Medusa

Both menacing monster and powerful protectress.

Medusa’s gaze could turn whomever she looked upon to stone. All around her dwelling at the entrance of the Underworld lay stony figures of men and animals that had chanced to catch a glimpse of her and been petrified by the sight. In ancient Greece, Gorgon masks were placed on ovens and kiln doors to frighten away children who might hurt themselves.

In later versions of the Greek myth, Medusa was once a beautiful maiden who desecrated goddess Athena's temple by having intimate relations there with Poseidon. Or perhaps she was raped, depending on the version of the tale you happen to hear. Outraged, Athena turned Medusa's hair into living snakes.

The hero, Perseus, killed Medusa by cutting off her head; he then presented the disgusting thing to Athena as proof of his deed. From Medusa's dead body the winged horse Pegasus sprang forth. The movie, “Clash of the Titans,” spectacularly shows this battle.

So Medusa’s appearance changed through the years from an ugly and menacing monster to a serene woman – beautiful as well as terrifying. During my recent summertime trip to Greece, I spent a brief day in Turkey wandering through the fantastic archaeological site of Ephesus. On a frieze in the Temple of Hadrian, built between 115 and 135 A.D., there is a huge Medusa overhead depicted in low relief. She keeps watch over the temple with her fearsome gaze, not as an ugly monster, but as a beautiful woman. Our guide told us that anyone who could meet her gaze and enter the temple was a person good in heart and character. In Greece I frequently saw for sale medallions, plaques, or statuettes of Medusa as an imposing figure of a woman serving as an emblem of protection for the home.

This perception of Medusa as fierce protectress proved a revelation to me. I had never before conceived of Medusa as anything but menacing and horrible.