In Egyptian myth, every morning the serpent Aapep (symbolising chaos) attacked the Sunship (symbolizing order). The Gorgons are mentioned in some of the earliest works of Greek literature. Egyptian myth has had several snake-gods, from the 'coiled one' Mehen who assisted Ra in fighting Aapep every day to the two-headed Nehebkau who guarded the underworld. The Hindhu god Brahma was said to have banished the naga to their underground kingdom when they became too populous on Earth. The first humans of hers became high-class, but second ones became low-class. Nor did ancient writers specify what powers or abilities the Gorgon sisters possessed. They wore snakes around their waists instead of normal belts. I have been in love with all things related to Mythology. He is almost always portrayed as a serpent or dragon depending on the particular myth. [22] The horned viper (Cerastes cerastes) appears in Kassite and Neo-Assyrian kudurrus[22] and is invoked in Assyrian texts as a magical protective entity. 11. While her sisters Stheno and Euryale were immortals Medusa was a mortal being. She is famed for her snake-like hair and her gaze, which turns those who look at her to stone. 125 Copy quote. During the dance, live snakes were handled and at the end of the dance the snakes were released into the fields to guarantee good crops. Perseus was the real bad guy. Only they knew the location of the Hesperides and their garden. In Egypt the snake has healing abilities. . It was said that anyone who looked directly at her was immediately turned to stone. The second treasure was the magical helmet of Hades, given to him by the Cyclops in the Titanomachy. Hesiod would write the story that would become well-known. On his journeys, he came across the Titan Atlas holding the world on his back and used the head to turn him to stone. The subject of Perseuss quest, she is one of the most iconic monsters in Greek lore. The Mayan sky-goddess was a common attribute. Perseus then travels to the Graiae (the three Gray sisters who share only one eye), and he steals their eye until they . There are Many Norse and Greek Gods. Pegasus (Greek: , translit. Medusa was the only Gorgon who was mortal; hence her slayer, Perseus, was able to kill her by cutting off her head. The Medusa in Greek Mythology. He turned his mothers duplicitous suitor, Polydictes, to stone. My name is Mike and for as long as I can remember (too long!) But Pegasus, the winged horse, became a figure in many legends. [24][25], The Hopi people of North America performed an annual snake dance to celebrate the union of Snake Youth (a Sky spirit) and Snake Girl (an Underworld spirit), and to renew fertility of Nature. Though the earliest depictions of Quetzalcoatl show him clearly as a snake with a plume of feathers, later cultures represented him in human form. Zeuss lovers were harassed by his jealous wife. In this region, females are more numbered as the worshippers of Nagas, which most closely resemble religious ritual.[27]. Apollo and Artemis. In these versions of her story, Medusas beauty would end up being her undoing. Medusa. According to some myths, Medusa, the most famous of the Gorgons, was originally a beautiful woman. It was created by Gaia and killed by Zeus. Medusa and her sisters, the Gorgons, were the children of the primordial gods Phorcys and Keto. Perseus was the child of Zeus and the human woman Danae. This trio of sisters may have been intended as a dark version of a tripartite goddess. In Nordic myth, evil was symbolized by the serpent (actually a dragon) Nidhogg (the 'Dread Biter') who coiled around one of the three roots of Yggdrasil the Tree of Life, and tried to choke or gnaw the life from it. She turned the young woman into a terrible monster. Later writers would try to rationalize the discrepancies by saying that there had once been a single Gorgon that fit Homers description. In these she takes two forms. In Greek mythology, the Gorgons were snake-women whose gazes would turn people to stone; they had serpents for hair, long claws, sharp teeth and scales covering their bodies. In ancient Greek mythology, Medusa is the most famous of three monstrous sisters known as the Gorgons. Either way, the Graeae had shown him the way to the hidden garden of the Hesperides. Shesha in turn was supported on Kurma and when Kurma moved, Shesha stirred and yawned and the gaping of its jaws caused earthquakes.[14]. Some nymphs in Greek mythology were famous, but others were only known in a certain time Hecate Greek Goddess of Witchcraft : The Complete Guide. This was where Athenas bronze shield became invaluable. Phineus himself was the last of his army to be killed in this way. Valhalla, Old Norse Valhll, in Norse mythology, the hall of slain warriors, who live there blissfully under the leadership of the god Odin. The good guy sometimes doesnt win and innocent people are sometimes harmed. Among the most prominent deities in Mesoamerican cultures, Quetzalcoatl, or Feathered Serpent, was a mix of bird and rattlesnake (coatl is the Nahuatl word for serpent). [9][10] The Dogon believe that Lebe is the very reincarnation of the Dogon's first ancestorwho was resurrected in the form of a snake. Ariadne, the wife of Dionysus, is said by a 5th-century writer to have been turned to stone in the war between her husband and Perseus. From Prometheus to the garden of Eden - the price of knowledge. These were the creations of Hesiods stories and the legend of Perseus. Medusa. Their union was unprecedented and was to shape the course of history forever. In North America, the Brule Sioux people told of three brothers transformed into rattlesnakes which permanently helped and guided their human relatives. Bellerophon knew that the task would be much easier if he could attack the Chimera from the air and the hero . According to various sources, Medusa was the only Gorgon who was mortal, so she was able to be beheaded by the Greek hero, Perseus. Greek myth held that people could acquire second hearing and second sight if their ears or eyes were licked by a snake. I have been in love with all things related to Mythology. As art interpretation focused on the ways in which art represented the female body for the view of men, Medusas ability to punish men for looking at her became a powerful symbol. At the same time as writers began to show Medusa as a former beauty afflicted by a terrible curse, the face of Medusa underwent a similar transformation in art. The image of the brave hero slaying the hideous beast endures in art, poetry, and song. [22] A dragon-like creature with horns, the body and neck of a snake, the forelegs of a lion, and the hind-legs of a bird appears in Mesopotamian art from the Akkadian Period until the Hellenistic Period (323 BC31 BC). Many Greek goddesses are not explicitly named as a single being in three parts, but are often interpreted within this archetype. The hero drew his sword, prepared to fight, but realized she was nothing more than a hollow wraith. The Head of Medusa, painted by Peter Paul Rubens. As Perseus used the sandals to fly over the sands of Libya, the droplets of blood that fell to the ground created enormous vipers. For this reason, it is taboo in Serer culture to kill snakes. My work has also been published on Buzzfeed and most recently in Time magazine. -Pseudo-Apollodorus, Bibliotheca 2. The Gorgons were the three sisters named Stheno (meaning Strength), Medusa (meaning Queen) and Euryale (meaning Wide-leaping), and were the children of Phorcys, son of Gaia. Medusa - a woman cursed by Athena to become a snake woman , and people who . Perseus used the same stealth he had practiced with the Graeae to sneak close. Snakes were also commonly associated with water especially myths about the primordial ocean being formed of a huge coiled snake as in Ahi/Vritra in early Indian myth and Jormungand in Nordic myth. Completely devoid of monstrous connotations, they explained the use of the Gorgons head by praising its classical beauty. The Curse of Medusa From Greek Mythology. [27] Thousands of people gather around snake pools called Naga kuan that are said to lead to Nagaloka, the lavish underwater world of these snake deities or Nagas. The blood and gore that dripped from her neck were portrayed in graphic detail. Many later versions of the myth claimed that she was once a beautiful maiden loved by . The Great Goddess often had snakes as her familiarssometimes twining around her sacred staff, as in ancient Creteand they were worshipped as guardians of her mysteries of birth and regeneration. In northern Europe and West Asia, snakes were associated with healing whilst in parts of South Asia, snakes are regarded as possessing aphrodisiac qualities. While they didnt have the power of the Gorgons head, they served as a frightening reminder of Athenas curse. About Mythology. Like her immortal sisters, she had snakes for hair, and one look at her face could turn any . The favorite daughter of Zeus. The story of Medusa from Greek mythology is perhaps less well known than Medusa herself. The Gorgon sisters were born to Ceto, goddess of sea monsters, and Phorcys, a primodial sea god with a fish's tail and crab claws. To them, the scene was a vivid illustration of the triumph of human ingenuity and heroism. Hesiods account of three Gorgon sisters, possibly a corruption of the three-part goddess archetype, became the more well-known version of an ancient story. She gave her shining shield of bronze, the aegis, for protection. In this case Athena punished the sisters as well, although they had no involvement in the desecration of her temple. In art, Medusa and her sisters had every terrifying feature the Greeks could imagine. Although Homer and Hesiod lived at roughly the same time, they were from different parts of the Greek world. "Norse mythology hints at Odinic cults, with Odin being worshipped through a combination of ecstatic and seemingly shamanistic rituals. Later writers would identify this as Libya, and in the Roman era Virgil said that it was at the gates of the Underworld. Their parents were early sea gods, predating the Olympians. A fascinating tale from Norse Mythology that demonstrates once more the desire of Odin to pursue all possible sources of . He does not recount the entire story, but instead mentions it as though most people were already familiar with the details of the myth. While Poseidon walked free, Medusa was villainized for the crime of attracting his attention. Fine Art Images/Heritage Images/Getty Images. She invented the flute for this purpose. She was usually represented as a winged female creature having a head of hair consisting of snakes; unlike the Gorgons, she was sometimes represented as very beautiful. Early writers, for example, did not mention whether or not Medusa looked any different than her sisters. The pointed tusks and extended tongue disappeared. This story only appears in one source, however. 21st century morals would see Medusa as a victim who was deserving of sympathy instead of punishment. Gorgon Medusa. However, in her case, the snakes leaned into her ears and whispered the secrets of the universe (i.e. This ancient Chinese myth tells the story of a powerful female white snake demon who lives underwater but takes human form as Madame White, or Bai Suzhen. The classical symbol of the Ouroboros depicts a snake in the act of eating its own tail. HISTORY reviews and updates its content regularly to ensure it is complete and accurate. Hesiod said they flicked their tongues, much like snakes. Her powers are expanded in modern media. The cunning snake convinced Eve to eat the forbidden fruit of the tree of knowledge, telling her that when you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil. When God learned of Adam and Eves transgression, he banished both of them from Eden and cursed the snake for its role, saying You will crawl on your belly and you will eat dust all the days of your life. Debate has long raged over whether the serpent in Genesis was a literal reptile, an allegory for sexual desire or temptation or even Satan himself. Nor were the sisters ever described as fully as Medusa. These were: Muspelheim, the realm of the fire giants. From Odin's mighty horse to a world-circling serpent, Norse Mythology has a cacophony of crazy creatures! Greek writers never specified why only one Gorgon sister was mortal. Gaia, Rhea, and Demeter, for example, are often seen as three closely-bound earth goddesses. Throughout many Greek myths, it reappeared. The world of fantasy is packed full of amazing mythical creatures such as Elves, Dwarfs and Giants. In Chinese mythology, the woman-headed snake Nwa made the first humans. Belenus is associated with the . From a vicious monster to a symbol of justified rage, the changing interpretations of Medusas nature reflect the changing morals and views of culture itself. One of the most popular monsters of Greek Mythology is Medusa. Looking only at the monsters reflection in the shining metal of the shield, he could creep forward without danger. In Greek mythology, the Gorgon often refers specifically to Medusa. He is like the Greek god Apollo because they are both gods of poetry, and worshiped by poets.
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