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misspjsuperior · 5 months

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Medusa, the OG stonergirl 👁️🪨 Almost all of us are familiar with her legendary petrifying gaze. It is mentioned in the earliest records of Medusa and her monstrous gorgon family. What is also mentioned in ancient texts by 500 BC is that unlike her immortal family, Medusa was mortal as well as remarkably beautiful. The origin story of how she got her defensive power comes much later from the Roman poet Ovid during the turn of the common era. Yep, dude lived through the turnover from BC to now times. Ovid wrote that Neptune found Medusa in a temple to Minerva, goddess of war and intellect, and forced himself upon her. When Minerva found out, Neptune blamed Medusa for coming on to him. Because Medusa was a gorgon and not a fellow god like her uncle Neptune, Minerva chooses to punish Medusa by giving her a gorgon figure like her sisters, with snakes for hair. 🐍 As a result of the betrayal, Medusa’s gaze turns men to stone. Relatable to sexual assault survivors, Medusa has become a symbol of righteous rage for many feminists. We can understand Ovid’s version as a critique on power when we look at history and realize that he was in resistance to political corruption in ancient Rome.

Obviously, and sadly, this critique’s relevance to society both predated Ovid’s time and has followed into modernity. Ovid’s myth shaping also demonstrates how storytelling and art can shape historical and mythological memory in society, how concepts of divinity and the personas projected upon these divine forces in the form of gods are forged from human imagination in order to make sense of not just the workings of nature but of relationships within civilization.

An an artist I have taken my own liberties with the Medusa myth in self portraiture. Playing with the “stoning” powers of Medusa’s gaze, I’ve drawn a “stoner” tattoo on her wrist as she burns one down. This is also in acknowledgment to the Ovidian origin story in which Medusa is explained as an assault survivor with a nod to how cannabis has been a clinically proven medicine for PTSD in association to such experiences and yet remains often vilified similarly to Medusa.

https://misspjsuperior.etsy.com/listing/1588503886

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wafflefrie · 4 months

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i am going to begin eating sand (negative) if i hear the phrase “original Medusa myth” one more time

#percy jackson show #percy pjo #pjo series #percy jackson #medusa #Medusa myth #look I’m not against retelling myths in general #but PLEASE stop saying original #and don’t even get me started on hades and Persephone #cronchy sand

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seaofwine · 2 years

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day 9: daily devotion to Athena

common misconceptions about this deity

One of the most common misconceptions I see about Athena is about her treatment of Medusa. First, I am a recon polytheist and do my best to separate the Roman versions of myths (see: Ovid) from their Greek origins. In Greek myth, Medusa is a monster to begin with and is described as Gorgon-headed like her sisters - Athena didn’t punish her for being a victim.

However, this isn’t something I debate. The purpose of myth is to tell stories about the gods as culture and society evolve. Now, the Roman tradition of Medusa and the symbol of her on the aegis have now become sources of strength for other survivors. This has taken on a meaning of its own that provides comfort and support for those who need it.

#athena #athena worship #athena goddess #athena deity #medusa #medusa myth #hellenic pagan #hellenic polytheist #hellenic reconstructionism

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faithschaffer · 4 months

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-Medusa-

I've had this sitting around as a sketch for awhile, finally had time to finish it! Hoping to do more mythology illustration this year.

#medusa #myth #mythology #gorgon #artists on tumblr #fantasy

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medusaspeach · 3 months

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bby god sketches

#greek mythology #greek myth retellings #sketch #art #greek gods #medusa's peach #*tries to be normal*

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liridi · 2 years

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hair care

#medusa #greek mythology #greek myth #liridi arts

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supersilvver · 4 months

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MEDUSA

#medusa #percy jackon and the olympians #percy jackson #pjo #pjo tv show #pjo series #rick riordan #Greek #greek mythology #greek myth art #fanart

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madcat-world · 1 month

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Medusa Portrait (1 of 2) - Zara Alfonso

#Medusa #Zara Alfonso #snakes #Gorgon #people #myths #fantasy art #digital art

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edwardian-masquerade · 3 months

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"Or was my rage my mother’s? Or her mother’s? Or hers? An inherited creature?"

-Letter to my Rage; Lidia Yuknavitch

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kafkasapartment · 2 years

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Cameo with Medusa, mid-1800s. Attributed to Luigi Saulini, 1819-1883. Sardonyx, gold mount.

#cratfs #cameo #jewelry #medusa #mythology #myths #legends #greek #craftmanship #carving #1800s #Italy #crafts #antique

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balkanparamo · 1 year

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Medusa with the head of Perseus by Luciano Garbati

#art #sculpture #medusa #perseus #myth #greek mythology #luciano garbati

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rapha-reads · 4 months

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No but I gotta talk about Medusa for a minute actually.

It's been. A very long time since I read the PJO books so I don't exactly remember how Uncle Rick presents Medusa in the book. But the way the show introduces her myth? Fascinating. For me as a Greek mythology enthusiast, that is.

The show makes Medusa a victim of Athena. Of course, the show is mainly for kids, so they can't exactly say that, hey, kids, Medusa was Athena's priestess and she was raped by Poseidon, YEP, or protagonist's father, IN Athena's temple, nah, that's neither kid-friendly nor does it endears us to Poseidon. Not that Poseidon is very dear to us viewers/readers at this point, our narrator/protagonist can't stand his own dad.

But still what fascinates me is that even though they twisted the myth to ft the narrative they still managed to evoke Athena's curse as being actually a gift, and Medusa not feeling wretched over her condition but blessed.

Which is not a modern reading of the myth, actually. Saying that Athena couldn't punish Poseidon for his transgression and could only punish Medusa, but did so in a way that would give Medusa weapons to defend herself against whoever and whatever would try to harm her again, is a narrative that exists since Antiquity.

My point is that the re-framing of Medusa's myth, departing from the traditional, non-kid-friendly version while still incorporating both classic and modern elements, is a good frame of reference for the series (book and show)' entire approach to mythology. And I guess I'm saying that mostly for the non-book readers who are discovering this world, many of whom might be Greek mythology fans and might have gone "wait, why is Hades AGAIN presented as the bad guy when he's the chillest, most normal, most stable god in this entire pantheon", because that's a conversation the book fandom has been having (over and over again) for more than a decade.

Anyway, yeah. As a long time book fan and a show appreciative, here's my advice to anyone who knows WAY too much about Greek myths and still want to enjoy the ride without going every five minutes "wait, that's not correct": reframe. Contemporary rewritings, modern audiences and Fantasy genre.

#pjo series #pjo series spoilers #pjo #percy jackson #percy jackon and the olympians #rick riordan #medusa #greek myths #greek mythology #rapha talks #the funny thing is that one of the art exhibition i've been giving tours of these past couple of months is about goddesses #and it has some statues and objects about both athena and medusa so i've been talking a lot about these two for weeks now #so even though i still remember some from the books and i know damn well uncle rick's priority wasn't myth accuracy #i still got a bit floored by the planet-size holes in medusa's myth in the show #not enough to dislike the episode (au contraire i quite enjoyed it) but enough to feel compelled to say a word about it #(can you tell my special interest as a weird little girl was greek mythology and how it still is to this day...)

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aoiveaeart · 4 months

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