A similar story is found in an Ancient Sumerian myth. Pazuzu (yes, THAT Pazuzu), a demon of sickness, is known as a protective ward for infants against Lamashtu; another demon, but one of miscarriages.
Carl Jung’s theory of the shadow touches on this subject- that virtue doesn’t come from being harmless. It comes when you’re a monster, but you control it.
Not in a million years. Medusa was just another Greek monster for a hero to slay like every other known Greek monster like the Lernean Hydra and the Chimera, until Ovid decided to retcon Medusa's story alltogether (along with Athena's characterization), and make her a "feminist icon".
Yes. Hades gets a massive bad rap. I believe he was of much better character than his brothers. He certainly was a better husband. Didn’t d*ck around with other women.
Yes. This turns it around for me. I never disliked Athena until I heard of her punishment of Medusa. It doesn´t fit with what I read about her up until that point. Thank you for making this video
He mentioned that Ovid's version is Roman, that he really disliked Athena and that the there are no Greek writings to indicate a similar story. That means that Ovid's version simply isn't canon in Greek mythology, only in Roman mythology. So, you don't have to dislike Athena.
The way i see it, Athena had to punish medusa or risk being seen as weak by the other gods. So she turned her Into a gorgon to 1) teach medusa to not be so vain as she was often said to be very beautiful and flirtatious and 2) so that she had a weapon in case any man ever tried to do that to her again.
@@decoral Also it did not help that Augustus told him to go into exile or lose his balls and head. So he might be projecting his own thoughts that the gods were not fair to him.
@@destinymcgehee9807 Also If she's not jealous of Medusa's beauty, she would have appear to help her priestess.it's a mixture of both but one thing is clear athena is a jealous woman so she curse her and use they oh well she won't be touch by man yet she removed her beauty out of pure jealousy. What a great way to protect someone u love . she could have turned her into a flower or somethinh .How could the reason why athena turned medusa into a gorgon is to protect herself(athena) from men when medusa literally lived in a cave after that?As a god you know everything but athena is a blind goddess to see the reality.if u can't punish Poseidon than why punish an innocent? Its an injustice. How can a god of wisdom can do such an injustice ha?
Her image was painted on shields and architecture as a form of protection. While this was nothing new, look at Egyptians using the images of the god Bes used to protect the home and later Christians use of Gargoyles on cathedrals. Humans have often used images of horror or terror to ward off evil.
This is only bc modern day Christianity had always been pagan, after the Romans took over it anyway. Christmas, Easter etc are all ancient pagan holidays. Christians don't like pagans at all yet they celebrate the morning star/Lucifer and the sun God along with many other ancient gods without even knowing they do in fact Christmas is even prohibited in scripture yet it is celebrated as Christ's birth and who decided to celebrate Christs on that specific day? Christmas actually falls around the winter solstice a mayor holiday to druids and witches also it falls around a date the Romans worhsiped and celebrated an ancient gods they sacrificed babies 2 and ironically it is around a roman holiday celebrated for days the birthdate of one of most sadistic emperor's. The Romans have been celebrating these holidays wayy before they adopted Christianity and they only changed into Christianity due to the influence it had, they just wanted power, smart dudes. Till this day they have a hand in almost everything and continue to worship their ancient gods.
To be honest, I prefer Gorgon Medusa because I always prefer the Greek version (or versions) over the altered Roman version. Same thing goes for Egyptian Mythology.
@@majesticgothitelle1802 Athena never cursed the gorgons in Greek mythology, because they were BORN like that. The story where she curses Medusa and the whole Arachne are found in Roman writings onward. No Greek writings mention them. Therefore they are not part of Greek mythology.
Lauren Faust was planning to direct an animated feature about Medusa soon after she resigned from producing My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, but she left the project due to creative differences with Sony Pictures Animation, and apparently the whole project is dead now.
I wouldn't say cleared...I'd say offered a different version. Depending on what version you prefer will determine if Athena was just a jealous bitch or not.
@Hermes1215 No kidding. Athena also spent a lot of her time being an awesome big sister who protected her younger siblings from all kinds of dangers (and from Hera too, if they were bastards). She also provided help and guidance to a lot of Greek mythology heroes. She was one of the nicest Greek gods. I just can’t see her being so dickish like in Ovid’s stories. It doesn’t match up with her general characterization.
@@eon1014 Also it did not help that Augustus told Ovid to go into exile or lose his balls and head. So he might be projecting his own thoughts that the gods were not fair to him.
8:55 I want to clarify something about this. This version in which Medusa displayed hubris and Athena punished her is indeed Greek. BUT the poet calls her a GORGON, not a human, which immediately means that she was not transformed by Athena. Athena's punishment was Perseus himself, meaning that according to that version: Medusa was gorgon like her sisters, but she was beautiful and said that she was more beautiful than Athena. Athena punished her by contributing to her demise, by helping her(Athena's) brother, Perseus, during his task.
@@anjealousanaconda9692 While what you said is hilarious😂, there are some versions in which Medusa is born a beautiful gorgon, isntead of an ugly one. I am pretty sure this is one of them.
Yes, it was pseudo apollodorus, based on what he writes "It is affirmed by some that Medousa was beheaded because of Athena, for they say the Gorgon had been willing to be compared with Athena in beauty" there was no transformation involved. He also writes "Perseus took flight and made his way to the ocean, where he found the Gorgones sleeping . . . All who looked at them were turned to stone. Perseus, therefore, with Athena guiding his hand, kept his eyes on the reflection in a bronze shield as he stood over the sleeping Gorgones, and when he saw the image of Medousa, he beheaded her."
I think its because posiden raped her because of how beautiful she was and even tho they dont really say it in the movies maybe its a reference to that…..or its Hollywood….🤷🏽♀️idk
@@Tanath Dad? But you died in may. Now I question everything. The sparrows tell me to kill hag behind us. But I resist because there isn't one there. Bottom line your messengers are retarded and stop it.
I have a Medusa head with a rose covering my entire right rib. It was to symbolize being cold hearted after heartbreak. But I’ve healed from that, and after watching this video, I guess now it’s for hope and protection.
also when you have heard an earlier story where cassandra was r@pd in her temple by ajax. ajax the lesser we know was with achaeans, cassandra was trojan princess. And Athena was with the achaeans and against Trojans. when cassandra was r@pd, there are 2 accounts that mention despite athena rejoicing at the sack of troy, she was crying for what happened to cassandra. Not only Athena doesn't punish cassandra (like medusa), she had sympathy and grief for her, and later she punishes Ajax by killing him. so medusa's story by ovid seems even off if you know this.
My interpretation is that Poseidon forced himself on her in Athena’s temple, Athena transformed her into a Gorgon to both protect Medusa and other women from men like Poseidon. Medusa’s new purpose was to protect t women from sexual violence. And she slowly turned bitter and angry by her experience. She still protected these women but slowly became a monster while doing so.
I think this is what i am familiar with. Pretty sure this i learned from percy jackson series. It is what brought me to greek myth in elementary school by my teacher.
No..Athena turned Medusa into a monster cause she was jealous of her beauty... It wasn't to protect her cause she should have protected her from being raped by Poseidon Also Athena helped Perseus to kill Medusa ...
My mother and I like listening to your voice together. Every new video becomes a new treasured memory for us, so I’m saying thank you for helping my mother and I become closer.
All joking in the comments aside, this was a great video! While I had known about Medusa originally being a full monster, and developing into a human turned monster, I hadn’t known about Ovid, about him being Roman and the biases that has. I was always so confused about the characterization of Athena in the tales of Medusa and Arachne, and that piece of information just changed my whole perspective!
Thank you for this. Medusa, and the gorgon figure in general, have been egregiously trivialized and overlooked for so long. I was so pleased to see my interpretation of Athena's curse being in fact protection was an actual thing and not something I just pulled out of my ass. I think Medusa is a powerful and important symbol right now as we navigate the emerging and shifting discourse of sexual assault/survival and gender. Thank you for casting light on the nuances of this oft not appreciated figure in mythology, and for executing it in your usual artful style.
Medusa's horrible appearance could be an allegory of ostracism: Because Ancient Greeks had the virtue of chastity and Medusa losing her "purity", society turned her back on her, blaming her for her disgrace, therefore, outcasting her.
Thank you, sir, SO MUCH for this video. You must've done a ton of research on this as you've answered some of my questions regarding gorgons & their history. I've been obsessed with & puzzled by Medusa since I was a kid, & have been trying to unravel her mysterious origin story for years. I’ve always thought that there has to be much more to Medusa than merely being Perseus’ boss battle as a monster with a petrifying gaze. Her story is intriguing enough, yet seems severely lacking, like much of her-story was erased or forgotten by men who wrote myths down. Uncovering the multiple layers of her lore is an entertaining endeavour, so is dissecting how ancient politics & patriarchy constantly interfered or inspired cultural storytelling. I’m glad there are folks like you on this planet who are spending their time to unravel plot points for me! Like as you said, the most popular version of Medusa's origin story is Ovid's. D'uh, he's Roman, & does not give a flying fork about Athen's patron goddess. My fascination with the character was rekindled when I visited Sicily 2 summers ago. Medusa (or, a Gorgon's face) is EVERYWHERE on the island. She’s the head on the Sicilian flag, the Triskelion (surrounded by three running legs). But most importantly (& intriguingly) is that Medusa is a stunningly beautiful ceramic head that appears in almost every restaurant or shop, protecting the premises or on sale as a souvenir. Sicily is truly a magical Mediterranean melting pot, not just teeming with modern Italian, ancient Roman or Greek influence, but with enigmatic Berber/ Moorish & even more archaic Phoenician roots as well. The Gorgon’s ubiquitous presence on Sicily is mostly depicted as beautiful. It’s not the hideous disembodied head on the Aegis, via mainland Greece or Italy. Perhaps Medusa’s beautiful, ravishing look is because Sicily commemorates her as as the youthful sea goddess who inflamed Poseidon, & is remembered via that Phoenician/ Berber heritage (African dreadlocks remastered as "snakes"). Here's another writer's blog on the subject. The comment section may interest you as well. Thank you & the artist again for your sublime work. austinhackney.co.uk/2016/10/26/the-medusa-myth-and-its-meaning-the-real-story-of-medusa
I love seeing your videos as a person who loves mythology it hits that sweet spot of giving me the chance to listen to myths I haven't heard of before. Keep up the good work I think you're doing great.
during my trip to Athens, I saw several images of Medusa as a vaguely-female monster with snakes for hair and small bird-like wings protruding from her head. I'd glad you brought up possible sources of the fairer vision of a more beautiful Medusa that we often see in fiction today. I do not remember if you mentioned this: Athena is often depicted with a shield, an Aegis. Quite often there is a gorgon's face on the shield.
Medusa is all three Monster: her looks (meaning her snake hair) Victim: killed with no mercy and has a sad story Protecter: yes, she is a protecter in a way
Thank you for making this video, i have been trying to understand the story of medusa but kept hitting a wall. the fact that Ovid's version is a later interpetation helps a lot.
Damn Ovid! It's not that his stories are bad per se - it's good that they teach us about the Romans beliefs - but I hate how they get confused with the original Greek myths. Since every version is called a Greek myth, the only way to make sure of which is which is to dig.
There's very scant study into REAL Greek & Roman mythology. All those "Greek (& Roman/ or Norse/ Egyptian/ Chinese) myth" books out there are BASIC AF. You need to be neck deep in academia with equal expertise in the diverse disciplines of anthropology/ comparative cultural religious studies/ ancient history/ historical linguistics/ archaeology to even BEGIN to understand what the original Greeks (& Romans) thought of their religion & cultural stories. Sorry, all these video game flapping fanboys commenting on how they're rock hard for Medusa here are just tourists.
When I read the story of medusa, I always thought of the injustice done on her. I've felt sad for her. But she is not the only one, Arachne also suffered the wrath of Athena.
Also it did not help that Augustus told Ovid to go into exile or lose his balls and head. So he might be projecting his own thoughts that the gods were not fair to him. So writing about the cruelty of the gods would be in form
I'm so pleased you made this video and not just the other one. The fastest way to turn me into the "Ach-tually!" guy is to repeat the Ovid version as if it were canon.
Perhaps it's more down to how the stories of deities/monsters developed throughout Greece's history (Dionysus is a good example of this happening) but part of me leans toward the story where Athena did it to protect her. This may be a biased opinion, seeing as I'm a Hellenistic-based witch but it's important to remember that Athena is the goddess of much more than just strategic warfare: she's the goddess of mathematics, wisdom, craftsmanship, courage, JUSTICE. If the story of Posideon and Medusa was a true one, it only makes sense that Athena, a very prominent goddess in the culture at the time, would have to be seen to deal with this situation by standing by what she represents. But that's just my take on the story.
Medusa, head full of snakes reflects the cunning, the jealousy and evil intentions of others...algol in taurus, ones possessions, values, wisdom and beauty...this star is very FORTUNATE but attracts unfortunate situations from others....
Awesome video, I just also wanted to say your book is great. I literally just read the Medusa story. I defiantly feel for her. But more of how you written her, someone who was naive it was how I took it.
I think its fascinating to see the difference in versions to her story. The differant story versions could be easly compared to todays issues almost flawlessly. It makes sense that a seemingly insignificant character could become the Forefront of various stories in mythology. And the tales grow from there
MY OWN THOUGHTS ON THIS SUBJECT INVOLVING THE FEMALE MYTHICAL BEING (MEDUSA) Now I think that (MEDUSA) might be all three, and the reason why I think this is because through each story you learn about many different sides to her, and to add what she had gone through throughout her lifetime of living before she had died.
Aaaaaayyyyy mythology and fiction explained. Long time no see. Hope you've been well. Glad to have you back. Love your vids. They are informative and extremely interesting. 😍
Thank you for the shout out to the artist. Their work is very similar to the illustrations that pulled me into the world of mythology. Your intro is also amazing.
I also think that Athena putting Medusa onto her shield (that reflects), means that when people seek Athena, as in wisdom, they first see the monstrous head of Medusa reflected back at them. And not only that, but that face turns everybody into stone who looks at it. So maybe seeking wisdom sometimes petrifies us. It reminds me in that way of the sphinx. Anyways there is a lot of interesting symbolism in the myth of Medusa.
Thank you for clarifying! I hope you’ll continue to filter out the later retellings (by non-Greeks) and reference the oldest/originals more. Maybe that’s the next series?? Would make you stand way above the competition! Appreciate what you do. Wonderful work!
Athena was also pretty awful concerning Troy. And considering that most of what we know of Athena comes through Athens I don't think the Romans are any less believable than the Athenians.
This is a comment ment for those who aren't going to pay attention to the video and are just going to comment and rant about medusa being a victim and hate on Athena and then leave (which is stupid because this video is really good why would you leave without finishing it -_-) There are many storys about medusa Some say she was born a monster Some say the sea god didn't rape her some say he did.... Some say Athena did Medusa a favor and gave her a gift so men could never force themselfs on to her again Some say Athena let jealousy get in the way of her making the best decision for Medusa Your allowed to have your own perspective on these....fictional characters? (Idk what else to call them 0_0") but remember there's always more then one version of a story just like how there's two sides of the same coin (or however the saying goes) Please do more research before jumping to conclusions or your going to look stupid This has been your daily dose of greek mythology rants Have a good day uwu
Not very nice to call people stupid for believing in one story. That doesn’t mean they don’t acknowledge the others. It just comes off as passive aggressive imo, though I guess you’re just tired of the “one sided” comments, which is understandable. But it’s one of the most commonly spread so can you really blame people who don’t spend a lot of time researching greek myths??
They're known as "myth" LOL yet somehow some people think they have the CORRECT version of a piece of FICTION, like they were actually there, as flesh & blood WITNESS, when the virgin goddess turned the poor girl into a hideous monster, or when Perseus slew her. Good Lord where on earth are people's brains? Not in their heads I suppose. May great Athena grant y'all wisdom you dumb b!tches.
@@sommerblume9671 So yeah, then they're stupid. As in too lazy to think more about a topic they're interested in. But yeah, truth seekers will call a doe a female deer, & a bitch's a bitch.
Extra points for revising and redoing the video on Medusa! From my perspective, Medusa is an example of world wide cultural diffusion, where similar "scary faces" appear as amulets to ward off evil.
Some people do believe that Athena actually didn’t punish her. She turned her into a Gorgon like her sisters due to the fact she would be protected and didn’t have to go through that truama again. Which would make sense because of Athenas reputation and the fact she was also raped by Poseidon and she felt sorry for her so she did Medusa asked of her. So that any who look at her, turn to stone. Instead of punishing Poseidon because she knew he couldn’t be punished. No matter how you look at it. Her story is fascinating which is why I believe it’s so popular. And no matter how you look at it. Poseidon is the huge dick in that story.
Here's the lesson that I have learned from Medusa's story... That beauty has a price, often attracting the unwarranted attention of both envious and lustful eyes.
I definitely thought Medusa was raped, only for Athena to give her a way to protect herself. She was a loyal priestess but a protective monster. Poseidon being the one who raped her.
I love your passion for Medusa, myself I've had a fascination with her even as a small child her name means protection I believe I might be wrong please forgive me . Love how you have evolved. May all the Gods and Goddess bless you. 🎃🌻🎃
Cool , different stories of the same woman , i was told she was transformed that so no man would harm her again and she took refuge on the island , so she would never harm a woman . Only men went to try to kill her , while women prayed to her . Loved the pictures and illustrations. Looking forward to more , until next time .
See the Fate Anime series had Medusa and her sisters be the perfect humans but Medusa had a curse on her from Athena that meant she wasn't and so the three went to a Island to live in peace then Athena made people thing they were monsters out of jealousy so Medusa became the monster to protect her sisters (So weirdly this ones none of them but also got elements of all of them)
Let us 🅰ll admit; several; interpretations of Gorgons; are unexpectedly; alluring; even attractive; for some reason Euryale gets the most charming depiction
Could you do a video on Hecate, she just seems really awesome and after Chilling Adventures of Sabrina she is probably going to be more popular and well known
Lol I think I’ve cursed you out on those previous videos & brought up a lot of the facts presented in this current video. I have to commend you on continually going back to revise your work on the topic!!!
@@Daddy-Saxon well I prefer the versions where we aren’t automatically demonizing a woman. In Greek mythology-and in lots of stories to be honest-women were usually either pious and dutiful or evil monsters. I just think it’s dumb to make women such 2D characters.
There's always more to any character than a two dimensional image. Thanks for being cognizant of that and giving her a bit of respect. I've often thought that the snakes may have been dreadlocks for some reason and that the phrase " If looks could kill...", probably was tied into her legend. These stories remain because they resonate with us. The hostility between Jezebel and Elijah would be the Hebrew version to some extent, I think. Not as relatable, but a similar perspective on a bitter, powerful female who was clearly considered an eminent threat to those displeasing or opposing her.
It´s true, Medusa is a Symbol of so much, many versions, cultures. You cannot just pick once version and say it is the official. If you do, as our Host said, you are missing so much.
