He could safely look into the mirror to see Medusa’s reflection without turning to stone. Finally, from Hades, the lord of the Underworld, Perseus received the helmet of invisibility.Īrmed with those items, as well as heavy doses of courage, Perseus entered the Medusa’s lair and cut off the Gorgon’s head with a very clean and unhesitant strike. From the Greek god of forge and fire, Hephaestus, Perseus received a powerful sword.

From the goddess Athena, Perseus received a magical shield (or mirror). He received a pair of gold-winged sandals from Hermes, the Greek god messenger and protector of travelers.

Read More: Greatest Heroes in Greek Mythology The death of Medusaīeing a demigod and a character beloved by the Olympian gods, Perseus did receive a bit of help and divine gifts before he embarked on his adventure to slay Medusa. You see, Polydectes was eager to get Perseus out of the picture so that he could forcefully marry Danae, Perseus’s mother. Perseus was sent by King Polydectes, the ruler of the island of Seriphos, to kill Medusa. Medusa being a mortal also helped matters. the son of Zeus, to defeat the terrifying creature Medusa. It would take the bravery and tenacity of Greek hero Perseus, i.e. All those warriors were unsuccessful, as they were instantly turned into stone after gazing into Medusa’s eyes. The hunt for Medusa – the Queen of the GorgonsĪfter the tragedy that befell Medusa, the snake-haired woman was hunted by many brave warriors that sought to claim her head as some kind of trophy. Athena punishes Medusa by turning those beautiful golden locks of hair into venomous serpents, permanently turning the maiden into a creature befitting a horrible nightmare. Therefore what does Athena do? According to the myth, the Greek goddess takes out her anger and disgust on the victim, Medusa. Poseidon being a fellow Olympian god, as well as Athena’s uncle, could not receive any form of punishment from Athena. When news of this horrific incident reached Athena, the goddess flew into an uncontrollable rage. Safe to say that those comments did not go down too well with Athena, who was by then overflowing with jealousy mixed with resent. Some even went as far as saying that the priestess’s hair rivaled Athena’s. With every passing day, thousands of men would visit Athena’s temple to glance at Medusa’s beauty. And so the beautiful Medusa was taken under the wings of Athena and became the priestess of the goddess’s temple. Instead she swore an oath before Athena to remain a maiden all her life. However, Medusa didn’t allow any of those complements get into her head. Often times, men would compare Medusa’s beauty to goddesses like Athena and Artemis.

Some of those admirers also included Greek gods, particularly Poseidon, the Greek god of the sea. It was said that her beauty caused many men from far and wide to throng her residence to seek her hand in marriage. The question that then begs to be answered is: How did Medusa go from a beautiful woman with golden color hair to one of the most terrifying creatures in Greek mythology? Medusa and PoseidonĪs stated in the introduction, Medusa was born extremely beautiful. She was known for her astonishing beauty and grace. The only mortal child of her parents, Medusa had a number of siblings, including the Graiae – a trio of women who share one eye between them. Her parents were siblings and children of Gaia and Pontus. Medusa and her familyĪccording to Hesiod, Medusa’s parents – Phorcys and Ceto – are chthonic sea deities. In the article below WHE explores the myth surrounding Medusa and the Greek god of the Sea Poseidon. However, what often gets less attention is how Poseidon, the Greek god of the sea, had a role in Medusa’s descent from a gorgeous woman to one of the most dreadful-faced monsters in Greek mythology. We all know of how Medusa, the snaky-haired, terrifying monster whose glance could turn anyone to stone, got decapitated by the Greek hero Perseus. So how did Medusa get such an awful deal in Greek mythology? The snake-haired gorgon Medusa was not always a hideous and terrifying creature rather she was a beautiful woman, whose beauty and elegance was at some point compared to the goddess Athena. Of all the characters in Greek mythology, Medusa is perhaps the one who had the worst kind of fate.

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