Greek Mythology and Medusa

Medusa (Ugly Dussy) Gorgon, age 156, from the city of Ancient Greece, passed away on October 31, 1955 B.c when Percy beheaded her with his sword riptide.

The Greek mythology presents Medusa as a monster, with the power to turn anyone who looks into her eyes to stone and with snakes that replicate her hair. But, in the poem by Mary Sarton “The Muse As Medusa” we see an incomparable image of Medusa to the Greek mythology. In this poem Medusa helps the speaker through a difficult time. The speaker depicts herself through her poem as someone who is lost, sad and defeated by the world around her. The speaker sees herself in Medusa, where they are both misinterpreted by the world around them. Medusa being powerful is able to cope with the world's misconception of her and shows the speaker how that's possible. The speaker takes into account how the world is the one that misinterpreted them and

As a resident on Mount Olympus, Athena rightfully represents both intelligence and strategy (Grant, Hazel 83). Symbols that identify with the goddess include the owl for wisdom and the olive

She has no chance of being a hero because she acts out of hurt in her marriage and love turned to hate. She decides to murder the princess, her children, and leave Jason alone. The power Medea takes may be considered severe, yet she has made the decision not to be a silent wife who does what her husband tells her to do. David M. Schaps writes, “As Medea sees it-or at least as she presents it-her problems are all based in the fact that she is a woman. Because she is a woman she is powerless; because she is a woman she is peculiarly vulnerable in matters of love; because she is a woman she

There are many different ways the story of Perseus and Medusa are told. One of the ways that is told is that, Acrisius was the king of Argos, the oracle of Delphi told the king that his daughter Danae’s son will one day kill him. Acrisius couldn’t let that happen. Acrisius was scared, so he deprived his daughter with any possible contact with outside world by, locking her in a bronze tower. The tower only had a small

this way because of how Jason lacked respect for her and drove her to do the horrendous actions. Medea lashing out on Jason further proves the fact that she is her own woman, and becomes the first symbol of feminism in the Greek culture. Another example of Medea’s

Medusa was a murder victim. Medusa’s head was looked at as a treaured item, her eyes would turn people into stone. Perseus, Zeus’s son, a Greek hero, and a monster slayer was sent on a mission. Perseus’ mission was to chop Medusa’s head off to use her eyes to

Medea questions the firmly held belief in Greek society that women are weak and passive. Wanting revenge on Jason for his betrayal of her, Medea must take control of the situation, a stereotypical masculine quality. Though she cannot become a man or take power like a man, she perceives her

An alternative version of this myth, includes Poseidon. Here Medusa was a beautiful maiden, envy of every women and desired by every man around, her hair was the loveliest. She was a priestess of Athena. Medusa "it's said, was violated in Minerva's shine by Ocean's lord. Jove's daughter turned away and covered with her shield her virgin's eyes and then for fitting punishment transformed The Gorgon's lovely hair to loathsome snakes. Minerva still, to strike her foes with dread, upon her breastplate wears the snakes she made"(Ovid, page 98). It is not entirely clear if she was violated or if she consented. Either way, she was punished for committing a crime because Athena is a virgin goddess, so all her priestesses have to remain virgin too.

Commonly considered one of Euripides greatest pieces, Medea is an insightful depiction of how a woman’s love for her husband, churns into a gruesome revenge scheme against him. This tragedy illustrates a tale of a woman who challenges Greek societal norms. In the era that the story takes place; women are often seen in submissive roles. However, the play’s main character, Medea, challenges their customs through her actions against the Kingdom of Corinth and Jason.

Medea accomplished that by giving birth to two children for Jason. As the play slowly unraveled, it plainly displayed that she was faithful towards her husband, but being an ideal Greek wife was not her factual nature. She was independent and her qualities made her different from the Corinth women. In the opening sequence, the nurse introduced Medea as a frightening woman when someone wronged her. “Her temperaments are dangerous and will not tolerate bad treatment. For she is fearsome. No one who joins in conflict with her will celebrate an easy victory”, the nurse presented (page 2, line). From this, the reader can envision how ordinary other Greek women were. How they didn’t have a mind of their own and were defenseless towards those shabby treatments from men. These women were submissive and didn’t have any control over their lives. However, the protagonist Medea did. She took matters in her own hands when her husband betrayed her.

revenge on Jason by any means possible. Euripides voiced the fear of her cunning mind through Kreon when he said "I am afraid of you [...] Afraid that you may injure my daughter mortally. [...] You are a clever woman, versed in evil arts, and are angry at having lost your husband's love." (280-284, pg 622) The fact that a male character would say something of this caliber says something about the roles of women during this time. Even though they are still seen as second class citizens to the men, a smart woman is feared. Ultimately Medea's strength is tested and she becomes crazed with

The poem Medusa explores the theme of jealousy and anger; the poet illustrates this using the extended metaphor of a Greek mythological creature Medusa, whose story describes her as a beautiful maiden that is turned into a hideous creature after being raped by Poseidon. The poet furthermore links this metaphor to the theme of feminism when she describes the women in the poem overpowering the man that hurt her.

Amongst Euripides' most famous plays, Medea went against the audience's expectations at his time. Indeed, the main character of the play is Medea, a strong independent female who neglected moral and . She was therefore in all ways different to how women were perceived in Ancient Greece. This essay will explore how Euripides' controversial characters demonstrate that his views were ahead of his time.

Poseidon became infatuated with Medusa, he seduced her into the temple of Athena (goddess of wisdom). Because of this, Athena became infuriated and took her anger out on Medusa. She was so angry that she turned the maiden into a Gorgon, a terrifying female creature with hairs of venomous snakes and whose glance will turn a person to stone.