The Rise of Gorgons by au-designcenter

THE RISE OF THE

GORGONS

THE RISE OF THE GORGONS The Story & The Myth

PREFACE Medusa has haunted the cultural imagination since Perseus cut off her head in Ovid’s Metamorphoses. Read sometimes as representative of castration anxiety and toxic usurpation of male authority, or alternately as a symbol of lost goddess culture and feminist resistance, Medusa’s meaning shifts depending on the ideological lexicon of the interpreter. In this respect, Medusa, like all cultural myths, functions as a mirror of the values and beliefs of the culture in which she is produced and interpreted. What, then, do contemporary representations of Medusa one of the “saddest” women of mythreflect about Western attitudes toward female authority and sexuality? For most, Medusa’s name invokes the image of a green-faced, snaky-haired monster who turns men naïve enough to look upon her to stone. Immortalized in popular culture, she trolls’ sci fi and fantasy literature, comics, television shows, film, and gaming culture. In

addition to appearing in a number of independent and low-budget films and television series, she has also “starred” in three feature-length Hollywood blockbusters: as a stop-motion animated foe in Clash of the Titans (1981), played by a Russian supermodel in the remake of Clash (2010), and resurrected by femme fatale Uma Thurman in Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Lightning Thief (2010) Most recently, Medusa graced the 2013 cover of the 25° anniversary edition of GQ, this time impersonated by pop icon and “bad girl” herself. Rihanna, Given Medusa’s misogynistic past, her contemporary appropriation is worthy of feminist analysis.”

CONTENTS 01. Introduction 01-03 02. The Story 04-16 03. The Myths 17-29 04. Medusa In Today’s Culture 30-69 Acknowledgement Bibliography

INTRODUCTION

I have made a study of this and several other medusas and, hence, am able to tell you a little about them. —

Charles G. Finney, The Greta of Or. Lao, 1935

Throughout human history, monsters

The majority of Greek hybrid beings were imagined as female, blending the human female form with elements from animals such as snakes, birds, lions, dogs, and fish. Most were also related by parentage or common ancestry and symbolized a primordial, grisly vision of the terror of the sea. Gorgon, an enigmatic mythic creature, is mainly known as a hideous female monster who was beheaded by Perseus. However, the same monster appears as a beautiful maiden in later tradition both in myths and art, but the reasons for this transformation are still debated.

have emerged as figments of the imagination in various cultures. These fearsome supernatural beings, often in form, share many characteristics: they are usually gigantic, malevolent, and violent, and frequently reptilian, ugly, or bizarre-looking. They devour humans and live in remote places such as caves or the depths of lakes. A metaphor for nature’s threatening forces, they can also symbolize innate human fears and anxieties, sexual aggression, and guilt. Often described as monsters or demons, a wide repertoire of theriomorphic creatures— combining animal parts with human features and fantastical appendages—was introduced to the Greek world from the Near East and Egypt during the late eighth and seventh centuries B.C. Imbued with protective powers, these figures functioned as apo tropaia, or talismans that turn away evil, and as such were frequently employed on sepulchral monuments, sacred architecture, military equipment, drinking vessels, and the luxury arts.

In this paper, this book will be an attempt to reconsider the concept of Medusa Gorgon and to explore the role of the religious traditions of the Western Greeks in the formation of the image of beautiful Gorgon in Classical Greek iconography and mythology.

Phorkys and Keto, sea deities and children of the god Pontos (Ocean), bore the three Gorgons; the three Graiai ; the sirens; and the dreadful Echidna, half woman and half-snake, who in turn mothered Scylla, the Harpies, and Hydra. Reshuffling what was familiar, hybrids represented all that was alien, the “Other.” Morphological oddities such as hybrids were considered anomalies in ancient Greece and, thus, of a destructive nature. At the same time,

in a society cantered on the male citizen, the feminization of monsters served to demonize women. Wronged by men and overcome with rage and desperation, heroines of ancient Greek drama such as Clytemnestra and Medea commit monstrous acts and were judged deviant females who threatened cultured society. For this reason, tragedians often compared them to Medusa and other female monsters and beasts.

Beginning in the fifth century B.C., as the grotesque monsters of the Archaic period were rethought, rationalized, and humanized, their animalistic features were progressively softened, and female hybrids became more beautiful in appearance, or, in the words of classicist Susan Woodford, “aesthetically improved to suit the sensibilities of the classical period,” when ugliness was largely avoided. In ancient Greece, the concept of beauty, whether of animate beings or inanimate objects, was understood as harmony and proportion among constituent parts. A beautiful form delighted the senses. Physical beauty was always connected with goodness of character—the Greek ideal of kalokagathia—and since it was thought that character was reflected in one’s physiognomy, physical ugliness connoted moral ugliness. In his Poetics, Aristotle argued that it is possible to make beautiful imitations of ugly things. It is precisely the power of art to portray ugly and horrible creatures in a beautiful way that renders their ugliness acceptable, even pleasurable. This connection of beauty with horror, embodied above all in the figure of Medusa, outlived antiquity and continued to fascinate and inspire artists for centuries. Medusa, in effect, became the archetypal femme

fatale: a conflation of femininity, erotic desire, violence, and death. Beauty, like monstrosity, enthrals, and female beauty in particular was perceived—and, to a certain extent, is still perceived—to be both enchanting and dangerous, or even fatal. In this sense, even Helen of Troy, considered the personification of ideal beauty, was deemed responsible, albeit inadvertently, for the Trojan War and the ultimate destruction of Troy.

THE STORY

The Gorgon was a maiden bold Who turned to stone the Greeks of old That looked upon her awful brow. We dig them out of ruins now; And swear that workmanship so bad Proves all the ancient sculptors mad. — Ambrose Bierce,

The Devil’s Dictionary, 1911

Hamilton’s Mythology: Timeless Tales of Gods and Heroes have become standard textbooks in many middle-school and high-school curricula. Both of these books include detailed versions of Medusa’s story. The original version of Hamilton’s book even used the Gorgon as its cover image. Glaring balefully outward, Medusa thus became the face of Greek mythology for generations of students.

Gorgon, an enigmatic mythic creature, is mainly known as a hideous female monster who was beheaded by Perseus. However, the same monster appears as a beautiful maiden in later tradition both in myths and art, but the reasons for this transformation are still debated. In this paper, this book will be an attempt to reconsider the concept of Medusa Gorgon and to explore the role of the religious traditions of the Western Greeks in the formation of the image of beautiful Gorgon in Classical Greek iconography and mythology.

Yet there are deeper reasons for the Gorgon’s prominence. Medusa is not merely frightening; she is also a rich character with a tragic history. Even better, her tale includes all the elements of great fiction. Birth, death, betrayal, revenge, love, and loss are all wrapped into Medusa’s life story. The result is that people sim ply cannot forget this captivating legend-or its vile villainess. Monstrous and monstrously memorable, the Gorgon Medusa will surely slither her way through the world of mythology for many centuries yet to come.

Nearly everyone can name the beast described in this story. The serpent-haired horror is Medusa, a character who figured prominently in the mythology of ancient Greece. Also known as the Gorgon, this fiend has been scaring people for nearly 3,000 years-and she shows no sign of stopping. Today, as in cons past, Medusa holds a place as one of the best-known icons in all of mythology. There is at least one practical reason for Medusa’s recent popularity. Two important mythology collections, Thomas Bulfinch’s Mythology (1855) and Edith 04

The Gorgon's story starts literally at the dawn of creation, when the earth goddess Gaia emerged from Chaos. Alone and lonely, Gaia created several other gods to keep her company. She took the sea god, Pontus, as her companion. Many children arose from the union of Gaia and Pontus. Two of these children were named Phorkys and Ketoand these two were a terrifying pair indeed. Phorkys was a red-skinned merman with a scaly tail and lobster-like feet and horns. His sister Keto appeared more human, but she kept fearsome company. As the goddess of whales, large sharks, and sea monsters, Keto personified the ocean's most dangerous residents.

INTRODUCTION TO THE FAMILY Although they were siblings, Phorkys and Keto wed. Together they produced many offspring who, not surprisingly, were nearly as monstrous as their parents. One child, Echidna, was half nymph and half viper. She became known as "the mother of All Monsters" because she gave birth to so many other horrible creatures. Another child, Ladon, was a snake-like dragon who guarded a mythological orchard. A set of triplets Graeae called the were also the children of Phorkys and Keto. Sometimes called the grey sisters or the grey witches, these goddesses were broken-down old women even at birth. They lived together beyond the boundaries of the human world. Forced to share a single tooth and eye, the sisters bickered constantly about whose turn it was to see and eat.

LADON

Graeae

The Graeae were not the only triplets in the family. A much more frightening trio of sisters lived nearby. Named Euryale (which means “Far Roaming”), Sthenno (which means “Forceful”), and Medusa (which means “Guardian”), this group was infinitely more intimidating than the elderly, hapless Graeae. Known collectively as the Gorgons, these sisters were truly monstrous in appearance. They were also angry and vicious, and they had terrifying supernatural abilities. With these traits, the Gorgons added a touch of true horror to the family tree.

THE GORGONS

TURNING INTO HORRIBLE MONSTER Two of the Gorgons, Euryale and Sthenno, were awful creatures from the moment of their birth. Medusa, however, was a bit different. She looked like a human woman when she was born-and a stunningly gorgeous one at that. Ovid mentions this fact in his Metamorphoses. “Beyond all others she was famed for beauty.... Words would fail to tell the glory of her hair, most wonderful of all her charms,” he writes. This beauty did not go unnoticed. Medusa soon caught the eye of Poseidon, the god of the sea. Smitten, Poseidon pursued the lovely Gorgon relentlessly. Some sources say that Poseidon eventually won Medusa’s favour. Others say that the sea god forced his attentions onto his intended conquest. Either way, the moment of seduction occurred inside a temple devoted to the goddess Athena. Some writers claim that it took place on the goddess’s very altar.

Unfortunately, this was the worst possible place for a romantic tryst. Athena was a virgin goddess, known for her purity and modesty. She was deeply offended by the misuse of her temple. She could not permit this disrespectful act to go unchallenged. Yet Athena had a problem. Poseidon was powerful-too powerful, in fact, to be much affected by anything Athena could do. He was also male and a god. In the Greek tradition, male deities got away with every imaginable type of bad behaviour. They were seldom blamed for their actions. For all of these reasons, Athena’s wrath was directed at Medusa alone. The goddess used her powers to change Medusa into a monster, much like her sisters. She paid special attention to the Gorgon’s glorious tresses. As Ovid says, “[Athena] changed the Gorgon’s splendid hair to serpents horrible. Medusa’s locks would never again tempt any man-God or mortal-toward indelicate thoughts or deeds.

THE MYTHS

This story is on the level of the fairy story. Hermes and Athena act like the fairy godmother in Cinderella. The magical wallet and cap belong to the properties fairy tales abound in everywhere. It is the only myth in which magic plays a decisive part, and it seems to have been a great favorite in Greece. Many poets allude to it. — Edith Hamilton, Mythology, 1942

The available evidence related to Gorgon should be briefly surveyed. The earliest mentions of Gorgon are found in the Homeric poems, Iliad and Odyssey, which are dated to the eighth century BCE. There, Gorgon is referred to as a “dread monster” whose head, by itself, is in Hades. According to the Iliad, the custom of representing on shields the head of Gorgon -- “dread and awful,” “with grim eyes, glaring terribly” -- already existed at the time of the composition of the poem. However, the Homeric poems do not contain any explanatory myth related to Gorgon and her dreadful head existing by itself in the underworld.

Medusa makes many passing appearances in ancient Greek literature. The gorgon’s biggest moment, however, occurs during the story of a hero named Perseus. Told at length by Apollodorus and Ovid and mentioned by many other writers, this tale explains why and how Perseus sought the Gor gon. It also describes the many dreadful results of Perseus’s successful quest. The story of Perseus and Medusa stands out in Greek mythology. It is a true classic of the genre, bulging with gods, monsters, magic, and mayhem. An cient though it is, today this story is just as exciting-and just as horrifying-as it was in long-ago times.

This strongly suggests that the theme of Gorgon was well known to the eighth century BCE Greeks, and the short mentions of Gorgon’s head in the poems did not require explanations. Apparently, the mythic tradition regarding Gorgon implied in the Homeric poems was quite old and, therefore, may be traced back as far as the prehistoric period.

be traced back as far as the prehistoric period. On a Proto-Attic amphora from Eleusine, dated to 675 BCE, the goddess was represented as staying between Perseus, who runs away with the head of killed Medusa, and her two sisters pursuing him. The episode of the pursuit of Perseus by the two other Gorgons, omitted in the Theogony, would have been imagined as a necessary, quite exciting part of the story of the decapitation of Medusa already in the first half of the seventh century BCE.

GORGON’S “IN EARLY MYTHS”

Representations of Gorgons running after Perseus appear at that time not only in Attica, but also in the Peloponnese, e.g., on a Corinthian tripod vase relief from the Argive Heraion, dated to c. 650-625 BCE,6 and in Magna Graecia, e.g., on a relief perirrhanterion from Metapontum, dated to 625 BCE. Gorgons, the sisters of Medusa, were represented as monstrous female creatures with snakes, either growing from their necks and heads (as on the Eleusinian amphora) or held in their hands (as on the reliefs on the abovementioned Corinthian vase and Meta Pontian basin).

The available evidence related to Gorgon should be briefly surveyed. The earliest mentions of Gorgon are found in the Homeric poems, Iliad and Odyssey, which are dated to the eighth century BCE. In the Attic (Ionian) mythic tradition, the killing of Medusa Gorgon by Perseus seems to have been interpreted quite early on as an act favoured and supported by Athena. Apparently, the mythic tradition regarding Gorgonimplied in the Homeric poems was quite old and, therefore, may

Perseus and a pursuing Gorgon, from a black figure ceramic tripod, now in Berlin. The item is Boeotian and dates from the second quarter of the sixth century B.C.E. Photograph courtesy of the Antiken Sammlung Staatliche Museen zu Berlin, Preussischen Kulturbesitz.

In the first part of the sixth century BCE, the author of the poem The Shield of Herakles, who imitated Hesiod, expressed in quite powerful words the monstrous appearance of Medusa’s sisters: “Two serpents hung down at their girdles with heads curved forward. Their tongues were flickering, and their teeth gnashing with fury, and their eyes glaring fiercely.” It is not difficult to presume that in the sixth century BCE, the mythological portrait of Medusa Gorgon resembled the description of her sisters as was given by PseudoHesiod. At the end of the sixth century BCE, Pherekydes from Syros composed another Theogony, which is preserved in fragments, but is known to have been used in the second century CE by Apollodorus (or Pesudo-Apollodorus) in an encyclopaedic survey of the Greek myths. Among such details, the behaviour of Athena is noteworthy: not only did she help Perseus to kill Medusa, but she also accepted her head from the hero and attached it to her aegis. Copy after a print by Jacopo Giovanni Caraglio, Minerva (Pallas Athena) with Medusa head on shield Gods and Goddesses

Apparently, this version explained to the sixth century BCE Greeks the association of the dreadful, monstrous face of Gorgon with the image of Athena appearing with the Gorgoneion at her shield or breast.

By the beginning of the fifth century BCE, the most popular version of the Archaic myth about Medusa Gorgon was a combination of the Hesiodic (Dorian) tradition, especially preferred in Argos, Corinth, Boeotia, and the Cycladic islands, and of the Attic-Ionian tradition as was promoted by Athens to the Ionian islands and Eastern Asia Minor.

surround her head . In the late seventh century BCE and especially during the sixth century BCE, Gorgon is usually represented winged and running (or in the position with the bent knees); also, she often appears embracing her children– Pegasus and Chrysaor.

Pindar briefly mentioned that version in his Pythian Ode 10, the earliest dated one, written in 498 BCE for someone from Thessaly. Representations of Gorgon alone and in various scenes of the myth related to her are known from the early seventh century BCE: they are roughly contemporary with or follow immediately the composition of the Hesiodic Theogony and were found in Lakonia (mostly in the sanctuary of Artemis Orthia), Argos, Tirynthos, Athens, Boeotia, and Samos. A fairly standardized iconography of Medusa Gorgon is traced from the very beginning: she appears as a giant female with a big horrible face, protruding tongue, and huge teeth (boar tusks) projecting from the mouth, while snakes

The Death of Medusa - Edward Burne-Jones (1833–1898) - PD-art-100

after this Ode, representations of nicelooking Medusa and her sisters appear in art, with the main evidence coming from Attica. A new detail of the myth is traced from the mid-fifth century BCE onwards: Perseus supposedly killed Medusa, when she was asleep on a meadow Around 460 BCE, Aeschylus, after his visit to Sicily, wrote the play Phorkides dealing with Perseus’s exploits. The play is lost, and its details are not known, but a scene from it may have been represented on an Attic relief kantharos dated to 450-425 BCE.

GORGON’S “TRANSFORMATION”

Nice and younglooking winged Gorgons, sisters of Medusa, each with a snake curling around her hand, pursue Perseus, while their decapitated sister falls on the ground; Pegasus and Chrysaor, both just born, are near the body of their mother. It might be presumed that some Attic artisan represented Gorgons on his kantharos in the way he had seen them during the performance of the Aeschylean Phorkides. After the mid-fifth century BCE, the iconographic type of beautiful Gorgons becomes dominant in representations of all kinds all over the Greek world, including Magna Graecia.

However, around 490 BCE, Pindar in his Pythian Ode 12, written for Midas from Acragas, quite surprisingly, as it might appear, described Gorgon Medusa as “beautiful” or “having nice cheeks” – although the poet could not avoid mentioning such traditional characteristics of Gorgons as “fierce” ones and “maidens with horrible snaky hair.” About ten years

Sir Edward Coley Burne- jones, Der Tod Der Medusa 11, 1882

that she was the mother of both a horse (Pegasus) and a beautiful boy (Chrysaor). The appearance of Gorgon as half-mare/ half-maiden (reflected, e.g., on a Cycladic amphora dated to c. 690 BCE) likewise seems to be expressive of the original perception of her dual nature - one as that of a wild animal and another one – as that of a nice-looking female. To underline, all the evidence suggests that Gorgon was an Old Balkan (Cretan-Aegean) IndoEuropean goddess with dual nature: in prehistoric time, she was venerated as the mistress of animals, guarantor of fertility and continuity of life, protectress of children (kourotrophos), females, and warriors. She was imagined as both beastly-horrible and humanly-nice. At the beginning of the historic time, the beautiful side of Gorgon began to be represented by Artemis in her hypostasis as Potnia Theron and by Athena in her hypostasis as protectress of warriors, “the goddess with the eyes like those of Gorgon” (“π”) bearing the Gorgoneion. Gorgon herself was mostly viewed as an apotropaic demon, while her terrifying appearance did not bear any negative meaning in actual religion.

GORGON’S “DUAL NATURE” The Indo-European origin of the name of Gorgon gives grounds for associating her concept with the traditional IndoEuropean patterns. This leads to the conclusion that Gorgon as an old IndoEuropean Balkan goddess originally had a dual nature in conformity with the Indo-European principle of duality. The original dual nature of Gorgon – as that of a beast and that of a nice humanlike being - may have been reflected in the strong and commonly accepted belief 26

The younger “snake goddess”, from the palace of Knossos. Heraklion Archaeological Museum.

Plate with representation of Gorgon as Potnia Theron, from Kameiros (Rhodes), seventh century BCEE (from: Krauskopf, “Gorgo, Gorgones”, nu. 280)

the early sixth century BCE and a Minoan figuring of a goddess brandishing snakes in both hands, found in Knossos Gorgon’s head with curling snakes.

This original idea of the double-sided appearance of Gorgon may be observed in representations with similar themes, in which Gorgon and nice-looking goddesses seem to be alterable, in particular:

Plate with representation of Gorgon as Potnia Theron, from Kameiros (Rhodes), seventh century BCEE (from: Krauskopf, “Gorgo, Gorgones”, nu. 280)

Gorgon as the Mistress of Animals on a seventh century BCE plate from Kameiros (Rhodes) and Artemis as the Mistress of Animals well-known from many examples ; Gorgon holding snakes in each of her raised hands on an Etruscan-Corinthian skyphos of the early sixth century BCE and a Minoan figuring of a goddess brandishing snakes in both hands, found in Knossos Gorgon’s head with curling snakes, as, e.g., an Archaic bronze appliqué found at the Athenian Acropolis and Late Bronze Age Cretan figurines representing goddesses with snakes on their heads. 29

MEDUSA IN TODAY’S CULTURE As Furtwangler pointed out in his admirable article on the Gorgons, the gorgonäon only appears in Greek art after the geometric period. It does not correspond exactly to any known foreign type, but there is at least a possibility that it was created on the basis of an Egyptian or Syrian form; in any case it received an entirely individual character in the hands of Greek artists, and must therefore be considered as a Greek invention—indeed, as one of the most remarkable creations of the archaic period. — Humfry Payne, Necrocorinthia, 1930

Depictions of the gorgon first appeared around the eighth century B.C.E, and the image has been with us ever since. That’s about as far back as what we would call Greek art goes, so the Gorgon is indeed one of the oldest figures in Greek art. As with all images, it has undergone changes through the years, but most of the important features held constant through classical times. In 1896 Wilhelm Heinrich Roscher analyzed the Gorgon in art, and his description of its evolution is still the standard one. According to Roscher, the development of the Gorgon can be divided into three stages. The oldest, the Archaic Gorgon, runs from about the eighth century B.C.E. through about the fifth. The Gorgons that appear in “The Shield of Hercules” are perfect examples of Archaic Gorgons. They have wide-open, staring eyes and a broad grinning or snarling mouth filled with prominent teeth, usually with both upper and lower fangs. Despite the toothy display, there is a prominent, painfully protruding tongue.

ears are visible and sometimes show signs of piercing, as for jewelry The nose is broad and flat. The hair is usually shown as a series of tight, curled rings above the forehead. Greek mythology is quite clear about Medusa’s fate: The Gorgon dies when Perseus beheads her. Consigned to the underworld, the snake-haired monster never again troubles the mortal population. So, the legendary Medusa was permanently dispatched. The idea of the Gorgon, however, has turned out to be harder to kill. Between her terrifying looks, her awesome powers, and her tragic history, Medusa has captured the public imagination in a way that few other monsters before or sincehave managed.It seems that creative people of all types are especially fascinated by the Gorgon. Medusa is featured prominently in the art, literature, and theatre of many cultures and eras. Appearing in a vast range of works, from paintings to plays and architecture to operas, the Gorgon has found a new life in many different artistic genres.

The extreme facial expression usually produces strongly drawn lines at the edges of the mouth and on the forehead. Both

archaic, Gorgoneia, as scholars call them. These images tend to be remarkably similar. They are free-floating heads without bodies or even necks. The faces are round, with bulging eyes, broad noses, and prominent cheeks. The mouths are wide, and they hang partly open to reveal fang-like upper and lower teeth. A swollen, protruding tongue sticks out between the monster’s thick lips. Atop the head is a mass of curly hair that presumably represents the snakes of ancient legend.

The Gorgoneia

Scholar Stephen R. Wilk points out another feature that most ancient Gorgoneia share. “Unlike almost any other mythological creature, it is always presented full-face, glaring directly [outward],” he explains. “Even in later Greek and Roman art, it was rare to show a full-frontal view of a character. But from the very beginning the Gorgon stared with those hauntingly large eyes directly at the view er. There is an eeriness, a power, to such depictions, especially the emphasis on the eyes... giving one a sense of a creature that could truly turn the beholder to stone.”

The oldest of these genres might be termed everyday art. As early as 800 BC images of Medusa’s staring face started to appear on cups, bowls, vases, doors, coins, tombstones, and other common items throughout ancient Greece. Today these images are known collectively as Gorgoneia. Clearly meant to represent the Medusa of legend, Gorgoneia were a staple of the region’s decorating trends. It is very easy to recognize early, or

Head of Medusa. A Roman floor mosaic from Ephesus in modern Turkey, circa 440-450 B.C.E. This is clearly a late-style Medusa. Theface is that of a plump woman, lacking the staring eyes, fangs, protruding tongue, or the heard. The wings in the hair are also typical of a late Gorgon. Original is in the museum in Selcuk, Turkey. Photograph courtesy of Erich Lessing/Art. Resource, N. Y.

Head of Medusa in the Yerebatan Cistern, Basilica Cistern or Yerebatan Sarnici, Sultanahmet, Istanbul, european side, Turkey. Photographer: Martin Siepmann

Gorgoneion depicted at the base of the handle of a vase. Gorgoneia were often depicted near handles of vases, jugs, tripods, and chests. Pottery: red-figured hydria (water-jar). Perseus fleeing after cutting off Medusa’s head. Museum number-1873,0820.352 c The British Museum

His first job was the shield, a broad one, thick,well-fashioned everywhere. A shining rim he gave it, triple-ply, and hung from this a silver shoulder strap. Five welded layers composed the body of the shield. The maker used all his art adorning this expanse. He pictured on it earth, heaven, and sea, unwearied sun, moon waxing, ail the stars that heaven bears for garland: Pleiades, Hyadês, Orion in his might, the GreatBear, too, that some have called the Wain, pivoting there, attentive to Orion, and unbathed ever in the Ocean stream. —The Iliad, Book 18, lines 483-489

This feeling probably accounted for much of the popularity of the Gorgoneia. People liked the fact that Medusa’s face gave them the creeps in a harmless, ghost-story kind of way. They could shiver under the Gorgon’s deadly gaze yet survive to tell the taleunlike so many less-fortunate victims of the mythological Medusa.

A Changing Face The scare factor of the Gorgoneia did not last forever. As time passed, artists started to take liberties with the classic Medusa image. Little by little, representations of the Gorgon became less intimidating. The first wave of change arrived around 500 BC and lasted for several hundred years. During this period Gorgoneia tended to have smaller heads. They were still bodiless, but they did usually have necks. Overall, they looked a bit less wild than their predecessors. They still stared straight at the viewer, however, with the typical Medusa glare. Known as middle or transitional Gorgons, these images reflected people’s softening attitudes toward the monstrous Medusa. In years to come these attitudes would shift even further. 36

By about the third century BC, people were starting to think of Medusa as a tragic figure, not just a monster, and the art of the era mirrored this change.

objects, these pathetic portraits kept the myth of Medusa alive. Medusa’s head to turn a band of marauding soldiers to stone.

Now the creature began to appear in profile or in three-quarter view instead of gazing pop-eyed at the world. Sometimes she was even shown asleep, with her eyes closed and her fearful hair at rest. With these changes, the Gorgon was becoming more mortal and less monstrous. The biggest change of this period, however, went deeper than pose or subject matter. It had to do with Medusa’s looks. The Gorgon’s fangs, scowl, and protruding tongue disappeared. Her eyes and hair softened, and her face usually wore a sad expression rather than an angry one. As Wilk says, “The Gorgon was no longer a figure of terror, but rather one of pity.’ “ It seemed that Medusa was mourning her monstrous nature rather than embracing it. Images that fit this description are called late or beautiful Gorgons. They were common elements in Greek and Roman art for well over a thousand years. Used to embellish coins, dinnerware, and countless other everyday

Ancient Literature Art was not the Gorgon’s only ticket to extended life. In ancient times Medusa also appeared on the written page. Many long-ago authors employed this monster to more or less faithful degrees in works of literary art. A famous Greek playwright named Aeschylus was one of the first people to tackle this task. Around the year 500 BC Aeschylus wrote a trilogy of plays that told the story of Perseus. The trilogy’s second play, which was titled The Phorcides, focused on Perseus’s quest for Medusa’s head. The full text of this play is now lost, but fragments give historians a glimpse of Aeschylus’s ancient tragedy. Another play by Aeschylus, Prometheus Bound, survives today in a more complete form. In this tragedy the main character, 38

Prometheus, warns a maiden named lo that she will probably encounter the dreaded Gracae on her journeys. After escaping the grey witches, Prometheus says, Io must avoid “their three-winged sisters, the snake-haired Gorgons, loathed of mankind, whom no one of mortal kind shall look upon and still draw breath. Such is the peril that I bid you to guard against.” A playwright named Euripides also called upon the Medusa mystique. This author’s play Ion, which was written around 400 BC, concerns in part an assassination attempt. The assassin’s weapon is a drop of Medusa’s blood, obtained from the goddess Athena. Euripides makes it clear in his dialogue that not only did Athena provide the fatal fluid, but she also struck the blow that set the blood flowing. The Gorgon was “destroyed by Zeus’s daughter,” a character named Creusa announces when asked about the poison she carries.

In Greek mythology the Phorcydes were the children of Phorcys and Ceto and include the Hesperides, the Graeae, the Gorgons, Scylla and other nymphs and monsters, mostly associated with the sea. These three sisters only had one eye, and one tooth to share.

Passing mentions like these stayed fairly true to the classic Medusa myth. Not all authors, however, were so worried about sticking to the facts. A long-ago novelist 39

named Dionysius Skytobrachion, for example, is known for his wild flights of fancy in regard to many ancient monsters, including Medusa. Skytobrachion’s original work is now lost. His ideas have survived, though, because several later historians decided to adopt them as fact. These historians quoted Skytobrachion’s work extensively as “proof ” that Medusa was more than just a mythical creation. This was the case with a tale concerning two warlike, all-female African tribes called the Amazons and the Gorgons. Around 50 BC a scholar named Diodorus Siculus recounted Skytobrachion’s story in a work called —The Iliad, Book 18, lines 483-489. According to Diodorus, the real-life Gorgons were “of great power, till the reign of Medusa, at which time they were conquered by Perseus. At length both they and the Amazons were utterly [exterminated] by Hercules. For it was a thing intolerable to him…to suffer any nation to be governed any longer by women.” Modern historians recognize this passage and others like it as pure fiction. In Diodorus’s time, however, people were not so sure. They were willing to accept just about any explanation for the terrible Medusa.

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DIODORUS SICULUS' HISTORY IS CONSIDERED BY MODERN HISTORIANS TO BE THE MOST EXTENSIVELY PRESERVED HISTORY OF ANTIQUITY BY A GREEK HISTORIAN.

Diodorus Siculus or Diodorus of Sicily (active 1st century BCE) was a Greek historian, known for his universal history Bibliotheca Historica. Originally, it was a 40-volume monumental work, covering the history of the Mediterranean region from mythical times to his own lifetime, around 60/59 BCE. Today 15 books survive complete and others in fragments.

An Operatic Performance An opera French called Persée is among the best known of all Medusa- related stage offerings, in 1692 by a composer named Jean-Baptiste Lully, this work tells the story of Perseus and Andromeda. The Gorgon Medusa plays a prominent role in the story. Medusa herself appears during the play’s third act. The Gorgon sings a song of woe (“J’ai perdue la beauté,” which means, “I have lost my beauty”) and one of anger (“Je port l’epouvante,” which means “I bear terror”). She then falls asleep after the god Mercury sings her a lullaby. Perseus promptly beheads the sleeping monster in a spectacular, bloody scene that includes the birth of Medusa’s twin sons from her gory remains. Later Perseus uses Medusa’s head to turn a band of marauding soldiers to stone.

Modern audiences can enjoy Lully’s opera in all its glory right on their own television screens! A 2004 performance of Persée by the Opera Atelier company of Toronto, Canada, was filmed and released on DVD. Featuring baritone Oliver Laquerre as Medusa, this production sticks closely to the costume and staging traditions of seventeenth-century French opera. Critics praise it as a skilful revival of a centuriesold classic.

Gorgons in the Underworld Skytobrachion’s explanation had roots in reality. Many other authors, however, turned to the supernatural realm for inspiration. During the first century BC a Roman poet named Virgil famously took this approach. In his epic book Aeneid, Virgil assigned Gorgons, along with most of Greece’s other mythological horrors, to guard the gates of Hell: “Many monstrous forms besides of various beasts are stalled at the doors [of Hades], Centauri and double-shaped Scyllae, and the hundredfold Briareus, and the beast of Lerna, hissing horribly, and the Chimaera armed with flame, Gorgones and Harpyiae, and the shape of the three-bodied shade.” Virgil was not the first author to place Gorgons in the underworld. He was following in the footsteps of Homer, who had made the same assignment centuries earlier. Virgil obviously agreed that Hell was a logical home for Medusa. 44

Many centuries later a renowned Florentine poet named Dante Alighieri would agree as well. Around AD 1310 Dante wrote the epic poem The Divine Comedy, which stands as one of the great classics of Western literature. A segment of this work, titled Inferno, describes Dante’s imaginary journey through the nine layers of Hell. The poet’s tour guide is none other than Virgil, who was apparently considered an expert on all things fiendish.

around. Then he covers Dante’s eyes with his own hands to make doubly sure that the poet cannot glimpse the monstrous Gorgon. These precautions turn out to be unnecessary because Medusa never shows up. Yet it is clear from Dante’s words that she lurks somewhere nearby. Just like Homer and Virgil before him, Dante had consigned the Gorgon to Hell along with other creatures of her awful ilk.

Virgil shows off this expertise in a segment concerning Medusa. When the episode begins, Dante and Virgil are approaching a city called Dis. There the path is blocked by three ferocious creatures called Furies. The Furies want to kill Dante, but they cannot get close enough. “Let Medusa come and we’ll turn him to stone,” they moan in helpless rage. Hearing these words, Virgil takes quick steps to protect Dante. “Turn your back and keep your eyes shut, for if the Gorgon head ap pears and should you see it, all chance for your return above is lost,” Virgil barks. He grabs Dante by the shoulders and forcibly turns him 45

John Flaxman (1755–1826), The Furies (Divine Comedy) (1793), engraving by Tommaso Piroli from original drawing, media and dimensions not known, Cornell University Library, Ithaca, NY. Wikimedia Commons.

Joseph Anton Koch (1768-1839), Dante and Virgil with the Head of Medusa (1825-28), fresco, dimensions not known, Casa Massimo, Rome, Italy. Image by Sailko, via Wikimedia Commons.

Medusa in Sculpture As striking as it is, Böcklin’s Medusa only looks like stone. Many other artists took the concept a step further: They used actual stone or other solid media to create their Gorgons. Sculpted to endure through the ages, these creations are lasting tributes to one of mythology’s greatest monsters. Many Medusa sculptures depict the moment of the Gorgon’s beheading. Of all these works, Benvenuto Cellini’s Perseus (also sometimes called Persus Bebeading Medusa) is undoubtedly the most famous. Created in 1554, this massive bronze work stands in the WW. It shows Perseus holding a sword in one hand and raising Medusa’s severed head with the other. The hero stands atop the Gorgon’s writhing body, pinning it to the ground with one strong foot.

Cellini’s statue fascinates art historians for many reasons. One of them is the artist’s depiction of Medusa, who in this piece is beautiful to the point of perfection. A critic describes the Gorgon with these words: “The body of Medusa is sculpted with loving care. She is not a monster, as legend would have her, but a woman; headless of course, but a beautiful woman.... Medusa’s head... is not a monster’s head.... Its sensual beauty is truly stunning: eyes closed, mouth half open, a hint of teeth, the oval of the face framed in a mesh of snakes above and the folds of the skin at the neck wound.” Benvenuto Cellini’s Perseus (also sometimes called Persus Bebeading Medusa) is undoubtedly the most famous. Created in 1554

Another famous statue created centuries later takes a similar approach to Medusa’s appearance. Antonio Canova’s Perseus with the Head of Medusa, which was carved from marble between 1804 and 1806, also shows a sword-bearing Perseus raising a classically lovely Gorgon head. Yet instead of looking calm, as in Cellini’s work, Medusa’s expression is sad and very human. Even at this point, however, the monster may be striking a final blow. In Canova’s interpretation, points out this critic, “Perseus dares to look at the head of Medusa (most incarnations of the hero do not) as if there were nothing more to fear from her gaze. The sly suggestion is that there was, after all, something to fear. Perseus’s marble figure stands as proof that one cannot look upon Medusa, even in death, and live to tell the tale.” Perseus with the Head of Medusa 1804–6 Antonio Canova Italian This Perseu

Perseus and the Gorgon is a sculptural group by French artist Laurent Marqueste composed of five statues made between 1875 and 1903. The first plaster model was made in 1875, and a bronze statue made from it in 1877 (but the operation damaged the original plaster one). Marqueste had to make another plaster statue in 1887, which is now located in musée des Augustins. He then made a first marble in 1890 and second one in 1903. The white marble made in 1890 is now in the chapel of the Musée des Beaux-Arts de Lyon.It was acquired by the French state in 1890 for 18000 francs and was stored at the Musée du Luxembourg (1890-1913) and the Dépôt des marbres (from 1931). Until 1999 it was stored at Villeurbanne. It was moved to the Musée d’Orsay in 1986 and then to its present home in 1999. It was restored in 2000. Perseus Slaying Medusa by Laurent-Honore Maqueste (1903). Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek

Medusa in Architecture Cellini, Canova, and countless others created art for art’s sake. Not all artists, however, took such a lofty approach. Paintings, carvings, and other creations had many practical uses. They decorated walls and gates, they formed columns and roofs, and they even channelled water. Medusa’s image has been meeting these and other architectural needs since the myth of the Gorgon first appeared. One famous piece of Medusa related architecture appears on the remains of the ancient Temple of Artemis. The temple’s pediment, which is the triangular piece under the roof, bears the carved image of an archaic-style Gorgon. The monster is clearly meant to be Medusa because it holds the infant Chrysaor in one outstretched hand. The creature’s other arm also curves outward and probably held Pegasus at one time. Now on display at the 52

Archaeological Museum of Corfu, Greece, the Corfu pediment is one of the best surviving examples of Medusa in ancient architecture. Many old mosaic floors also survive. Most mosaic Gorgons are heads surrounded by circular designs, evoking the image of Athena’s shield. One wellknown mosaic, on display today at the Athens Archaeological Museum in Greece,

shows a sad-eyed Medusa with wings growing from her forehead and long, snaky locks writhing around her temples. Other mosaics show thoughtful Medusas, beautiful Medusas, angry Medusa’s, and everything in between. As one type of Gorgoneia, these patterns were meant to protect the people who trod upon them.

strange kinds of such like animals...out of the number of which, variously put together, he formed a great ugly creature, most horrible and terrifying, which emitted a poisonous breath and turned the air to flame; and he made it coming out of a dark and jagged rock, belching forth venom from its open throat, fire from its eyes, and smoke from its nostrils.” When Leonardo finished his painting, he called his father into the studio. The elder man took a step backwards, startled, when he spotted the horrible apparition-and Leonardo just smiled. “This work serves the end for which it was made; take it, then, and carry it away, since this is the effect that it was meant to produce,” he said with satisfaction. Leonardo da Vinci’s Medusa shield, as it is known today, is lost. Historians question whether it ever really existed. Yet the story survives as one of the art world’s most intriguing mysteries.

The Medusa Shield A book of biographies from the mid-1500s tells the story of a Medusa-like monster painted on a belt buckle by a young Leonardo da Vinci. The author describes Leonardo’s work with these words: “He began to think what he could paint... that might be able to terrify all who should come upon it, producing the same effect as once did the head of Medusa. For this purpose, then, Leonardo [gathered] lizards great and small, crickets, serpents, butterflies, grasshoppers, bats, and other 54

Painting a Monster Medusa plays a tiny role in The Divine Comedy. She only gets a brief mention, and she never makes an actual appearance. Still, Dante’s work was a milestone in the Gorgon’s history. It brought a fascinating monster back into the public eye after long years of absence and artists were quick to notice this intriguing new subject. Over the next few centuries many renowned painters turned to Medusa for inspiration.

An Italian artist named Michelangelo Merisi, better known as Caravaggio, was one of these people. In 1597 Caravaggio painted a now-famous image of a shockedlooking Gorgon. The monster’s snakeringed face is lividly, vividly alive but not, it seems, for long. Blood streams from Medusa’s severed neck, suggesting that the moment of decapitation occurred a mere instant earlier. Angry and ap palled, this creature now glares at the world from the walls of the Uffizi Gallery in Florence, Italy.

snakes erupts from the head. As one critic says colourfully, they are “strangling each other in terrified struggle to come from the Medusa brain.” Bats, lizards, frogs, rats, and other creatures of the night hover nearby, calmly watching the gruesome scene. They seem to feel right at home presence of in the Gorgon’s horrible death. The same is true of another Flemish painting titled Tete de Méduse (French for Medusa’s Head). Created in 1618 by Peter Paul Rubens, this work is suspiciously similar to the anonymous painting just described. It too features a severed head with a horrified expression, frantic serpents, and various animal attendants. The scene is shown from a different angle, however, emphasizing Medusa’s face rather than her snaky locks. Frozen in terror, this face captures the brutal moment of the Gorgon’s death.

A few years after Caravaggio unveiled his creation, another striking painting emerged. Titled simply Medusa, this work was originally attributed to Leonardo da Vinci. Experts now believe, however, that it was painted by an anonymous Flemish artist. The piece shows Medusa’s severed head lying on a floor, grimacing as if in pain. A tangled mass of hissing, biting 56

Caravaggio - Medusa

Sadness rather than terror is the theme of yet another famous Medusa portrait. Swiss artist Arnold Böcklin’s Medusa, painted in 1878, is a full-face image that brings the ancient Gorgoneia to mind. In this work Medusa’s snaky locks are relaxed, falling in carefully arranged ringlets around the Gorgon’s head. Deep-set eyes stare mournfully out of a face so sad, so tragic that viewers are forced to feel sorry for the Gorgon and her wretched life. This classic image is arresting not only for its sadness but also for its perfection. The features and skin are so flawless that they seem to be sculpted from stone. Forever frozen on canvas, the Gorgon shares the fate of her many human victims.

Artist: Arnold Böcklin (1827–1901) Title: Medusa Object type: Painting

Modern Art In modern times artists in many different media have continued to send this message. Medusa was portrayed by some of the twentieth century’s most renowned painters, including Pablo Picasso, Paul Klee, John Singer Sargent, and others. She has been re-created in bronze by the Spanish artist Salvador Dalí. She also appears in sculptor Auguste Rodin’s towering tribute to Dante’s Divine Comedy. Titled The Gates of Hell, this masterwork was originally sculpted from plaster, then cast in bronze. Replicas stand today in several cities around the world, giving delicious chills to thousands of viewers each year.

Medusa Lithograph signed by Pablo Picasso

Perseus on Pegasus Slaying Medusa, John Singer Sargent

Re-created in bronze by the Spanish artist Salvador Dalí.

NAMED AFTER A MONSTER Medusa has snaked her way into evry aspect of modern-day life, even the sceintific realm. She is especially prominent under the sea, where various creatures go by the Gorgon’s name. Certain adult jellyfish are in the group. Fully mature jellies with umbrellashaped bodies and dangling tentacles can deliver a painful sting. Much like the original Medusa’s biting snakes, these deadly tendrils keep foolish humans from get ting too close. Gorgonians also bring the Gorgon to mind. These multibranched soft corals dot the reefs of the world. Their thick, semirigid arms look a bit like the snakes that erupt from Medusa’s head, and the coral probably gets its name from

this resemblance. Some dictionaries point out that the word gorgon meant “coral” in Latin. This fact provides a simple explanation for the gorgonian’s name. The deeper connection, though, is in teresting to explore. Ancient tales claim that Medusa’s head, her blood, or both actually

created the world’s coral. It is likely that this incident crept into the Latin language. The Latin gorgon, therefore, has a direct link to Greece’s most famous monster.

RIDE THE BEAST Many scary amusement park rides have been inspired by fictional and mythical monsters. Medusa is one of these monsters. The Gorgon lends her name and face to a floorless roller coaster at Six Flags Discovery Kingdom in Vallejo, California. Featuring a 150foot (46m) drop, 7 inver sions, and a top speed of 65 miles per hour (105kph), this ride offers scares of a type the original Gorgon could never match. “Look fear right in the eye,” the coaster’s promotional materi als taunt in a subtle reference to Medusa’s petrifying powers.

Another coaster named Medusa can be found at Six Flags Mexico in Mexico City. Introduced in 2000, this ride is a wooden coaster that boasts more than half a mile (800m) of coiling, serpentine trails. Typical of wooden coasters, the ride is rough and jerky-and it is also fast. With

a top speed of 55 miles per hour (89kph), this Gorgon takes riders on a journey their stomachs will never forget.

of the Versace fashion and accessories line. In a 1996 interview, Gianni Versace explained the reasons behind this choice: “Medusa means attraction...a dangerous attraction.”This comment points out a key aspect of Medusa’s appeal: The monster is snake-like in her power to charm. Even though people throughout history have understood the Gorgon’s deadly nature, they cannot seem to avert their eyes. They will brave Medusa’s gaze. If they are lucky, these people will emerge unharmed. If not, they will fall under the Gorgon’s spell-figuratively, at least. As long as mortals dare to look Medusa in the eye, this monster is sure to main tain her rockhard hold on peoples’ imaginations and to live on in their worst nightmares.

OTHER USES Most modern Medusa seekers, luckily, do not risk such dire con sequences. To find the Gorgon, all they need to do is turn on the television or drive to a local store, because today Medusa’s image is everywhere. This Greek horror shows up in Halloween displays and on the Sunday comics page. Her snaky hair inspires characters and moments in countless television shows, movies, and cartoons. Medusa lends her name to a popular makeup company, and she is even the face 64

THE SICILIAN FLAG The Gorgon’s image is not just found in museums. As in ages past, it shows up in everyday venues as well. Architects still build Gorgoneia into walls, gates, and floors, especially in Greece. Countless Web sites and sidewalk art shows feature the Medusainspired creations of everyday artists. The Gorgon’s face even appears on the flag of Sicily, Italy. Officially adopted in 2000, this flag presumably serves a function very similar to that of the ancient Gorgoncia. Flying above every Sicilian government building, Medusa’s image keeps the region’s citizens safe from harm.

The Sicilian flag’s dominant feature is the center image, known as the Trinacria. This symbol is the head of Medusa, surrounded by three ears of wheat and three symmetrical legs Two parts of this symbol have reasonable and widely acknowledged meanings behind them. The legs represent the three corners of the island that give the landform a distinctly

triangular shape while the wheat is meant to show the importance of agriculture on the small island nation. Medusa’s head, the very center of the flag’s symbol, is the one part that appears to not have any specific, obvious importance. The image of the Trinacria is found not only on the flag, but all throughout Sicily, including small terracotta ornaments, articles of 67

clothing, and household decorations. When asked about the Medusa head, many local Sicilians on the island of Ortygia had no explanation as to why it is featured. In a nation where the majority of people identify themselves as Catholic, this appears to be an oddly pagan symbol to be featured on the national flag and in almost every home. Therefore, when analyzing the icon of the Medusa it should be noted that this image is found in various aspects of the Sicilian culture dating back millennia.

Southern Italy and other Greek colonies. The analysis of these attributes will focus on the cities where the temples reside, the location of the image on the temple itself, and other stylistic attributes that make each Gorgon unique. Attributes that will be considered are the rendering of the eyes, the depiction of the mouth, and the stance of the Gorgon. By analyzing the differentiation of this image, this paper hopes to illustrate the importance the Sicilians placed on the Gorgons. Further, this will be able to shed light on whether the Gorgons played a more prominent role in Sicilian culture, eventually leading to Medusa’s place at the center of their flag.

Medusa’s prevalence across the island today, as well as her appearance in the archaeological record since the Greek colonization in the eighth century B.C., is what prompted this study into her importance in Sicilian life. This paper looks at the iconography of Medusa and her Gorgon sisters as they are featured throughout Western Greece, particularly on the island of Sicily. Images of this creature have appeared in different variations, each with a distinct look, and these similarities and differences are noted as they occur on temple decoration throughout Sicily, in comparison with 68

In some ways Medusa is like an elderly movie star. She has had a long career during which which her popularity has waxed and waned. During some eras, such as the heydays of ancient Greece and Rome, everyone knew the monster’s name and face. In other periods, such as the early Christian cen turies, Medusa was mostly forgotten. She lurked in dusty books on library shelves during these times, just waiting for a chance to burst back into prominence. The Gorgon has gotten this chance in modern times. She is now better known than perhaps ever before. From novels and movies to comics and even video games, Medusa slithers her way into every nook and cranny of modern popular culture. It is hardly surprising that the Gorgon is still turning up in these ways. Medusa's story may be well known, but the monster is none the less a blank slate in many ways. Her face and her story can mean different things to different people. The Gorgon therefore provides an unending source of creative ideas. Scary but stimulating, this mythical monster surely will continue to inspire future generations of artists.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT The author takes great pleasure in expressing his gratitude to the authorities of the government and to Stephen R. Wilk, Author- Olga A. Zolotnikova, theBritish Meuseum, formerly Prince of Wales Museum of Western India, to which I was affiliated as a research scholar during my investigation.

BIBLIOGRAPHY https://archive.org/detailsmedusa0000hirs_k8d5/page/8/ mode/2up?view=theater Medusa : solving the mystery of the gorgon by Wilk, Stephen R Iconography of the gorgons on temple decoration in sicily and Western greece https://repository.brynmawr.edu/dissertations/142/ http://www.diva-portal.org/ Image Credits: Alamy, https://en.wikipedia.org/, The British museum

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. She turned Medusa into a hideous hag, making her hair into writhing snakes and her skin was turned a greenish hue. Anyone who locked gaze with Medusa was turned into stone. The hero Perseus was sent on a quest to kill Medusa. He was able to defeat the Gorgon by lopping off her head, which he was able to do by fighting her reflection in his highly polished shield. He later used her head as a weapon to turn enemies to stone. An image of Medusa’s head was placed on Athena’s own armor or shown on her shield.