If you missed my last Smite article on the Egyptian goddess Nut, you can find it here.
I am close to having everyone in Smite covered but when I was looking at my lists, I noticed I haven’t covered some of my favorite Greek gods, goddesses, and divine beings. This is odd because the Greek and Egyptian deities were my gateway to the gods and my spirituality so they have a special place in my heart. The story of Medusa was one I learned in school when introduced to Greek mythology and found to be magical so I am excited to bring her to you.
Medusa is a gorgon of Greek mythology. She has two main stories and I don’t know which one is right but in neither is she a goddess and in both, she is mortal. Of the three gorgons, only Medusa was mortal. She has snakes for hair and to lock in her gaze is to be turned to stone. Her name means “to guard” or “protect” but she needed the protection.
Medusa’s mother is Ceto, a primordial sea goddess and mother of monsters. Her father is Porcys, a primordial sea god and the father of monsters. Both are children of Gaia, who is the earth itself, and Pontus a fatherless primordial sea god. I guess some god things are genetic. With the divine nature of her parents, you would think she would be a goddess or was born with immortality at least but she was completely jipped. Medusa’s siblings are the Hesperodes, the evening nymphs, Sthenno and Euryale, and her sister Gorgons. There is also the Graeae or the Grey Sisters and Thoosa. Scylla, the legendary monster, and Ladon a dragon guarding the golden apples complete the list. Her children are Pegasus, the winged horse we see in pop culture, and Chrysaor, a giant. Their father is Poseidon and both were born when she was decapitated by Perseus. Poseidon is the closest thing to being her consort considering she was a virgin until him. I’ll explain later.
Medusa is depicted with snakes for hair, the lower body of a snake, and the upper body of a woman in her gorgon form. In the myth where she started as a mortal woman, she was beautiful. So beautiful in fact that she caught the eye of Poseidon. In any case, when she was transformed into a gorgan she was the ugliest of all with boar tusks and fanged teeth. She, along with her sisters, have bronze hands and golden wings. The bronze and gold don’t sound so bad. Most often it is just her head that is depicted in art.
Medusa has two main stories of her origins. In one, she was born the only mortal gorgon to her parents Ceto and Porcys, Like her sisters, she has snakes in her hair and turns people into stone when her eyes are met. In the other, she was a mortal priestess in Athena’s temple and was changed into the Gorgan monster we know her as. According to legend Medusa and her sisters lived and died on the island of Sarpedon, near Cisthene. At least that’s what Hesiod says.
In one myth, Medusa was a beautiful woman and a priestess at Athena’s temple. Athena being a proud virgin, demanded purity from her priestesses as well. Medusa, with her beautiful hair and face, caught Poseidon’s wandering eye and he had to have her. Medusa said no because it was demanded of her as a priestess but Poseidon didn’t care and took her anyway, inside Athena’s temple no less. This one coupling left Medusa pregnant with Pegasus and Chrysaor, though she didn’t know. For the crime of losing her virginity in her temple, Athena turned Medusa into the most hideous gorgon of her and her two sisters. Some sources say that they were lovers with her consent, but like with Hades and Persephone, the most popular story is the tragic one.
In both myths, she dies at the hands of Perseus. Polydectes, king of Seriphos, sent Perseus to get the head of Medusa because Polydectes wanted to marry Perseus’s mother and was trying to get Perseus killed by Medusa and her sisters. Athena and Hermes helped him out, as did Hades. Athena gave Perseus a mirrored shield, Hermes gave him winged sandals, and Hades lent his helm of invisibility. Additionally, he was given an adamantine sword and a magical bag that could carry Medusa’s head. From Medusa’s body, Chrysaor and Pegasus sprang forth and where her blood dropped, snakes appeared. When Perseus was returning to Seriphos he stopped by and saved Andromeda with Medusa’s head by turning the sea monster to stone with it. After he returned and cleaned house, Perseus gave the head to Athena who mounted it on her shield. It became a symbol called a gorgoneion for warding off evil.
Medusa’s stories are tragic no matter what went down with Poseidon. She was jipped in power at birth and transformed for something that wasn’t he fault taking away her face, only to be killed with help from the gods. I haven’t played Medusa in Smite yet, have you? What do you think of what I have to you about her today? Let me know in the comments below. Until next time, have fun storming the castle!
