Themis was a Titaness (the female version of Titan), which was a generation of gods that came before the Olympians.This was the Golden Age, a time of peace when the Titan Kronos ruled over all others. Detail. Pausanias, Description of Greece: A second-century CE travelogue; like Strabos Geography, an important source for local myths and customs. Hesiod, Theogony 29597 (though the reading of these lines is disputed). Its hard to tell anything about this Medusa painting other than what you see. (2023, March 11). Both Proetus and Megapenthes were King of Argos, and Magapenthes was the cousin of Danae. She was usually represented as a winged female creature having a head of hair consisting of snakes; unlike the Gorgons, she was sometimes represented as very beautiful. Harrison believed that there was some evidence that Medusa was simply one woman and that the stories of her sisters came later. Hephaestus, the Greek god of fire and blacksmith to the Olympians, would create armor and weapons for many heroes over the years. There is no evidence that Poseidon was angry about this action, however, and the god appears to play no other role in the story of the Grecian hero. Sky was the first who ruled over the whole world. There was also a theory established by Helene Cixous in which she claims that the original story of Medusa was quite different. He explained that when a man saw something frightening such as a naked woman, he associated it with his mother because it was his first experience with the female form. The head of Medusa is used as the logo of the Italian fashion company Versace. Medusa was the only Gorgon who was mortal; hence her slayer, Perseus, was able to kill her by cutting off her head. Andromeda was said to be an Ethiopian princess. Also known as Phorkys, he lay with his sister Ceto. Sky was the first who ruled over the whole world. Her name in Ancient Greek means guardian, protectress. Medusa by Michelangelo Caravaggio (159596). Pegasus, the famous horse with wings, arose from her dead body. Atlas immediately turned to stone, thus becoming the Atlas Mountains. While Medusa once had soft and supple white skin, it turned green. WebIo (/ a. Freud simply stated that the myth is part of the Odepial Complex. It is said he was killed because of the death of Proetus. Themis was one of the first twelve Titans, direct descendants of Gaea (Mother Earth) and Uranus (Father Sky), the first beings to ever exist in the universe. Greek poet Hesiod wrote that Medusa lived close to the Hesperides in the Western Ocean near Sarpedon. She was a monster, a Gorgon, generally described as a winged human female with living venomous snakes in place of hair. Apollonius of Rhodes, Argonautica 4.1515; Ovid, Metamorphoses 4.770; Lucan, Civil War 9.820. She is immediately recognizable, a classical figure and an exciting symbol of a monster. In a strange little side-note, an interesting fact about Medusa and her sisters were integral to the invention of the flute. His bones became stones. Early artwork depicted both Medusa and her sisters as gruesome creatures capable of frightening any man. In ancient Greek religion, Athena was a goddess of war, handicraft, and practical reason. From then on, all who looked upon her were turned to stone. Here are the five most famous paintings depicting Medusa. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); Gods of Death As the guardian of the welfare of kings, Athena became the goddess of good counsel, of prudent restraint and practical insight, as well as of war. The myths of Medusa are addressed in Book 3. After her death, Perseus immediately left to fight Atlas. The name Medusa was likely derived from the Greek verb medein (to guard, protect). This creature had a snake on the end of its tail and the body of a dragon. Pausanias, Description of Greece 2.21.6, 5.12.2. Clash of the Titans They also had another group of sisters called the Graeae who appeared in Prometheus Bound written by Aeschylus. Danae was the firstborn child of King Acrisius, and he was concerned that he would not have a son to take over his kingdom. When Elana Dkyewomon released a series of poems and short stories written by and for lesbians, she chose the Gorgon for the cover. The best-known story of Perseus and Dionysus comes from Nonnus, who wrote an entire biography of the bacchic god. One swipe of the sword and the Gorgon was beheaded, her snake-covered face quickly placed in a bag. Others think that her story likely had roots in historical facts. Greek mythological hero; son of Zeus and slayer of Medusa. While the instrument itself was created by Pallas Athene, Pindar says that she wove into music the dire dirge of the reckless Gorgons which Perseus heard and imitate with musical instruments the shrill cry that reached her ears from the fast-moving jaws of Euryale. Yes, the high-pitched notes of the flute were the screams of the Gorgons as they mourned over the death of their sister. Since Medusa was the only one of the three Gorgons who was mortal, Perseus was able to slay her while looking at the reflection from the mirrored shield he received from Athena. No female character, however, is perhaps as popular as Medusa, the monster who could turn men to stone with a single glance. While no longer as famous as Heracles or Odysseus, the Argive king and Greek hero Perseus has just an interesting story. However, instead of it being in battle or any form of murder, death came only as an accident. Perseus was eventually killed by Megapenthes, son of Proetus. H. G. Evelyn-White. GREEK NAMES: Female - one.seven design Omissions? Her birth and her contest with Poseidon, the sea god, for the suzerainty of the city were depicted on the pediments of the Parthenon, and the great festival of the Panathenaea, in July, was a celebration of her birthday. Andromeda was a legendary Ethiopian princess who was saved by the Greek hero Perseus from a terrible sea-monster. Together, Perseus and Andromeda lived a happy life until they became constellations in the sky. Perseus and Andromeda, from the imperial villa at Boscotrecase, 1st century BCE, The Met. She was able to see the future, and because of this, became one of many in a line of Oracles of Delphi (also known as Pythia). Sigmund Freud, Das Medusenhaupt (Medusas Head). In Egypt, there was a city called Khemmis, which Herodotus records had a temple to Perseus: The people of this Khemmis say that Perseus is seen often up and down this land, and often within the temple, and that the sandal he wears, which is four feet long, keeps turning up, and that when it does turn up, all Egypt prospers.