I mean why would a Goddess be portrayed as a Gorgon, to look and act evil, and to turn Men into stone? ... doesn't that sound like it was made up by a Greek man, or a group of them, that were early women haters and were trying to portray us as evil witches or something?
Please admit guys, that back in that day the majority of women in that part of the world were slaves, or had subservient status to men, and the ones who tried to rise above it, for the most part, were hated.
So, in summary, I have surmised that this fable was a fixation of some Greek men to try and portray women as evil. So what am I missing?
Surely even reasonable level headed guys could agree with this... can't they?
Lady's don't leave me all alone on a deserted island please... lol... what's your take... do you think I'm close?
A. YES! That makes total sense to me! I can't think of any other reason that such an evil female could have been conjured up in the thinking processes other than that
B. No, that theory doesn't make any sense to me, sorry
C. Just as there are good witches and bad witches, the same is true with Goddesses, so Medusa is just the evil version, not anything some men conjured up
D. OTHER, see my comments below, or just open the "Origin of the Evil Medusa" survey
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Is the mythology of Medusa genuine Goddess worship, or really ancient man's anger and rage against the female species?
I'd say you're most likely right but honestly I don't remember the story behind her I believe at one point she was supposed to be beautiful then she pissed off zues or somebody I could be way off but your theory makes sense and there's a lot of examples through stories passed down in many cultures. Probably some chick wouldn't pay some dude any attention so he started talking shit
Her story has been tampered by many poets as per their perceptions so there is no saying she was victim or villain. But what does the story really symbolise its just Fate and characters Athena the Goddess put a curse on her because she was jealous of her beauty now does that make her a villain? So basically it is we become what we choose to be.
@Laurie I would like to ask inspired by your question What do you think about Lord of Death be it in any Mythical or Religion is he a villain or a saviour?
Okay, the problem here is that you're influenced by mainstream history and the way you write seems like you *want* your version to be true rather than to arrive at what is actually true, "Please admit guys", "Surely even reasonable level headed guys could agree with this".
It's not really as bad as all that. On the contrary, in ancient Greece during a certain period there were a group of rulers known as the, "Seven wise men", one of which was King Cleopolos, who supported the arts, education, music and the right for women to choose their own men. History is also ripe with influential women. Again for ancient Greece, the Queen of Sparta held a lot of sway, Chinese concubines controlled the entire imperial court during a period, Scythian society was completely equal researchers have found, since they were a horse-nomadic people and from horseback men and women are equally dangerous which is why both male and female warriors have been found in graves. Britannic Celts were also equal and had a law of succession focused on the eldest no matter gender, a very famous icon here being the Iceni queen Boedica who repelled a Roman invasion, (though subsequent attacks by the Romans defeated her).
Furthermore, the story of Medusa concerns the very irrational actions of Athena, who punished Medusa for being raped in her temple when she served as a priestess there. Greek gods were complete asses, jealous and petty in all the stories told of them.
In Greek mythology there are many female Goddess that are similar to Medusa. Such as Pandora : One of the most recognizable stories of misogyny in ancient Greece was the tale of Pandora’s Box, a tale that recorded the imposition of the greatest affliction to men and women. Powell states, “The folktale of Pandora, like the biblical story of Adam and Eve, is etiological to explain the origin of woman, marriage, and suffering in the world. The entire formation of the idea of woman was as a punishment for man’s wrongdoing; Pandora was a deception, beautiful on the outside, while within she was filled with chaos, trickery, and ultimately, misery."
You also had Helen of Troy: The Face that Launched a Thousand Ships. Yes, women where slaves but so where men. Male slaves had it worse off then most of the female slaves during this time since the male slaves where forced to fight each other, did the dangerous work that no one else wanted to do etc. Most women did have and where sub to men but the few that where able to rise above it more mostly feared due to the fact that they killed men or had men killed to get to where they where.
It was about the nature of man and how wicked they where. the story about Medusa was about Vanity and how it can be destructive to men and women. How you may ask? well to explain this you have to look at how Medusa was defeated. No man was able to look upon her but a man killed her. So the questions become, why where women not affected by Medusa? Did Medusa only turn men into stone? So, if it was a choice then why did she hate men?
In conclusion, there where many cool and badass women in Greek mythology just to focus on one base on a misinterpretation is a shame.
Women in ancient Greece weren't all slaves. Some were doctors working with the sick. Some became well-known poets. Some were philosophers. Women were restricted from owning land in most Greek states, but that wasn't the case for all. In Sparta, women trained with men and could own property and had a voice in civic affairs. By the 4th century BC, 40% of land in Sparta was owned by women. Ancient Greek education was different for women, with more emphasis on music and dancing, which was demonstrated during festivals. Medusa, according to Greek legend, was a beautiful woman who chose to follow a religion that worshipped Athena, daughter of Zeus (interestingly, like the Christian Jesus who had no mortal father, Athena had no mother). Medusa broke her nun-like vow by falling in love and marrying. Athena- a woman- punished Medusa by taking away her beauty and turning her beautiful hair into snakes that had the power of turning people who looked at her into stone. The Medusa myth is as it is, but if you look at it through modern feminist-nazi eyes, I suppose you can turn it into whatever you wish.
Well firstly she wasn't a goddess. Medusa was once a beautiful princess but then Poseidon god of the sea seduced her and they made love in a building which happened to be the temple of Athena. Athena in her rage cursed Medusa to be a gorgon. Athena decided to also turn her sisters into gorgons to keep her company. If I'm not mistaken her sisters were immortal and she wasn't on top of all that she was cursed to remain pregnant forever until she was slain by Perseus. The three gorgons stayed in some cave in some place that I don't recall the name of. Many warriors sought out to kill her so I wouldn't call her turning men into stone "evil" seeing as they were trying to kill her for no reason other than the fact she existed in such a form (also I think u got prizes, fame is obviously one of them.) This is why I don't think they were trying to portray women as evil.
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Medusa used to be one of the most beautiful women, first, she was mistreated and raped by Zeus and then cursed by Athena that she would petrify any men who looked into her eyes.
She was still beautiful, Goddess who cursed her could not take her beauty away.
It is metaphors to how a woman holds a destructive grudge against all men if raped by one, that if she could she would devour any man by looking into his eyes, the Kraken was a man and hence Perseus could kill him using medusa head. Medusa is a depiction of modern-day Feminist women who hate men and want to cast all men into the fire of hell.
Honestly, If I could have a chance, I would Marry medusa even after she was cursed, all I need to do is wrap close my eye because she deserved a man who would show her that, there are good men and she should not hold grudge against all of them
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Ovid's version of the story has Medusa the Gorgon being the lover of Poseidon. Poseidon and Athena had this feud, you see, and when Medusa and Poseidon desecrated Athena's temple by sleeping there, Athena punished Poseidon's lover by turning her and her sisters (Priestess of Athena who helped Medusa and Poseidon get into the temple) into terrible monsters. So that version seems to be just another example of gods and goddesses doing what gods and goddesses were known for doing. Palace intrigue - lust, jealousy and all that.
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I think that hate/anger/fear of women was at least an element of the story, yes. I think that men have always been physically more powerful than women (on average), and so I can imagine them wanting some moral reason to justify keeping them subservient to men. The Bible blames Eve for Adam's fall, which is in my opinion another example of this.
Of course, I don't think that's the entire reason. I think men didn't understand women any more then than they do now, and so that confusion, mystery, and fear of something you don't understand was also a part of it.
Finally, the Greeks certainly liked their stories to be pretty extreme, and they held back nothing in creating those myths - the more scandalous and outrageous, the better.
The ancient Greeks certainly didn't give many rights to women (especially Athenians seemed to look down upon women), but the depictions of gods and goddesses and mythical creatures were all flawed as I see it -- men and women alike. From my perspective, the myth of Medusa also says more about Poseidon and Athena than Medusa with Poseidon's lust for Medusa's golden hair motivating him to basically rape her in Athena's temple, and Athena responding in kind by turning the poor Medusa into a hideous creature with snakes for hair.
I actually feel bad for Medusa. She used to be a beautiful woman, and she worked for Athena. She was turned into a gorgon as punishment after she was raped by Poseidon in one of Athena’s temples. It was punishment for soiling the temple. Even though it wasn’t her fault. She was punished for being raped. I think that would make me pretty angry with the world too.
The muslims still do that to this day. If a girl is raped under sharia law she can be stoned to death for it and some are killed or punished in some horrible way with nothing happening to the guy.
In which countries? I’m not doubting that this happens in some places? I’d just estimate that it has more to do with corrupt governments than it does with Islam.
Okay yeah we all know that she was raped by Poseidon in the temple and 'cursed' by Athena since it disrespected the temple. But some say it wasn't intended to be curse at all, instead it was meant to protect her from the dangers of men. It's said that Medusa went on to protect women and children alike. Which is why ii was normal to see Medusa's head indignant on old shelters for battered woman in Ancient Greece, for protection.
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I think, if I remember the story right, she was once so beautiful that she caught the eye of Zeus, in the worst way, and he raped her. then a goddess, Athena I think, turned her into Medusa. while she did become a monster she also had to the power to defend herself and never let that happen again. to women in ancient Greece she was thought of as a protector of sorts, whos fearsome visage would keep bad men away. so I think its open to interpretations, everyone one learns something different from the same story
The thing about Greek mythology is that the gods, beings and creatures in the stories were never supposed to be "good" or "bad", they were simply portrayed as powerful beings with human-like qualities. Athena turning Medusa and her sisters into the gorgons were just that; The actions of a powerful, immortal being who didn't really care about whether or not her actions were justified. There are also many different versions and interpretations of the myths, so you could probably find some people in Ancient Greece who saw the story of Medusa the way you do, but I don't think that was the general idea behind it.
Medusa wasn't worshipped as a goddess, she was a mortal Gorgon, a mythical monster. The major goddesses in the Greek Pantheon include Aphrodite, Athena, Artemis, Demeter, Hera and Hestia. You can read more about them here - https://greekgodsandgoddesses.net/goddesses/ - and you will find that women were far more empowered and highly regarded in ancient Greek mythology than in the Abrahamic religions such as Christianity.
Medusa wasn't always evil. Even as the serpent headed woman, I don't picture her as being evil. She's just a cursed person, if not a monster.
Before being like that she was a gorgeous woman and Poseidon was mesmerized by her beauty. He started chasing her and she went to seek shelter in Athena's temple but he managed to rape her there, which angered the goddess. So, she cursed her.
It is if you read the orginal story Medusa was actually a rape victim that was punished by a Goddess who was offended that it happened in her temple, so that makes it even more confusing and messed up. A lot of Greek Mythology is like that, I think it shows how messed up their culture used to be.
Actually in Greek mythology Medusa was a normal woman who one day pissed off (I don't remember what she did) the goodness of knowledge Athena. Then Athena Cursed Medusa to become this monster (btw this doesn't have anything to do with your question but Medusa wasn't exactly a goodness.)
I actually think that the victim of the story IS Medusa But then again the mythology says that she was killed by a man so I'm not really sure🤔
Maybe the people actually believed she was controlled by the snakes or by a parasite. I mean sure, women have been pressed down and supposed to obey their man and turned slaves. What if it is actually a deeper meaning to it than that? I know I am on some thin ice here, so reply to me in any way you feel.
I voted A , your theory makes sense , disclaimer I only have cursory knowledge of the Medusa story and never thought of it that way but women have received more than a tint of bias throughout folklore , for every warrior queen or wise woman , there are dozens of little damsels in distress or free spirted women who end up being witches. So a touch of misogyny does not surprise me in the slightest.
Very interesting topic Laurie! You sure your not opening some Pandora's box with this? When I was 16 years old my grandmother said to me, " Eddie Michael, my middle name is Michael, be careful out in this world because men are dogs, but women are evil! " And having experienced some of that evil myself I believe whole heatedly that from the beginning of time, women have been able seduce, manipulate and cast their evil spells upon man. Not only that, women are master's arrangers, manipulaters and conjurer's. Their hearts and mind are capable of evil that men have never even heard of.
the real myth behind Medusa is Poseidon raped a woman in Athena's temple, Athena punished her for bringing out Poseidon's lust in her own temple and turned her into a monster that turns men into stone at a single gaze and when she died Pegasus was born of her corpse...
@theChineseWASP well it's your call really... in my opinion Medusa was simply praying to Athena and punished for being the victim of a heinous crime... to me she's innocent
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In short the myth was:
, Medusa was originally a ravishingly beautiful maiden, "the jealous aspiration of many suitors," but because Poseidon had raped her in Athena's temple, the enraged Athena transformed Medusa's beautiful hair to serpents and made her face so terrible to behold that the mere sight of it would turn onlookers to stone.[6] In Ovid's telling, Perseus describes Medusa's punishment by Minerva (Athena) as just and well earned.
Unfortunately you are comparing ancient greek culture and society to our modern day society. You need to realize that yes it was a patriarchal society and yes they could not vote but women in status had power and could persuade others to their whim. Generally it would be men then the women but they also had lower classes and slaves. Often the slaves were lower than high class women. You also need to consider that greek mythology is often reflecting of real people who were alive at the time and given mythical powers overtime. It is actually accepted that Medusa was a beautiful woman who was able to woo and control men's sexual desires. Poseidon representing the man who did whatever he wanted but Athena the high class woman who was jealous of Medusa who was able to get the guy she wanted. So to get back at her cursed Medusa so that no man can ever want her. The story is mostly about a woman who tries to control another woman. That is of course if you base society at the time to Ancient Athens. In Sparta men and women were equally in status and women had rights just as men. So depending on the complexity of the city state societies and how ancient greek mythology evolved over time you can not surmise that all women were hated by men in Ancient Greece. Further research is needed to understand the facts of the complex society.
I often illustrate the point that the backstory about how Medusa became a monster because her beauty drove men mad to do things because they couldn’t control themselves shows Greco - Roman society was really the worst society you could have picked to spread Judeo - Christian beliefs across the world because of the inherent misogyny that was inherited from the Hellenic world. The ancient Greeks had a term for it: Kalon kaqon (“a beautiful evil”). But, it wasn’t all dark, you had female poets like Sappho, and the play, Lysistrata in which women agreed to withhold sex to stop all sides in a war from fighting.
The character we think of as Medusa, started as one of three gorgons, she was the only one that was mortal. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gorgon in ancient Greek literature.
So I would possibly move your theory on the construction of the myth back a bit timeline wise. But it sounds quite plausible to me.
She was the daughter of Phorcys, who was a Greek God, which makes her a Goddess, but she did live the life of a mortal serving the Olympian Goddess Athena who was very powerful. She was raped in Athena's temple but another Olympian God, Poseidon, God of the Sea. Athena was very angry over it and turned her hair into snakes and gave her the power to turn men into stone.
There are two versions as to why Athena did this.
One is that she didn't have the power to punish Poseidon so she punished Medusa instead.
The other version is that she loved Medusa and did it to protect her from any future rapes by men.
I prefer to want to believe the 2nd version because no girl should ever be punished for being raped and I have no problem with those that do such hideous things being turned into stone. Too bad women couldn't do that today! ... but without the snakes... lol
If she were real it probably be a fallen angel and in other words a demon. Or maybe a alien/demon.. Stull tho they are probably the same thing. The bibte I think referred to them as watchers before they lost their wings and turned into modern day demons.
Your theory has ground. Not only about Medusa, it is equally true regarding myth of Pandora's creation. Far away from Greece, if one notices Hindu mythology, Durga and Kali goddesses possess same attributes.
It's not sexist. I don't remember the specific tale but she was punished for something and cursed with snake hair and petrifying vision. It's more like a warning for the people of that time never to waiver from their worship to the gods.
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I have no idea, they were very creative people who made things up probably to scare others from going places. Maybe was based upon a person who was friendly to snakes and would use them to her advantage?
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I did some research on Medusa for a college class and she was raped by Poseidon and punished for it by Athena, hence her appearance and her ability to turn men to stone. It’s basically a story of jealousy, at least how I’ve read it.
Well Greeks were misogynistic as hell (see the Pandora myth) but Medusa was raped, and then Athena made it so that the appearance of Medusa would turn men into stone, so she wouldn't get raped again
She was never a goddess. And she isn't potrayed as "evil". She is potrayed as a mortal rape victim who was victim-blamed, turned into a gorgon as punishment, and is cursed to turn men into stone. So to answer your question, it's neither worship by gods nor man's rage towards women.
Medusa was a representation of the first time ancient Greeks saw northern European women! The snakes are her curly blonde hair, and her piecing blue eyes could stop men in their tracks!
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You should read the XANTH books by Piers Anthony.. The gorgon is in that book, but she is portrayed as someone with a power she doesn't realize that she has, and because of that good people want to help her. Its fantastic.
They're really good. My dad got me into them. I haven't been reading much the past couple years, but I recently bought the first one since I had been reading them out of order initially. If anything can get me back into reading they can.
Yes I don't think it was the woman haters club kinda thing. I have a friend that refers to ceartain women as having snakes in their head. The evil ones the ones that you can't trust the ones that want to do someone wrong. I'm not but so familiar with Greek mythology is there an evil man lover out there
Medusa was a character in the GrecoRoman mythos. She was created by a storyteller as all mythical characters are. I do not know that she was created as a caricature of women.
I dont believe that a majority of women were slaves there. They were included in royalty as well, the subservient class was the poor, regardless of sex. Love all this medusa art though, great post
Well you have to take in the whole myth. shewas found to be so in credibly beautiful hera became jealous, or was it aphrodite. and she punished her by making it so noone can look upon her.
Only one I can think of is an off and on GAG member who photo shops her face all the time and keeps inactivating her accounts and making new ones. She really does remind me of Medusa because she has a super evil side to her.
She has a cult following and tries to destroy people all the time thinking it will make her look more credible to her cult groupies. It is quite sickening and sad at the same time really.
I can only think of one too, i just wanted to paraphrase uncle rukus from the boondocks but i should have said 'you done counted off 5 bitches right now.'
inventing sexism where there is none is, in itself, sexist. They worshipped plenty of female Goddesses. There's a list. A big one. One that wouldn't exist in a society of "woman haters" as you put it.
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