by Daryl Bagley

Created on: May 24, 2009   Last Updated: May 07, 2010

Gaia, the Earth, and Okeanos, the ocean, gave birth to Phorkys and Keto, who in turn gave birth to Medusa and her two sisters, Sthenno and Euryale, known as the gorgons. Out of the three sisters, Medusa was the only mortal.

One version of the story says that Medusa was beautiful, and attracted the eyes of many men. One of these men was the god of the sea, Poseidon. Medusa was a priestess for Athena. When Poseidon found her alone in the temple, they laid together. In doing so, they angered Athena, and because Athena was too weak to fight Poseidon, see took her anger out on the Gorgons. She turned their skin to scales and she made their hair snakes, making Medusa so hideous that anyone who looked directly into her eyes became petrified.

Another lesser known version of the story is that Medusa was a mortal with equal beauty to Athena. Medusa lived up in the north where the sun never came, and out of curiosity she wanted to see the sun. When she asked Athena for permission, Athena said no. Medusa then claimed that Athena was jealous of her beauty, angering Athena. In her anger, Athena then turned Medusa and her sisters into monsters with scales for skin and snakes for hair that would petrify anyone who looked directly at them.

Either way, Medusa angered Athena, so Athena made the Gorgons into hideous, person-petrifying monsters.

In most versions of the story, Medusa was killed by the Perseus, who was sent to fetch her head by King Polydectes of Seriphus as a gift. King Polydectes was holding Perseus’ mother, and would only let her free for the head of Medusa. Athena and Hermes supplied him with winged sandals, Hades' cap of invisibility, a sword, and a mirrored shield. He accomplished his quest by looking at Medusa’s reflection in the mirrored shield instead of directly at her to prevent being petrified. When Perseus cut off Medusa’s head, the winged horse Pegasus and the golden giant Chrysaor came from her neck in a similar way to Athena coming out of Zeus’s neck. Afterwards, Perseus used Medusa’s head as a weapon, until he finally gave the statue to Athena as tribute.

In the popular book, The Lightning Thief, by Rick Riordan, the main character, Perseus “Percy” Jackson, slays Medusa in a similar way to his namesake. Percy Jackson wanders into a food place owned by Aunty Em, who’s Medusa in disguise. After killing Medusa, Percy sends her head to his dad Poseidon. Once Poseidon gives the head back, Percy gives it to his mom to use on her obnoxious husband.

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