Medusa, in Greek mythology, the most famous of the monster figures known as Gorgons. She was usually represented as a winged female creature having a head of hair consisting of snakes; unlike the Gorgons, she was sometimes represented as very beautiful.
were three monsters, the sisters Stheno, Eurayle and Medusa. On their heads grew coiling and hissing snakes. Their teeth were giant boar tusks, their hands were made of bronze and they had wings of gold.
Indeed, she is portrayed as a peacefully sleeping human figure—only her wings suggest that she is a supernatural creature.
Medusa was one of three fearsome Gorgon sisters who lived far away in a secret hiding place. The sisters had brass claws, golden wings, boars' tusks, and masses of hissing snakes for hair. Anyone who looked into their frightful faces instantly turned into stone.
As seen in Percy Jackson's Greek Gods, Medusa used to be a beautiful woman. After Athena cursed her, however, Medusa was transformed into a tall woman with slithering green vipers for hair (which gave off a nauseating "reptilian smell"), long hands with sharp brass talons, and bat-shaped wings of Imperial Gold.
Medusa is generally described as a human female with living venomous snakes in place of hair; those who gazed into her eyes would turn to stone. Most sources describe her as the daughter of Phorcys and Ceto, although the author Hyginus makes her the daughter of Gorgon and Ceto.
Medusa was very proud of her beauty and thought or spoke only of herself. Each day she boasted of how pretty she was. Medusa even boasted that she was prettier than Athena, goddess of wisdom, who watched over Athens.
In the original story, the Medusa was a beautiful woman who held a very positive role. Tragedy fell upon her when she was confronted with endless hardships brought upon by male actions. Medusa was a beautiful woman who was raped, killed and beheaded by various gods.
Nike was the winged goddess of victory. Athletes who wanted to win worshipped her.
Medusa is a figure from Greek mythology, the only mortal of the three Gorgons, along with her immortal sisters, Stheno and Euryale.
What does the Medusa tattoo mean? “The Medusa tattoo can mean many things, but it's generally a symbol of survival, strength, and overcoming assault,” says tattoo artist Ruby Rose. “Medusa has become a figure of protection to women who have experienced sexual assault or assault on some level, particularly by men.”
Poseidon was enamored by Medusa's beauty, and Medusa returned the same feelings. Medusa and Poseidon engaged in a love affair and would have two children together, but not before Athena discovered the illicit affair.
Legend states that Medusa was once a beautiful, avowed priestess of Athena who was cursed for breaking her vow of celibacy. She is not considered a goddess or Olympian, but some variations on her legend say she consorted with one. When Medusa had an affair with the sea god Poseidon, Athena punished her.
Her beauty caught the eye of the sea god Poseidon, who proceeded to rape her in the sacred temple of Athena. Furious at the desecration of her temple, Athena transformed Medusa into a monster with the deadly capacity to turn whoever looked upon her face to stone.
As one of the Gorgon sisters, she was originally a golden-haired, fair maiden, beautiful and kind-natured. Medusa devoted herself to a life of celibacy in the name of her goddess, Athena.
A 450–440 BCE red figure pelike container is among the earliest depictions of Medusa as an innocent maiden, with Perseus creeping up on the sleeping Gorgon.
After her curse, Medusa is often described as having huge fanged teeth, a snake-like tongue, clawed hands, a hideous face, and hair made of writhing snakes. In some stories Medusa incurred Athena's wrath by bragging about her beauty but, either way, it was a steep price for Medusa to pay.
The savage appearance of the snake-haired demoness gives women the ability to turn their gear into power, and she simultaneously symbolizes the protector of women. At the end of past mythologies, Medusa's head is set on Athena's shield, and her head retains the ability to turn onlookers to stone.
And when Medusa reached the altar, she sighed happily and said, “My, this is a beautiful temple. It is a shame it was wasted on Athena, for I am so much prettier than she is—perhaps someday people will build an even grander temple to my beauty.” Medusa's friends grew pale. The priestesses who overheard Medusa gasped.
In fact, Athena was jealous of Medusa's beauty and lustrous hair. Poseidon ravaged her and took what she held dearly, her purity. Athena, outraged by this incident, cursed Medusa and turned her wonderful hair into venomous snakes, her beautiful face turned so ugly that any man who gazed upon would turn to stone.
And when Medusa reached the altar she sighed happily and said, “My this is a beautiful temple. It is a shame it was wasted on Athena for I am so much prettier than she is – perhaps some day people will build an even grander temple to my beauty.”
So, when Poseidon raped Medusa she became pregnant. When her head was chopped off by Perseus, her children came to be. Pegasus and Chrysaor sprung from the severed neck of Medusa. Pegasus is also one of the most famous characters in Greek mythology, the winged white horse.
Medusa has recently wed Black Bolt, thus becoming the queen of the Inhumans, after the customary several year royal engagement period was over. She and Black Bolt are expecting a child. Height: 5 ft. 11 in.
Medusa is told in the first person as a dramatic monologue by a seemingly insecure woman. She's worried that her husband is cheating on her. The poem begins: 'A suspicion, a doubt, a jealousy'; it is this jealousy which has turned the woman into a monster. Now, everything she looks at turns to stone.