7/4/2023 0 Comments Medusa and poseidon![]() ![]() ![]() It is within the Theogony that Hesiod spoke of Medusa as having had relations with the god Poseidon, brother of Zeus and Hades, writing “with her lay the Dark-haired one in a soft meadow among spring flowers” (Hesiod. While the Gorgons were frequently and most often conveyed in this way, Medusa herself began to be spoken of outside of the context of the trio. The image of the Gorgons as foul monsters even continued into later Roman mythology, with the Gorgons being named monsters by Ovid in his Metamorphoses, and “harpies of foul wing” (Virgil. Smyth), and within Peace by Aristophanes, wherein they were creatures from which one needed to be rescued. This image was further cemented by later authors and their works, such as Aeschylus’ Prometheus Bound, wherein the Gorgons were the “loathed of mankind” (Aeschylus. Evelyn-White), in his Shield of Herakles. Hesiod himself sustained this depiction with his mention of the Gorgons as “unapproachable and unspeakable” (Hesiod. The image of the Gorgons as a trio of malevolent beings written by Homer would still be perpetuated throughout later centuries, however. Though difficult to see, the head of the Gorgon is placed in the middle of her breastplate. Butler). Dating from approximately 725 BCE, the Odyssey also presented this singular Gorgon, accompanied by the same type of description, which is to say a creature that instills fear in those faced with her presence. 1), and depicted as “the Gorgon, dread and awful” (Homer. It is within the Iliad that the Gorgon was placed on the aegis of Athena (Fig. These two texts, dating to approximately 800BCE-750BCE, presented not the three Gorgons that would become standard in later myth, but only one Gorgon. As some of the earliest extant writings of Greek literature, it is notable that the Gorgons first appeared this early into the narrative of Greek mythology. Gorgons were first mentioned within Homer’s Iliad and Odyssey, as previously mentioned. These works will provide me with the information I will later use to depict Medusa’s divergence from the other Gorgons, and speak of events that would enable her to be more pronounced. ![]() I will look more closely at the myths concerning Medusa, and her relation with the other gods, found in works such as Hesiod’s Theogony and Shield of Herakles, Ovid’s Metamorphoses, as well as Virgil’s Aeneid. It is around this time that I will also begin to diverge my research from the Gorgons in general to focus on Medusa, as her popularity and solo presence within Greek writings grew. I will also then reference Hesiod’s Theogony, another early text featuring the Gorgons and Medusa. I will also bring into my research the works of Aeschylus and Aristophanes as popular surviving literary texts that also display the notion of the Gorgons at the time. As the first writings to mention the Gorgons, a knowledge of this initial conception will enable me to place their further development in later centuries into its proper context. ![]() I will begin by speaking of the first occurrences of the Gorgons in Greek writings, and so will reference Homer’s Iliad and Odyssey. It was during this later period that the Gorgon named Medusa began acquiring more attention in Greek writings, becoming perhaps the most well-known and certainly most mentioned of the three Gorgons. They are also the sisters of the Graeae, mythological women/creatures whose names were Dino, Pephredo, and Enyo. Their earliest appearance was in the Greek epic writings of Homer, specifically within the Iliad, dating to approximately 750 BCE, with multiple references to their beings being made in later centuries. The name of Medusa means “ruling one”, and the term gorgos in general means “terrible” and “fierce”. The daughters of Phorcys and Ceto, they are not entirely human, instead possessing various monstrous appearances and qualities. The Gorgons: a trio of mythological women associated with Greek mythology named Stheno, Euryale, and Medusa. ![]()
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