The myth of Medusa - Laura Aitken-Burt

102,941 views ・ 2025-05-01

TED-Ed


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Before, her hair was a writhing nest of snakes
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and her eyes had the power to petrify,
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Medusa was a young woman who worshipped at the temple of Athena,
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the goddess of wisdom and war.
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But all the while, as Medusa tended to Athena’s shrine,
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Poseidon, god of the seas and horses, was watching her.
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And one night, he crept into the temple as Medusa prayed,
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and assaulted her.
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Athena reacted swiftly to the desecration of her shrine.
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But instead of punishing Poseidon, she focused her wrath on Medusa.
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The young woman felt her body transform until she was a monstrous Gorgon,
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her face framed by coils of hissing snakes.
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No man could freely look upon her again, for if they met her eyes,
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they'd instantly turn to stone.
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Medusa sought refuge in a hidden cave
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inhabited by the world’s two other Gorgons, Stheno and Euryale.
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However, unlike Stheno and Euryale, who could never die,
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Medusa remained mortal.
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Time passed and would-be heroes journeyed to the cave
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to make their names by murdering Medusa— but fell to her gaze every time.
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This was the way of things until another young man, named Perseus,
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began his quest for glory— Medusa his intended trophy.
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Perseus was born of the mortal princess Danae
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after Zeus impregnated her in the form of golden rain.
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However, Danae’s father had received a prophecy
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foretelling that her son would kill him,
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so he locked Danae and Perseus in a chest and threw it into the sea.
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Safeguarded by the gods, they survived.
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But the king of their new land, Polydektes, lusted after Danae.
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She tried turning King Polydektes away to no avail,
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and Perseus grew protective.
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To distract Perseus, Polydektes feigned that he’d finally given up on Danae
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and would be wedding another.
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When Perseus offered Polydektes whatever wedding gift he desired,
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Polydektes saw the opportunity to be rid of Perseus,
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and suggested that he prove his manhood by fetching a Gorgon's head.
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Perseus accepted the foolhardy mission, gathered a crew,
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and set sail towards Graeae, three ancient sisters.
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They shared a single eye and tooth and harbored numerous secrets.
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As one sister passed their eye to another,
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Perseus grabbed it and forced them to reveal the locations
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of the nymphs of the River Styx and the cave of the Gorgons.
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With the nymphs’ help, he obtained Hermes’ winged sandals,
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Hades’ cap of invisibility, and a special satchel.
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And he accepted a gleaming sickle from Hermes,
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and a shield that shone like a mirror from Athena herself,
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the goddess who'd cursed Medusa with her monstrous form to begin with.
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Then, one night, Perseus approached and Medusa fell asleep.
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Perseus entered, crept towards the Gorgons’ slumbering forms,
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guiding his way with the reflections on Athena’s shield.
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When he came upon Medusa resting peacefully,
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he bore his sword down upon her neck.
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From the wound sprung Medusa and Poseidon’s hybrid offspring:
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a winged horse named Pegasus and a warrior called Chrysaor.
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As Perseus stuffed Medusa's head in his satchel,
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Stheno and Euryale awoke to the horrific scene and attacked.
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But donning the cap of invisibility and winged sandals,
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Perseus escaped unscathed,
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reached only by Euryale’s pained cry of despair echoing through the cave.
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Perseus was met by his crew’s adulation.
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And because death had failed to dim the power of Medusa’s gaze,
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Perseus used her severed head to kill Polydektes,
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then gave it to Athena, who placed it on her shield.
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But Athena’s wasn’t the only shield emblazoned with Medusa’s face.
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Ancient Greek and Roman artists committed Medusa’s image to everything
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from armor and paintings to ceramics and mosaic floors.
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And while it was customary for ancient Greek subjects to appear in profile,
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Medusa was almost always facing directly outwards.
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She was an apotropaic symbol, one that imbued both fear and protection at once.
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Her story reverberated through time.
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In many versions, including the earliest, she was always a Gorgon;
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in others, like the ancient Roman poet Ovid’s,
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she had a sympathetic, human backstory—
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as a woman who’d experienced cruelty and injustice,
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not just a simple monster to slay.
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