Greek Mythology: The Story Of Medusa And Perseus

The story of Medusa and Perseus is known as one of the top thriller tales in Greek Mythology. To begin, Medusa is one of three sisters, Sthenno and Euryale. However, she is the only mortal one. Originally, Medusa had golden, long, beautiful hair. She was Athena’s Priestess and swore to a celibate life. Later on, Medusa met Poseidon, fell in love with him and completely forgot about her vows to Athena. The Goddess Athena was so infuriated that she turned Medusa into a hideous looking monster. Her golden locks became venomous snakes and her face became so grotesque that any God or immortal to look into her eyes would become a statue of stone. Athena did this so Medusa would not attract any man. The same came for her sisters because Poseidon

too charmed them. They were so outraged with Athena and everyone else that they sought out for solitude in a deserted Greek outpost near Libya. Later on, Perseus came in search for Medusa to cut her head off and use as a so-called gift.
Perseus is a Demi-God and is known for beheading Medusa.

His grandfather, is King of Argos, his name is Acrisius. Acrisius had a daughter named Danae, however he wanted a son. So in search for an answer towards having a son, Acrisius went to the Oracle of Delphi. The Oracle said that Acrisius’ daughter, Danae would be the one to carry a baby boy, but this child would kill Acrisius. To avoid his own death, Acrisius created an underground chamber to lock his daughter in, therefore, she would be unable to conceive a child. Little did Acrisius know that Zeus would shape shift into golden rain and conceive a child with Danae. Naturally, Danae gave birth to Perseus. When she was let out of this underground chamber Danae met Polydectes. Polydectes was determined to make Danae his wife and that is exactly what happened. Perseus was unable to grant his mother and Polydectes a gift, so he was told to bring back Medusa’s head. Perseus was successful in retrieving Medusa’s head. On his journey back home he met a beautiful Goddess who was in distress. Perseus saved her from a horrific sea monster and they instantly fell in love and wanted to be joined together in holy matrimony. However, Andromeda’s uncle was no too pleased with this decision. He wanted Andromeda only for himself. Therefore he planned to murder Perseus but was unsuccessful since Perseus had the advantage of Medusa’s head. Perseus showed Andromeda’s uncle Medusa’s face and he then was turned to stone. When he returned home with the gift, he found out Polydectes was abusing his mother. Instead of giving him the present he used it against Polydectes and turned him to stone as well. Acrisius became aware of what Perseus was capable of doing so he decided to flee. Although that didn’t help as much as he believed it would. Perseus and his grandfather ran into each other at the Games Ceremony, in Larissa. When Perseus went to throw the discus it slipped from his grasp and clashed into his grandfather’s head, killing

him. When Perseus realized what had occurred he was extremely saddened and decided to bury his grandfather in honor.
Perseus went on a journey to behead Medusa as a gift for his mother’s wedding with Polydectes. He asked for help from Athena and was able to utilize items that would come to great use for his murderous journey. He received the Helmet of Hades, that made him invisible, a magic bag to place Medusa’s head in, winged sandals to fly him to the Gorgons home, a glittering shield to look at Medusa without being turned to stone, and a sharp sword that would cut through Medusa’s neck leaving her without a head. When Perseus reached the Gorgons’ home he was able to take off Medusa’s head and escape from her sisters. However it is said that from the drops of blood that came from Medusa’s beheading, two offspring were created, Chrysaor a giant winged boar, and Pegasus, a winged horse. It’s believed that these were Medusa’s children with Poseidon. In other versions of this story it is said that Perseus then rode off on Pegasus. There are many modern day versions of this famous story. Two examples are the movies “Clash of the Titans” and “Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief”