In Greek mythology, the Titans were ancient deities who ruled in peace and harmony before the Olympian gods. After the Titans lost to the Olympians, long before the time of Ancient Greece, the Titans' images were demonized. This demonization later became embedded in the myths of Ancient Greece and was eventually passed down to Western culture as it was. Medusa, the most beautiful maiden of Titan origin, did not escape this fate. Today, her name is commonly associated with a terrifying monster whose murder was considered a blessing. To restore justice let us explore the original version of Medusa's myth.
Various versions of the restored myth of Medusa have been proposed. I lean towards the one inspired by Golosovker's "Tales of the Titans" and the lectures from the Forgotten Ruins channel, particularly the lecture "The Gorgon Medusa - The End of the Legend." I highly recommend both sources to readers interested in exploring the subject further. Neither of them is available in English, but they can be easily translated using modern AI tools. The next best option for English-speaking readers is the excellent novel by William Tenn, “Medusa Was a Lady” (click the link to read it).
So, let's begin our journey from Beast to Maiden.
Medusa: Beauty Behind the Myth
Digest to ‘The Tale of the Titaness Gorgon Medusa'
Children of Gaia (Earth) and Uranus (Sky) — the Titans Phorcys and Ceto — had six daughters (The Phorcydes). Three of them — Pemphredo, Enyo, and Dino — were called the Graeae and were known for their silver hair and beauty. The other three — Stheno, Euryale, and Medusa — were the beautiful Gorgons with golden wings.
( Undoubtedly, the names "Graeae"-"Old Women" and "Gorgon"-"Terrifying" were given to the Phorcydes by the Olympian gods following the Phorcydes defeat. This was done to erase any memory of their once-beautiful nature.)
After the fall of the Titans and the rise of the Olympian gods, the Phorcydes refused to bow to the new rulers. Athena-Pallas, daughter of Zeus and the Titan Metis, envied Medusa's beauty and strength, especially her hair. Poseidon, urged on by Athena, chased Medusa and eventually raped her in a temple where she was hiding. Not satisfied with this, Athena, in her anger, transformed Medusa from a beautiful girl into a monstrous figure with snake hair and a gaze that turned everything to stone.
(By the way, the story of Athena's nickname, Pallas, perfectly illustrates her wild sadistic nature. After she defeated the Giant Pallas, Athena skinned him alive to make her breastplate. She also added the Giant's name to her own as a trophy, which is why she's often referred to as “Pallas” or “Pallas Athena.” She later affixed the head of the Gorgon Medusa to it. The other version is that the breastplate was made from the hide of her "milk grandmother", the goat Amalthea, who nursed her father Zeus as an infant. It's up to you to decide which version sounds less shocking.)
Medusa became an outcast and had to hide with her sisters at the edge of the world, guarded by the Graeae. Once a year, the Gorgons would fly out into the world, and during that time Medusa realized her gaze could turn anything to stone.
Athena inspired Perseus, the son of Danaë and Zeus, to want to cut off Medusa's head, and Hermes helped him find the way. Perseus got magical items from the nymphs: a bag, an adamantine sickle, and Hades' cap of invisibility. Athena also gave Perseus a mirror-like shield so he could see Medusa without looking directly at her.
Using trickery, Perseus forced the Graeae to show him the way to the Gorgons. When he arrived, he cut off Medusa's head. From Medusa's body came the winged horse Pegasus and the titan Chrysaor. Medusa's sisters woke up and tried to chase Perseus, but they couldn't catch him. By the gods' command, Perseus returned all the magical items, including Medusa's head, which Athena placed on her breastplate.
Athena also collected Medusa's blood, which could either save or kill people, and gave it to the healer Asclepius. Asclepius used it to bring the dead back to life, breaking the law of Ananke, the inevitability of fate. This disruption of the natural order of the cosmos angered Zeus and he struck Asclepius down with a lightning bolt to remind everyone of the inevitability of death.
My drawing of Perseus from around 1954, which I found many years later in my mom’s archive
Homage to Medusa
Since many people will see the images on small screens, which might not highlight the images' nuances, here are some enlarged fragments of "Homage to Medusa" to enhance the viewers' experience.
Medusa's Cenotaph
Mourning Giantess