Medusa: Greek vs Roman Myths

So, I’m sure we are all familiar with the story of how Medusa was originally a beautiful maiden who was cursed by Athena for being sexually assaulted in Athena’s temple, but did you know that’s the Roman myth? This myth was written by Ovid, a Roman poet. He may have started out his story with her being this beautiful maiden that was cursed, but in the end, he painted her as a monster who’s head was to be used as a weapon. In Ovid’s poem, her story is tragic and forced readers to develop feelings of sympathy and empathy, whereas in the Greek mythology she was always born a gorgon; in fact, she was one of the three gorgon sisters, the other two being Stheno and Euryale. These three sisters were born from Phorcys and Ceto, and they made the farthest point of the world their home: the edge. A similarity between both the Greek and Roman version is that, Medusa is a mortal who’s story ended in being beheaded. No matter which story you believe, both end with Perseus beheading and using her as a weapon. Depending on your point of view, both stories ended in a tragedy, but no matter which one sticks with you, both show her as a symbol of power. If she wasn’t powerful, they wouldn’t have killed her and used her to combat and stone their enemies, she would’ve been no use to any of them without the power she withheld. Medusa is fierceness, she is power, she is strength, she is anything but a monster in my eyes.

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Important Note: it was said that Ovid’s poem was written based on complete bias.

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SOURCES:

(https://windswaves.wordpress.com/2019/08/26/hidden-from-view-the-medusa-myth-from-ovids-metamorphoses-to-peter-paul-rubens/)

(https://www.laphamsquarterly.org/fear/dread-gorgon#:~:text=In%20mythology%2C%20the%20Gorgons%20were,)%20and%20Gaia%20(Earth).)

(https://mythopedia.com/topics/gorgons)