MEDUSA - the betrayed priestess

 

Story! Story…

A long time ago, in the ancient Greek mythology, lived three sisters known as the Gorgons whose names were Sthenno, Euryale and Medusa. They were the children of the Primordial sea gods Keto and Photkys. One among the three sisters was the most famous and misunderstood because she was a mortal. Her name was MEDUSA.

Medusa was a very beautiful maiden. Her beauty was well known throughout the land. She was greatly desired by many men. Despite this, Medusa decided to pledge herself to serve the goddess, Athena. Ignoring all the attention men gave to her, she took the Oath of Celibacy (abstaining from any sexual relations) required of Athena's priestess.  For a while, things went smoothly for Medusa as she wholeheartedly served Athena in spite of her jealousy of Medusa's ravishing beauty. 

Everything changed, however, for Medusa when her beauty caught the eyes of the god Poseidon, Athena's greatest rival. Poseidon could not resist Medusa's beauty, and in order to provoke Athena, he went ahead to lay with Medusa in the goddess's shrine. Devastated and broken that she was taken against her will, Medusa turned to Athena for help and support. Despite being the victim, she was cast aside by the furious Athena, who blamed her for allowing herself to be defiled and impregnated inside her temple by her greatest rival, Poseidon. As a form of punishment, Athena transformed Medusa into a monster,her hair turned into snakes, that anyone who gazed at her directly would be turned into stone. This was a deadly power and cruel curse on Medusa to ensure her loneliness.

Retrieving to a place of solitude, Medusa was eternally hurt by Athena's betrayal; a goddess she had devoted all her life to serve. She hated Poseidon for what he had done to her. As time went on, Medusa's character changed from a kind beautiful maiden to a wicked monster who was no longer sought by men for her beauty but as a trophy to hunt. Her hatred grew as the day passed until she became the character of her outer form. She killed all those who attempted to harm her and soon became a great threat to all. 

After many failed attempts to kill Medusa whose powers turn anything that looked into her eyes to stone, Perseus, the son of Zeus, was able to behead her in her sleep with the aid of the gods. He had gotten a cap of invisibility from Hades, a pair of winged sandals from Hermes, a reflective bronze shield from Athena, and a sword from Hephaestus. Immediately Medusa's head was cut off, the children of Poseidon inside her sprung forth fully formed.  Perseus, who was attacked by Medusa's two monstrous sisters, escaped with the head of Medusa, which still retained its power. He used the head to defect many monsters and eventually gave it back to Athena.

 Athena, however, fixed the head of Medusa to her shield whenever she went for battle.

Athena's shield.

Medusa's head now became a symbol

of protection for the goddess.  Today,

the most well-known image of

Medusa’s head belongs perhaps to the

logo of the Italian fashion company, Versace.

MORAL LESSONS.

• Beauty and innocence can be transformed into anger and hate by the least form of betrayal and misunderstanding.

• Try to listen to the other side of the story before drawing any conclusions or serving any punishment.

• Avoid betraying the trust people have on you. Betrayal hurts deeper than you can imagine.

• Every devil today was once an angle of light.