by Max Teslya

Created on: September 10, 2010

Mighty heroes of Ancient Greek Mythology received great fame and fortune by slaying hideous and terrifying creatures. One of the most horrible beasts is the dreaded archer, Medusa. Many brave warriors went to her cave and challenged her, but all but one glorious victor died at the hands of this powerful and skillful fiend.

In mythology, Medusa is depicted as a grotesque creature. From the waist down, Medusa has a snake tail to slither with. Her torso is that of a woman’s, and she has a human head with multiple snakes instead of hair. As well as being a deadly archer, her eyes have the power of turning anyone who looks into them into a stone statue. Despite her killer looks, she was not always a horrid monster. When she was a young maiden, Medusa was so beautiful and lovely, that even the sea god, Poseidon, couldn’t help but fall in love with her. Wanting to be with Medusa, Poseidon presented himself to her and asked if she would like to be with him forever. Medusa accepted and the couple began their life together. They were happy together, and life was perfect, but one day they made love in the temple of Athena. The goddess was so displeased that in a fit of rage, she cursed Medusa and turned her into a snake-woman hybrid with the eyes of death. Stricken with grief at her appearance, Medusa went to Poseidon for help. But the god of the sea could not bear the sight of her, and made her leave and never return.

For years Medusa lived in her cave turning to stone anyone who was unfortunate enough to look into her eyes. One day, the great hero Perseus heard of the evil Medusa and went to kill her. Arriving at the cave with a small force of twenty men, Perseus led his small army inside to claim their prize. The battle was gruesome and bloody and only Perseus survived. But he had won and with him carried to head of Medusa. Learning the decapitated head of Medusa still had the power of turning men to stone, he used the head in many battles to strike fear into his enemies’ hearts. When Perseus was king and none opposed him, he gave the head to Athena as thanks for her guidance throughout his journey.

Athena used the head of Medusa and had it forged onto her shield. Although it wasn’t able to turn men to stone, Athena’s shield, now called the Aegis, stroke fear into all those who saw it.

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