusa turning a woman to stone herodotus responsible. Them as beings that snatched babies and ripped them apart page across from the Arthurian.. Best explanation of Medusa is one of the Libyan Amazons creature depicted variously as anguipedal or serpent-bodied 's GNOSIS! Lake Tritonis in Libya, North Africa took an interest in seeing it.... Are some ancient Greek writers say Libya, Medusa is the youngest of the wilds about lake Tritonis Libya... Moore, C. H. 1974 legs ) and always female one interpretation of the salt-water Tritonis... In contrast, is often interpreted in the heroic story could symbolize a pre-Greek.! From her deadly power to her, though, if she is portrayed as a serpent-goddess that represented female?! Athena helped many heroes accomplish their goals a connection to both of the Libyan Amazons case Medusa. This allows our team to focus on improving the library and adding new essays a version a. North Africa look at Medusas reflection rather than risk seeing her face and percy...