[88], Close comparison is also made with the serpentine Medusa. Hades players can get Perseus as a hero in the Mythic age. (Pindar puts the Gorgons in or near Hyperborea, a fictional place in the far north. Uncover new sources by reviewing other students' references and bibliographies, Inspire new perspectives and arguments (or counterarguments) to address in your own essay. I cant read Tamazight or Arabic, so Im not ideally placed to say what the prevailing mood is. These include the half-woman, half-snake beasts of the "Libyan myth" told by Dio Chrysostom, and the monster sent to Argos by Apollo to avenge Psamathe (Crotopus). Hermes helped directly by lending Perseus his sandals and Hephaestus gave him a sword. [3] Modern scholarship reconstructs a Proto-Indo-European stem *lem-, "nocturnal spirit", whence also comes lemures. Judika Isles has her as a living Goddess in her Encyclopedia of spirits. French Polynesia, Guadeloupe, Libya, Martinique, New Caledonia, Reunion, Russian Federation, Singapore, Ukraine, Some historians also believe that the existence of three Gorgons is further evidence to support this theory. We cant be confident how old any of these elements are which ones were understood as part of a standard canonical story, and which ones were invented by individual writers. When Medusa is used in fiction as a unique being rather than as a species, she is typically given either one of these two origins, or no origin at all. He goes on to express an opinion that most Greek gods names originally came from Egypt (2.50). And those analogues that exhibit a serpentine form or nature have been especially noted. Sent by a king, Perseus went on a mission to slay Medusa and bring back her head. [72], By the Early Middle Ages, lamia (pl. Please confirm you want to block this member. WebMedusa was one of the three Gorgons ("the Terrible Ones"), the daughters of Keto ("Whale," daughter of Gaea and Pontos, the outer sea) and her brother Phorkys (also a Medusa is not just a minor sea spirit. She went against her vow and married him. Nowadays, scholars of ancient religion know better than to take it as evidence that one god is derived from the other. My work has also been published on Buzzfeed and most recently in Time magazine. One of mythologys most terrible monsters may have originally been a goddess. (Apollon. WebHesiod describes her as a Goddess Queen who delights in war cries, onslaughts, and battles. Hephaestus served as the midwife who birthed her using a smiths hammer as an obstetric tool. It is eventually revealed that Medusas are the larval form of hydras. Besides having serpents for hair, the Gorgons were described as having tusks, brazen claws, wings and strongly acidic blood; in a few very early depictions they are shown as quadrupeds, possibly because Pegasus was born out of Medusa's blood when she was beheaded by Perseus. But it does seem to me that it isnt Berber people who want to claim Medusa. [14][27], Numerous sources attest to the Lamia being a "child-devourer", one of them being Horace. But I don't see any reason why, if Maasai people were to adopt Medusa into their own mythology and start telling stories about her having been Maasai, she couldn't become Maasai in their mythology. [9] Diodorus, Duris of Samos and other sources which comprise the sources for building an "archetypal" picture of Lamia do not designate her as a dragoness, or give her explicit serpentine descriptions.[82]. banished Medusa to an island and cursed her to have snakes for hair and a face so revolting it would turn the onlooker to stone. [87][88] It is noted that this character terrorized Delphi, just as the dragon Python had. Coral is allegedly Medusas blood, which spilled into the sea and was petrified. The ancient Greeks defined rape as having sex with a woman against the wishes of her patron either her husband, her father or, in this case, Athena. From her deadly power to her hideous face, she has all the hallmarks of an enemy of humanity and the gods. Like the Minotaur, Medusas horrific face may be based on ancient religion. Aristotle says there is a shark called "lamia". From Greek mythology, Medusa is the only mortal of the Gorgons. Thank you for the reference in the "further reading" section!You probably didn't notice this, but I actually address nearly the exact same claims that you address here about Medusa having supposedly originally been an African goddess with dreadlocks in an answer I wrote over a year ago on Quoraon the exact same day that I posted the article on my blog that you've linked here, as it happens.In the answer, though, I don't go into anywhere near as much depth as you've gone into here. I havent found any Berber sources that incorporate her into Berber iconography or culture. Image i - A wooden door panel intended to guard the house from an unwelcome guest (Thomas Regnaudin, c. 1660). [45][92], A foul odor has been pointed out as a possible common motif or attribute of the lamiai. In the story of the birth of the Libyan Athena, Triton--a Libyan sea-god sometimes identified with Poseidon--and Tritonis were the parents of two daughters named Athena and Pallas. But at the same time, the Greeks always imagined her as living in Africa on the edge of the Atlantic Ocean. When people do claim that shes an African divinity, or an African symbol, it generally seems to be in the context of framing ethnicity in terms of black and white. Short answer: no. Long answer:Medusa is part of Greek mythology which has existed longer than the current misinformation of her being an African Go Snakes are traditionally associated with menstruation. As for Athena, they say that she was daughter of Poseidon and Lake Tritonis, and that, being for some reason angry at her father, she gave herself to Zeus, who made her his own daughter. Anthropologists and historians regularly tell us, in fact, that Berber as an overarching ethnic category is a comparatively recent phenomenon. Some historians also see parallels to religious practices in these features. Perhaps instead of a monster, she was an example of how painfully demonized feminine people have been for embracing themselves and their power. The famous snakes in her hair, for example, are similar to the snakes that are part of many other monsters like Typhon. One interpretation of the Medusa myth, therefore, is that she represents the priestesses of an unknown pre-Greek goddess. The intercourse of men and women there is promiscuous; they do not cohabit but have intercourse like cattle. Yes, Medusae. Some modern astrologers suggest that this star is associated with female power and the reemergence of the feminine divine. The image of her severed head remains a powerful protective amulet. [50] The word play is also seen as being employed in Horace's Odes, to banter Lucius Aelius Lamia the praetor. In the fifth addition, medusae look like humans with snakes for hair, have males with identical powers and are cursed to turn into medusae on an individual basis. All three were so hideous, that the shock of seeing them would turn anyone into stone, which Many pantheons, including the Greek one, had triple goddesses. Pursuing her, he raped her there. The woman's decision is entirely inconsequential. Athena was once part of the Trinity of Snake Goddesses however the Grecos wanted to separate themselves from other regions so they demonized the Goddess Neith Athena Feather Studied the myths extensively Author has 168 answers and 111.6K answer views 2 y Im not sure what answer you want. 133163; 2019b). Medusa may manifest as the beautiful goddess she was prior to her transformation or in her classic monster form with contorted face and snake locks. 2. Hamilton, H.C.; Falconer, W. And that is why we have the Atlas Mountains in Morocco and Algeria. WebDiodorus Siculus ( fl. And either way, she can still become Berber any time. (And nope, we don't source our examples from our editing service! 1493 ff (trans. The short answer is yes, she was invented by Greeks. Although, in the most well known myth written by the Roman poet Ovid, Medusa was born extremely beautiful and human-like. [j][51], In Apuleius's The Golden Ass[k] there appear the Thessalian "witches"[l] Meroe and her sister Panthia, who are called lamiae in one instance. Send your order in a special package containing an embossed gift bag, tissue paper, Awe branded polishing cloth and a notecard. By Sarah Crocker / Aug. 24, 2021 12:30 am EST. And then there are some that offer a compromise and state that she was both beautiful and terrible at the same time. WebLong answer:Medusa is part of Greek mythology which has existed longer than the current misinformation of her being an African Goddess. [9][10] Heraclitus Paradoxographus (2nd century) also gave a rationalizing account. [8], Diodorus Siculus (fl. In both versions, Athena, pissed that her priestess not only broke her vows but did the nasty in her temple, punished her by turning her into her new hideous form and banished her to a desolate island until Perseus slew her. An account of Apollonius of Tyana's defeat of a lamia-seductress inspired the poem Lamia by John Keats. Where does the myth of Medusa come from?, Moore, C. H. 1974. He wears a golden mask modeled after her face and trounced Percy in combat. When a version contains a male Medusa, it's usually some Spear Counterpart with some other name. She is hideous with deadly power, associated with snakes, lives with her sisters away from civilization and, most tellingly, is targeted by the gods for destruction. This is given in the concluding paragraph of the chapter. Remember how Herodotus interprets the people of Siwa as a mix of Egyptian and Ethiopian: in reality, we today would most likely call them Berber. [e][29] Lamia was in some versions thus seen as swallowing children alive, and there may have existed some nurse's tale that told of a boy extracted alive out of a Lamia. According to some myths, Medusa, the most famous of the Gorgons, was originally a beautiful woman. Encyclopedia of Spirits: The Ultimate Guide to the Magic of Fairies, Genies, Demons, Ghosts, Gods & Goddesses Written by Judika Illes Copyright 2009 by Judika Illes. Although snakes commonly had a negative connotation in Greek culture, many other religions including the Minoans included them in the iconography of various goddesses. The Gorgons were in the far west. Although, in the most well known myth written by the Roman poet Ovid, Medusa was born extremely beautiful and human-like. Diodorus Siculus (fl. A king, Perseus went on a mission to slay Medusa and bring back her head attest to Lamia! Account of Apollonius of Tyana 's defeat of a monster, she can still become Berber any time many. 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