Many people have heard about Medusa and her tragic tale but not much is known about the Gorgon herself. Her story may be well known across the world but she wasn’t featured much in anything else which makes the information on her incredibly scarce.
Never fear though as we’ve got your back. Here are the 13 most frequently asked questions about Medusa that you probably can’t find an answer to.
Was Medusa Immortal?
Medusa was born to the Primordial Gods, Phorcys and Keto, and her sisters were the siblings were immortals. Oddly enough, Medusa herself was mortal and was killed by the hero, Perseus, on his mission given by the King of Seriphos.
It was never explained why Medusa was not immortal but it was known that she wasn’t a God either as she was never worshipped as one. She was in-fact a cousin to the Titans, who were immortal themselves, and a priestess to Athena, the Goddess of Wisdom.
Was Medusa Powerful/Dangerous?
Contrary to the belief, even though Medusa was a monster after her transformation into a half-snake half-human hybrid, she wasn’t any strong nor any more powerful. She was still mortal and was never depicted as a powerful being.
The only “powers” she had was her petrifying gaze which was actually a curse given to her by the Goddess, Athena. She and her sisters were so hideous that their gaze alone could turn any man into stone.
Who Was Medusa Related to?
Medusa was related to the Primordial Gods by her parentage as she was the daughter of Phorcys and Keto.
This made her a cousin to the Titans and a predecessor to the Olympians but she was the only one among the direct family to be a mortal for unknown reasons.
What Did Medusa Look Like?
The Gorgon was once a beautiful woman that looked like a normal human though she descended from the Gods. After her transformation into a monster, her form changed dramatically into a human-snake hybrid.
Athena’s curse turned her luscious locks of hair into snakes while retaining most of her humanoid form except for her prolonged fangs, gigantic eyes, protruding tongue, and two wings sprouting from her back.
According to some sources, Medusa was said to have bronze hands and golden wings and her face was extremely hideous. Contrary to popular belief, Medusa never had a snake body and retained use of her legs.
Modern portrayals of Medusa tend to show her as a half-serpent half-human but the only part that turned into snakes, literally, was her hair.
What Was Medusa’s Weakness?
Many people believed that Medusa’s weakness was her own petrifying gaze as modern depictions usually show the Gorgon petrifying herself due to Perseus reflecting her sight with Athena’s bronze Aegis.
This is actually false as Greek mythology never stated that she died to her own petrifying gaze but Perseus did indeed decapitate her. Her gaze was said to only have affected men so it would not petrify her.
The only weakness she had was that anyone with a reflective surface could easily approach her without being petrified themselves. Medusa was never said to be strong or powerful as a Gorgon, so her strength was as normal as any woman.
What Was Medusa’s Weapon?
Modern depictions often show Medusa wielding a bow against the hero, Perseus. In truth, the Gorgon never wielded a weapon as she was never a violent being in Greek mythology. The fact that Perseus decapitated her in her sleep proves this.
Why Did Perseus Needed Medusa’s Head?
Polydectes, the King of Seriphos, wanted to marry Perseus’ mother, Danae, who insisted on rejecting the King’s advances onto her. Perseus was a hero and was very protective of his mother so Polydectes had to get rid of him before doing anything to her.
To do so, Polydectes pretended to propose to Hippodameia and asked every citizen of Seriphos to bring him a horse as a gift. Perseus couldn’t do so but promised the King that he could bring anything else in the world to him.
Polydectes decided on a task that he believed was impossible to get rid of Perseus. He asked Perseus to bring him Medusa’s head in hopes that the Gorgon would petrify him and remove the hero out of the King’s way.
Unfortunately for Polydectes, Perseus enlisted the help of Athena who gave him a reflective shield which prevented Perseus from looking directly at Medusa. Needless to say that the King’s plans were foiled when Perseus returned with Medusa’s head.
Why Did Medusa’s Eyes Turn Humans to Stone?
Many believed that Medusa’s petrifying gaze was a power she had but in reality, it was a curse given to her by the Goddess of Wisdom, Athena, for defiling her Temple. The curse turned any man that looked at her into stone due to her hideous face and piercing gaze.
The reason why Athena did this was that Medusa was raped by Poseidon in her temple but she got mad at her for disrespecting the Goddess. Making her gaze petrify any man would ensure that Medusa would be alone forever, never to see a man ever again.
Why Did Athena Punish Medusa and Not Poseidon?
The question always comes to mind whenever the story of Medusa is told as the Goddess of Wisdom was thought to be wise and fair. Unfortunately, the Gods of the Greek pantheon were often horrible Gods who were worshipped for their strength.
Athena was indeed wise but she wasn’t foolish enough to go against the likes of Poseidon who was an original Olympian and the God of the Sea. When the God decided to rape Medusa in Athena’s temple, the Goddess couldn’t punish him even if she tried.
Instead, she blamed the mortal Medusa as she knew that Medusa didn’t have a way to retaliate. Overall, even the Goddess of Wisdom was terrible at her job and Medusa was just another victim to the Olympian Gods.
Who Was Medusa to Poseidon?
Poseidon only saw Medusa as a woman that he wanted to bed and nothing more than that. Medusa was a very beautiful woman before her horrifying transformation and even the Gods were attracted to her charm.
They had no direct relationship with each other until the God decided to rape the priestess of Athena in the Goddess’ own temple.
What Was Medusa’s Personality Like?
Not much was known about Medusa’s personality other than the fact that she was very proud and boastful about her beauty. She charmed even the Gods and she wasn’t afraid to flaunt herself which led to her defilement by Poseidon.
It could be said that she and her sisters did care a little about others as they secluded themselves from the others after their transformation into monsters. They knew that their gaze would petrify any man who dared lay eyes on them and decided to stay away from society.
What Did Medusa Eat?
Though Medusa was a beast after her transformation, her appetite stayed the same as before her transformation. She ate just like any mortal did and didn’t eat men as some depictions of her would accuse her of.
Some question whether or not her hair needed to eat as they were turned into snakes. Her transmogrified hair was nothing but a curse and needed no sustenance to sustain itself. Even if it did, it would likely be from Medusa’s diet and not an external source.
Did Medusa Marry Poseidon?
No, Medusa never married Poseidon despite the fact that the God of the Sea raped her. As previously mentioned, the Greek Gods were terrible beings and the God of the Sea only wanted to bed the mortal for her beauty.
Some believed that her incident with Poseidon made Medusa his queen but that is far from true.
Conclusion
And there you go. Some frequently asked questions about the Gorgon, Medusa, that you probably can’t find an answer on. The Gorgon was talked about much other than her incident with Poseidon and Perseus so not much was known about her.
People before may have thought of Medusa as a heartless monster for turning people into stone but she never had the intention to do so. She was cursed by the Goddess, Athena, with a petrifying gaze but she tried her best to seclude herself from society.
The story of Medusa was a tragedy for sure with the priestess of Athena being nothing but a victim of the Greek Gods.
