Medusa Gorgon and Perseus - one of the most famous characters in ancient Greek myths. The hero who killed the terrible monster and saved the beautiful Andromeda from death is credited with founding the city of Mycenae and the Perseid dynasty. Jellyfish, on the other hand, symbolizes a disgusting terrible creature, the embodiment of fear and death, but at the same time - an unhappy beauty who, by the will of evil fate, became an innocent victim of a divine curse. The myth of Perseus and Medusa Gorgon left a noticeable mark in literature, music and art, not only of the ancient world, but also of the Middle Ages and modern times.
Origin of the Gorgon Medusa
According to legend, Medusa was the youngest of the three sisters born by the deities of the water element Forky and Keto, who in turn were the children of Pontus (the god of the sea) and Gaia (the goddess of the earth). The elder Gorgons - Sfeno and Euryale - inherited immortality from their parents, Medusa was the only one to whom the priceless gift did not get.
Initially, these characters of the mythology of ancient Hellas were represented in the guise of sea virgins, proud and beautiful. The beautiful Medusa, the owner of a slender figure and luxurious hair, seemed to be born in order to captivate men's hearts. However, according to one version of the legend, she became the priestess of Athena Pallas, the goddess of war, and made an eternal vow of celibacy.
The Curse of Athena
The vow given by Medusa did not stop Poseidon - the almighty god of the seas. He appeared to the beauty right in the temple of Athena and, blinded by desire, took her by force. Upon learning of this, the goddess became furious. However, she did not consider Poseidon to be guilty of the incident, as well as of desecrating the shrine, but the unfortunate Medusa. Athena's unbridled anger fell at the same time on both of the girl's older sisters.
As a result of the curse of the goddess, the beautiful sisters turned into monstrous winged creatures. Their skin was covered with hideous wrinkles, scales appeared on their bodies, scary claws and fangs grew, and their hair turned into tangles of poisonous snakes. Moreover - from this time on, any unfortunate person who had the imprudence to meet his eyes with any of the Gorgons immediately turned into a stone statue …
Realizing that they no longer have a place among the gods and people, the Gorgon sisters went into exile to the western end of the inhabited land, where they settled on a remote island in the world river Ocean. However, soon they justified the terrible rumor that went about them around the world, destroying many unhappy souls. It was the youngest of the sisters who became the most cruel and bloodthirsty.
Many heroes tried to deal with the terrible monster - after all, the one who killed Medusa Gorgon should have received not only fame, but also a priceless trophy: her head. The power of gaze of Medusa would continue to turn creatures to stone even after her death. However, no one succeeded - until young Perseus set off to accomplish the feat, ironically, not for the sake of trophy or glory.
Who is Perseus
Legend of Perseus says that the ruler of Argos named Acrisius had the only daughter of Danae. Believing the prediction that the son of Danai would be destined to cause his death, the frightened Akrisius locked his daughter in the tower, about to starve her to hunger and thirst. However, the beauty was noticed by Zeus himself, the head of the Olympic gods. He entered the prison to Danae in the form of a golden rain and made her his wife. From this marriage a boy was born, named Perseus.
Mythology says that once Acrisius, having heard the laughter of a child, went up to his daughter in the tower and was depressed and amazed, however he still did not dare to kill the little demigod with his own hand. Instead, he made a monstrous decision: he ordered Danai and her baby to be put in a wooden box and thrown into the waves of the sea.
However, Perseus and his mother were not destined to die. After some time, the box was pulled ashore by a fisherman named Dictis - the brother of the king of the island of Serif, Polydect. At the court of Polydect, little Perseus grew up, who later became famous as the one who killed Medusa Gorgon.
Preparing the hero for the campaign
However, the life of Perseus and his mother on Serif was also difficult. After the death of his wife, Polydect decided to marry the beautiful Danai. However, she strongly opposed this, and Perseus was a reliable defense for her mother. Thinking about the youth of a young man, the insidious Polydect gave the young hero a task: to bring him the head of a monster known to all of Hellas as the Medusa of the Gorgon.
And Perseus hit the road. However, the immortal inhabitants of Olympus could not allow the death of the son of Zeus himself. The quick-winged messenger of the gods Hermes and the warrior Athena took his side. Hermes handed the young man his sword, easily chopping any steel. Pallas gave Perseus a copper shield, shining like a mirror, and blessed on the road.
The wanderings of the hero through distant lands were long. Finally, he reached a gloomy country, in which lived the old grays, guarding the path to the Gorgons, who had one tooth and one eye on all three. With the help of cunning Perseus managed to steal their "treasures" from the brink, leaving them toothless and blind. In exchange for the return of the stolen items, the grays had to tell the hero how to find the Gorgon.
The road in the right direction ran through the edge where the nymphs lived. Having learned who Perseus is and where he is going, the nymphs, wanting to help, presented him with three magical things. It was a bag that could hold anything, winged sandals that allowed it to fly through the air, and the helmet of the lord of the Underworld, Hades, giving invisibility to the one who wears it. Thanking for the help and gifts, Perseus flew straight to the island occupied by the Gorgons.
The death of a monster
Fate and the gods favored the hero. Perseus was in the lair of the monsters at a time when they were fast asleep and could not notice him. The copper shield presented by Athena turned out to be very useful: looking in the reflection on it, as if in a mirror, the young man managed to examine the three sisters well, and most importantly, to guess which of them was Medusa Gorgon.
And Perseus rushed to the attack. The only sure blow with the sword was enough - and the severed head of Medusa was in the hands of the hero. The monster's red blood poured onto the ground, from which a dazzling white horse Pegasus and the golden bow of Chrysaor sprang up soaring into the sky without delay.
Two awakened Gorgons howled in horror. They rushed up to find and tear to pieces the one who killed their younger sister. But in vain they flew over the island in search of Perseus - thanks to winged sandals the young man was already far away, taking away the terrible head of Medusa in his bag.
The rescue of Andromeda
On his long journey back, Perseus ended up in Ethiopia, on the territory of the kingdom of Kefey. There, on the ocean, he saw his daughter, the beautiful princess Andromeda, chained to a rock. The girl told the hero that she was left here to sacrifice a sea monster sent down by Poseidon from the depths of the sea. This gigantic fish devastated the kingdom of Kefey on the orders of the god of the seas due to the fact that the mother of Andromeda, Cassiopeia, angered the sea nymphs, saying that her beauty was much more perfect. The oracle told the grief-stricken king Kefey that he could atone for his wife only by sacrificing their only daughter to the monster.
Struck by the woeful history, as well as the beauty of Andromeda, Perseus did not leave the unfortunate girl in trouble. After waiting for the appearance of the monster, he killed him in a heavy battle, and then took the rescued princess to the palace to her parents and announced that he wanted to marry her.
