Medusa

PROTECTOR. IRRESISTIBLE. INTOXICATION

MEDUSA

Medusa – goddess of protection

Medusa stands above all for the protection of women; she is the goddess of masks, the wild look and “wise blood”. Originally she was the snake goddess of the Libyan Amazons and embodied female knowledge.

The Gorgons are among the pre-Olympic deities. Medusa is the only one of the three Gorgons who was mortal.

She is described as a very powerful goddess, simultaneously past, present and future. Because she is also the future, she wears a veil, because mortals are not allowed to know what lies behind her veil (in the future). If someone does manage to lift the veil, it means certain death. To look into this future face would immediately turn a man to stone with terror.

The Medusa myth

Medusa was originally a beautiful maiden. She worked in the service of the goddess Athena and was obliged to renounce lust. In this way she remained “pure” and was able to become a priestess in Athene’s temple.

She lived far in the north and guarded an entrance to Hades. But sadly you never got to see the sun there. Through frequent contact with the deceased, Medusa learned about the beauty and power of the sun and desperately wanted to see it. Athena refused her this.

Her beauty caught the attention of Poseidon, who desired her.

But Medusa made her way south without permission. There she met the sea god Poseidon and a passionate love affair ignited between the two. But of all things, the two chose a temple dedicated to Athena for their love affairs.

Athena was so angry that she turned Medusa into the creature she is known as — a monster most notorious for her writhing snake hair and stare. She had the body of a woman, teeth similar to boar's tusks and glowing eyes.

A powerful deity, female frightening figure and beautiful victim

Although Medusa is commonly viewed as a monster, her head is often seen as a protective amulet that would keep evil away. The name Medusa comes from an ancient Greek verb meaning "to protect or protect."

Medusa teaches women to put on powerful protective masks, to look fierce, to live their wild, fearsome side and to defend themselves against attacks of all kinds. With the strength of Medusa, with wild snake hair, tusks like a boar and glowing eyes, a woman can be sure that - like Medusa - no one wants to get too close to her and certainly not look at her face. And there are situations in which this is urgently necessary.

Medusa and Perseus

From the story of Perseus we learn that he was protected and guided in his endeavors to win the head of Medusa, primarily by Athena.

It was she who instructed him to act against Medusa in such a way that he would not see her face, but only its reflection in his shiny shield. This allowed Perseus to look at Medusa's head without having to look at him face to face. He cut off the head with the sickle that he had received as a gift from Athena, Hermes or Hephaestus.

The winged horse Pegasus leapt out of Medusa's neck. But the horse wasn't the only thing that came from her. With him was born, in the same way, the giant Chrysaor, the hero called “the one with the golden sword”.
From then on, Athena wore the mask-like head of Medusa either as a shield symbol or on her breastplate as special protection on her shield; later it became known as the Gorgoneion.