Perseus - Baby girl name meaning, origin, and popularity He claimed that the story of her decapitation shared much in common with castration. Gorgo, Gorgoneion in Lexicon Iconographicum Mythologiae Classicae, Vol. They write new content and verify and edit content received from contributors. Being the favourite child of Zeus, she had great power. When Perseus beheaded her, Pegasus, a winged horse, and Chrysaor, a giant wielding a golden sword, sprang from her body. In feminism Medusa is known as a symbol of rage even though she was originally exceedingly beautiful. She was able to see the future, and because of this, became one of many in a line of Oracles of Delphi (also known as Pythia). According to another tale, Perseus lived to old age, founding the city of Tartus and teaching the magi of Persia. If your web page requires an HTML link, please insert this code: Perseus: The Argive Hero of Greek Mythology. He shut her up in a chest with Perseus and cast it into the sea. However, instead of it being in battle or any form of murder, death came only as an accident. Medusa was the only Gorgon who was mortal; hence her slayer, Perseus, was able to kill her by cutting off her head. Now she is in heaven with the other great women, like Elektra, my mother Maia, and your mother Semele., Dionysus calmed and let Perseus live. In his work, he says that she was the queen of those around Lake Tritonis (modern-day Libya), and faced Perseus and his army in battle. Atlas immediately turned to stone, thus becoming the Atlas Mountains. Ovids Metamorphoses tells the story of how Perseus, traveling back from killing the Gorgon, came across the beautiful Ethiopian, Andromeda, and saved her from a vicious sea monster (Cetus). In later artwork, she appears as a more beautiful woman. Perseus hunted the King down and showed him the head of the Gorgon literally. Medusa spent the rest of her days wandering the earth alone. To this day, the god can be seen as Mount Atlas. Hercules then went to Tegea and met with Sterope who was the daughter of Cepheus. Wilk, Stephen R. Medusa: Solving the Mystery of the Gorgon. Apollodorus, Library, book 1, chapter 1, section 1 [15] In another version of the myth, Medusa became the enemy of Athena because she claimed that she could rival the goddess in beauty.[16]. Articles from Britannica Encyclopedias for elementary and high school students. Unfortunately for the citys people, the celebrations did not last long. His bones became stones. During the height of the #metoo movement, many women began using images of Medusa. In Egypt, there was a city called Khemmis, which Herodotus records had a temple to Perseus: The people of this Khemmis say that Perseus is seen often up and down this land, and often within the temple, and that the sandal he wears, which is four feet long, keeps turning up, and that when it does turn up, all Egypt prospers. Then he grew to an immense height in every part (so you gods determined) and the whole sky, with its many stars, rested on him.. WebPerseus Baby girl name meaning, origin, and popularity IN THIS ARTICLE Perseus name popularity Popularity over time Similar names to Perseus Save to list See your list See Medusa was eventually killed by Perseus, one of Zeus heroic sons. March 08, 2023. Thence, by Athenas curse anyone she looked upon turned to stone. Medusa was a beautiful young woman, a virgin priestess of the goddess Athena. Her long, beautiful hair became a head of snakes. The Gorgon Sisters Yet the Greek economy, unlike that of the Minoans, was largely military, so that Athena, while retaining her earlier domestic functions, became a goddess of war. Andromeda was a legendary Ethiopian princess who was saved by the Greek hero Perseus from a terrible sea-monster. Together, Perseus and Andromeda lived a happy life until they became constellations in the sky. Perseus and Andromeda, from the imperial villa at Boscotrecase, 1st century BCE, The Met. Medusa. Mythopedia, 11 Mar. In 1782, Leonardo da Vincis biographer Luigi Lanzi discovered a depiction of Medusas head which he erroneously attributed to Leonardo, based on a description of Leonardos painting done by Giorgio Vasari. 126ff. The Romans identified her with Minerva. Hyginus: Medusa and her death at the hands of Perseus are described in the Astronomica (2.1213), a poem of the first or second century CE. Themis Goddess of Order and Justice Aeschylus: The fifth-century BCE tragedian Aeschylus evoked the uniquely terrifying Gorgons in several of his plays, including the Libation Bearers (1048ff), the Eumenides (46ff) and Prometheus Bound (788ff). Athena immediately added the head to her shield called Aegis. Medusa followed the goddess for many years before she met and fell in love with Poseidon. o /; Ancient Greek: ) was, in Greek mythology, one of the mortal lovers of Zeus.An Argive princess, she was an ancestor of many kings and heroes, such as Perseus, Cadmus, Heracles, Minos, Lynceus, Cepheus, and Danaus.The astronomer Simon Marius named a moon of Jupiter after Io in 1614.. Because her brother was Phoroneus, Io is also Much later, Geryon was killed by Heracles. Homer never named Medusa in the Odyssey but did talk about a monsters head that Hades could send o Persephone. She turned Medusa into an ugly creature by making her eyes bloodshot and raging and her face haglike. We love art history and writing about it. According to Ovid, as Perseus traveled back to Polydectes, he stopped in the lands of Atlas. How old is the United States of America? In a strange little side-note, an interesting fact about Medusa and her sisters were integral to the invention of the flute. Blame Hera. The Roman version of her story is the same but changes the location to Minervas temple and her partner to Neptune. The two goddesses were sort of entwined in their duties, which is why it made sense that they shared a temple in the ancient Greek city of Rhamnous. The Medusa Reader. One of the sisters on the show found a woman who summoned the creature to punish men. In some stories, it was only then that he went and killed Proteus, but the chronology is different throughout history. female version of perseus She lost all of her looks and found snakes growing in her hair. In most versions of the story, she was beheaded by the hero Perseus, who was sent to fetch her head by King Polydectes of Seriphus because Polydectes wanted to marry his mother. While the instrument itself was created by Pallas Athene, Pindar says that she wove into music the dire dirge of the reckless Gorgons which Perseus heard and imitate with musical instruments the shrill cry that reached her ears from the fast-moving jaws of Euryale. Yes, the high-pitched notes of the flute were the screams of the Gorgons as they mourned over the death of their sister. Two species of snakes contain her name: the venomous pitviper Bothriopsis medusa and the nonvenomous snake called Atractus medusa. Art Historian, founder and CEO of DailyArtMagazine.com and DailyArt mobile app. Perseus is a godly Greek hero (he was a son of Zeus) whose ancient name just might have modern possibilities along with other so-old-they're-new-again names such as Atticus and Orion. See Marjorie J. Milne, "Perseus and Medusa on an Attic Vase," Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin (New Series) 4 (1946): 12630, at 126. The second version, shown here, is slightly bigger (6055 cm) and is not signed though often dated 1597. They claim that she spent most of her life in Sarpedon, which was close to Cisthene with her Gorgon sisters and also died there. What Happened When Perseus Returned With the Head of Medusa? And anyone who looked upon the head, even after it was removed, would turn to stone. Please refer to the appropriate style manual or other sources if you have any questions. Apollonius of Rhodes, Argonautica 4.1515; Ovid, Metamorphoses 4.770; Lucan, Civil War 9.820. During the 20th century, many looked at the tale of Medusa and how it relates to feminism. Surrey And Sussex Crematorium Book Of Remembrance, Franklin Medical Group 133 Scovill Street Waterbury, Ct, Articles F
">